Big Market Swings Always Raise Big Questions
April was a hard month for the markets, and the beginning of May has been even more brutal, but investment experts still see room for tempered optimism about the remainder of the year.
April was a hard month for the markets, and the beginning of May has been even more brutal, but investment experts still see room for tempered optimism about the remainder of the year.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts reached almost $40 trillion in total assets by the end of last year, even as a recovering economy faced some key pain points, according to new data released by the Investment Company Institute.
J.P. Morgan says retiree income replacement needs have risen across the income spectrum and now range from 72% to 98%, depending on factors such as pre-retirement income level and location.
The economy is expanding fast, and the U.S. Federal Reserve is growing more worried about inflation than employment; that much is clear in early 2022, but what comes next for the markets and the economy is not.
Among the takeaways one investment expert has from the year is that structural forces have a large influence on interest rates and may keep them relatively low despite the efforts of policymakers.
New capital markets research from Wilmington Trust assesses a trend seen in the global economy, where the number of job openings far outpaces the number of available workers, causing supply chain disruptions and elevating the importance of compensation and employee benefits.
Two-thirds of days during the month saw net trading activity favor equity funds over fixed income, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index.
Some capital markets experts say the ‘transitory message’ on inflation from the U.S. Federal Reserve is beginning to overstay its welcome.
In 15 out of the 18 categories of domestic equity funds considered, S&P Dow Jones Indices finds the majority of actively managed funds underperformed their benchmarks during the year that ended June 30th.
Additionally, the firm has pledged to double the qualitative and forward-looking Morningstar Analyst Rating coverage of model portfolios by the end of 2021.
As some investment analysts argue inflation has peaked, and that it should soon return to an average annual rate in line with recent history, others are focused on the effects of growing wage pressure and the competition for labor.
Results of a new analysis published by Dimensional Fund Advisors suggest that embracing higher equity exposures prior to and during retirement is an inadequate tool to manage longevity risk.
The latest update of the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index shows the average asset allocation to equities rose in June to the highest level in 20 years. The index shows investors were content to watch their balances rise, as there were no days of above-normal trading activity. Average net trading activity was 0.009% of 401(k) balances, down from 0.011% in May.