Tag: Equities

On 89% of the trading days, 401(k) participants moved the majority of their money into fixed income, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index

Despite slowing global growth, disparate inflation rates, and continued normalization of U.S. monetary policy, economists with Vanguard and J.P. Morgan Asset Management believe that a near-term recession will be avoided.

Preliminary data shared by Alight Solutions shows the firm’s 401(k) trading index spiked on Monday October 29; investors making moves shunned growth assets and paid premium prices for fixed income.

Vanguard’s chief economist warns that rising rates may sting in the short term, but book value losses should be offset by higher future returns—rewarding those with perspective and strategic patience.

Broadly speaking, Northern Trust’s Capital Market Assumptions Working Group expects continued global economic growth, controlled inflation and accommodative monetary policy.

Sixty-four percent of participants in their 20s own a TDF.

According to Boston Consulting Group, among asset management products, passives were far and away the fastest growing category in 2017, with a record 25% increase in AUM over an already very sizable base.

Greg Hahn, founder and chief investment officer at Winthrop Capital Management, offers some timely analysis on the flattening of the yield curve and navigating a rising interest rate environment.

According to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index, June was a slow month for trading in defined contribution plans; when 401(k) investors made trades, they tended to favor fixed income.

It would also be good for them to include emerging markets equities, target-date funds, alternatives, international bonds and specialty bonds.

When trades were made, there was a continued movement away from equities into fixed income.

Chris Barlow, national director of defined contribution investments for BMO GAM, riffs on the results of a new “DC Conversations” industry assessment; among the top findings is a downward trend in deferral rates across all sectors since 2010.

The flows went primarily to bond, stable value and money market funds.

PLANADVISER presents an impromptu Q&A with John Diehl, senior vice president of strategic markets for Hartford Funds, on the subject of market volatility and keeping a long-term perspective amid big equity price swings. 

Neuberger Berman Addresses Volatility with PutWrite Fund; PanAgora Adds ESG Alpha Factors; and Hartford Funds Expands ETF Roster.

The latest J.P. Morgan Asset Management Guide to the Markets publication asks the complex but crucial question, at what level of U.S. interest rates should we start to worry about a recession?

The president and CIO of Ryan Labs describes in detail the mechanics behind the firm’s new defensive bond portfolio strategy—and the way his work continues to be shaped by the Pension Protection Act and MAP-21.

“While appropriate for some participants, heavy reliance on equities is almost certainly not suitable for as many 401(k) participants as the allocation of the largest TDF managers suggests,” P-Solve argues. “TDFs are built mainly for favorable economic and market environments.”

Offering some preliminary commentary on the SEC’s newly announced adviser 12b-1 fee conflict of interest “amnesty” program, as it’s being referred to in the trade media, Wagner Law Group attorneys warn of the inherent risks in the self-reporting of violations.