The Markets

The recent decrease in the funded status of defined benefit pension plans highlights the need for plan sponsors to possess a strategy for locking in a favorable funded...

Average daily transfer activity for defined contribution (DC) plan participants remained unchanged in January compared with the previous month, according to the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index.

Large corporate pension plans lost asset values and gained liabilities during January, resulting in a decrease in overall funded status.

Corporate employers have largely favored lump sum offerings as a means to settle pension liabilities, but changing market conditions could buck the trend this year.

Stable value funds’ returns were lower in 2013, but the product offerings continue to improve.

Funding levels of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies fell 6% in January, according to data from Mercer.

The funded status of U.S. corporate pension plans fell 4.2% during January to reach 91%, according to the BNY Mellon Investment Strategy & Solutions Group (ISSG).

Target-date funds had an average total return of 5.4% for the fourth quarter of 2013, according to Morningstar data.

A 16% increase in 2014 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums pushed Mercer’s Pension Buyout Index into positive territory, meaning it could be cheaper for many employers to...

President Obama raised both hopes and eyebrows when he introduced new proposals for combating America’s retirement crisis during his fifth State of the Union address.

In an effort to decrease pension risk exposure and insulate their plans from fluctuating economic conditions, more defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors are realigning plan assets to better...

The cost of purchasing pension annuities from an insurer increased to 108.5% of liabilities during December 2013 as higher Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums kicked in.

When you take on investment risk, you know returns could be high or low. But what that means for a multiemployer pension plan is different than for a...

Advisers to defined benefit (DB) retirement plans may face challenging allocation questions as the funded status of corporate pension funds improves.

Defined contribution (DC) plan participants saw average daily transfer activity increase in December 2013 over the previous month, according to the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index.

The Dietrich Pension Risk Transfer Index has started 2014 on a high note, climbing 1.2 points since December 2013.

Year-end analysis shows a strong finish for equity markets in 2013, with net flows for stock funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) exceeding $400 billion.

Alternative strategies have been successful in increasing the portfolio returns of institutions, as well as reducing investment risk, over the past 20 years.

Investors should expect strong equity market results through 2014, with the potential for real U.S. GDP growth to approach 5% in multiple quarters.

Putting a tilt on his 2013 forecast, Bob Doll of Nuveen Asset Management predicts a grind-higher economy and a muddle-through stock market for the year ahead.