The Markets

The search for safety led to bond fund demand across a spectrum of corporate and U.S. government funds, high and low credit quality, and global bond strategies.

The median return of BNY Mellon’s U.S. Master Trust Universe was -1.47% for the second quarter, driving down performance for the typical fund to 5.65% year over year.

A heightened interest in alternative investments among advisers and clients calls for education about those investments' role in portfolios, a source at Russell Investments told PLANADVISER.  

Defined benefit (DB) plans experienced the worst decrease in funded status in the 12 years since Milliman Inc. began tracking it.

Negative domestic and international returns may have caused U.S. institutional investment plan sponsors in the Northern Trust Universe to lose 1.5% at the median in the second quarter.

Vanguard announced new investment advisory arrangements for Vanguard Windsor Fund, Vanguard International Value Fund and Vanguard Global Equity Fund.

The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan reached a record low in July.

Advisers must consider the most effective ways to help sponsors take action under legislation that reduces required funding for defined benefit (DB) plans but increases their insurance premiums.

The Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index is down markedly to +16 from +24 in May and +40...

Defined contribution (DC) plan participants transferred monies from equities into fixed-income investments in June despite the market rally, according to the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index. 

Global equity markets rallied in June, but second-quarter performance suffered as the global economic picture showed little signs of sustained improvement, a report found. 

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers compensate for the lack of live data on new funds by using an index’s back-tested data to predict performance, a report found.

Investors should bite the bullet and move back into large-cap, dividend-paying and emerging markets stocks, as well as diversify fixed-income holdings, BNY Mellon Wealth Management said.

Financial advisers are more likely to recommend emerging markets and dividend-producing equities, given the current low-yield environment, a survey found.

Those who start saving for retirement in their 20s can make nearly double what an investor beginning in their 30s can, because of compounding, research suggests.   

A report from S&P Dow Jones Indices reveals record pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) underfunding for the S&P 500 companies.

A majority of large U.S. corporate pension plans are underfunded, with future contributions a material expense for many over the coming years, according Fitch Ratings.

Risk parity is used by defined benefit plans to protect against downside risk, but “there’s no reason DC sponsors shouldn’t use it,” Invesco noted.

Although they remain divided on the current financial environment, millionaires’ optimism for the future is the highest it has been since 2006, a survey found.

Markets will be erratic as U.S. policy indecision and a deepening recession in Europe overshadow virtually every aspect of the world economy, Natixis predicted.