Pool Hopping: ERISA-Regulated Defined Benefit Plans May Have More Private Investing Flexibility Than They Realize

This paper discusses the qualified professional asset manager (QPAM) exemption, an established, ERISA-approved exemption related to private investing programs. This exemption is currently under regulatory review by the US Department of Labor (DOL). Plans wishing to undertake a QPAM transaction should consult with their ERISA counsel. Many plan sponsors that have a private investment (PI) […]

November 2023

Shelter from the Storms: Diversification and Opportunity for Pensions in Insurance-Linked Securities

The importance of portfolio diversification gained new currency following the down market of 2022, which showcased the frailties of the traditional 60/40 portfolio and left many investors scrambling for protection. For pension funds looking to meet this need, we believe insurance-linked securities (ILS) can be a good fit. While implementation and benchmarking are less straightforward […]

October 2023

Credit Score: Why Bank Retrenchment Spells Opportunity for Pensions

A down year in public markets led to a severe slowdown in new debt issuance in 2022, resulting in increased pressure in the banking sector. During the first half of 2023, the collapse of three US regional banks—in addition to the collapse of Credit Suisse in Europe—led to a further slowdown in bank lending. In […]

August 2023

Private Direct Lending or Public BDCs? Guidance for Pension Plan Sponsors

Private credit has become a popular asset class among pension plan sponsors seeking yield enhancement over their public fixed income allocations. The non-bank finance market has flourished since the Global Financial Crisis due to a more restrictive bank regulatory environment, resulting in reduced bank lending activity, and a wide range of private credit opportunities are […]

July 2023

A New Approach: How ERISA-Covered US Pension Plans Can Save on PBGC Premiums

Saving on Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums has long been at the forefront of many pension risk management decisions. When interest rates were near historic lows during 2019 and 2020, many single-employer plan sponsors changed their methodology for calculating these premiums to reduce their tax obligation to the federal government. Although it appeared like […]

July 2023

Streamlined Private Investing: Uncovering Growth in Secondaries

Over the past four decades, institutional investors have implemented newer and more dynamic strategies in their portfolios in an effort to boost investment returns. During the same period, many investors reduced allocations to fixed income while increasing allocations to equities and alternative investments, including private investments (PI), hedge funds, and commodities. Private equity (PE) investments […]

May 2023

Seven Things Investors Should Know About the Private Equity Secondary Market

Private equity (PE) secondary funds can provide several benefits to investors, including an accelerated pace of distributions relative to traditional primary PE fund investments. In addition, they can help investors enter new strategies, access top managers, and reduce blind pool risk. In this piece, we review secondary funds and their benefits by answering seven key […]

May 2023

US Pensions: Higher Interest Rates Call for a Fixed Income Reassessment

What a difference a year makes. In the second half of 2021, investors were talking about a potential prolonged Goldilocks market. By year-end 2022, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index had posted its worst annual return on record and the S&P 500 had experienced a substantial pullback from recent historical highs. Amid this turbulence, pension […]

March 2023