The Markets

When 401(k) plan participants traded their investments in August, they favored fixed-income funds over equity funds for 65% of the trading days, according to Aon Hewitt.

Regulation may be slowing the push for alternative investments by retirement plans and other institutional investors, Cerulli Associates finds.

BBB-rated corporate bonds merit important consideration in the asset allocation of pension funds implementing liability-driven investing (LDI) strategies, Standish Mellon Asset Management contends.

Financial analytics firm Cerulli Associates finds that nearly four in 10 (37.5%) exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers anticipate strong growth for taxable bond asset class ETFs.

Retirement plan participants and other long-term investors should favor low-volatility stocks over riskier equities, according to a new analysis from Research Affiliates LLC.

Among approximately 75 large employers, nearly one-quarter (24%) are currently using a white label approach to naming defined contribution (DC) plan investment options, Aon Hewitt finds.

Nearly nine in 10 asset managers polled for a recent Cerulli Associates report view increasing attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies as a lasting trend.

A new analysis from Segal Rogerscasey argues past performance is only one of many factors that should be evaluated when assessing active investment manager performance.

Plan sponsors that offer money market investments in their defined contribution plans should start talking with their investment advisers to evaluate their money market strategy, says Robert C....

Financial services, energy and consumer staples have the best-funded defined benefit plans, according to an analysis by the BNY Mellon Investment Strategy and Solutions Group (ISSG).

Many Americans hold serious reservations about investing in the stock and bond markets, according to a recent COUNTRY Financial Security Index survey on investor confidence.

Insurance general account assets are trending towards expanded use of alternative investments, says new Cerulli Associates research, accelerated by an anticipated rise in interest rates.

Long-term funds of all types attracted $30 billion in July, lifting year-to-date net inflows to $293 billion, according to Strategic Insight (SI), an Asset International company.

The funded status of the largest corporate defined benefit (DB) pension plans decreased by $5 billion during July, according to data from Milliman, Inc.

Current conditions in the retirement benefits arena make in-plan lifetime income solutions a difficult proposition for many plan fiduciaries, despite growing demand for the products.

July was light in trading activity for defined contribution plans, with only 0.019% of balances transferring, according to Aon Hewitt’s 401(k) Index.

During June, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worldwide collected $33 billion in net flows, $10 billion higher than the prior month, according to a report from Strategic Insight (SI).

The average target-date fund (TDF) enjoyed nearly a 4% return for the second quarter of 2014, buoyed by U.S. large cap, emerging market and real estate equity holdings.

The Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index slipped eight points in the second quarter to reach +29, driven by increased pessimism among retirees.

Employers can quickly boost outcomes in their defined contribution (DC) retirement plans by improving participants’ Social Security withdrawal behaviors, a new analysis suggests.