Thought Mortality Was Dead? Considerations for Pensions Given the IRS’s Delay in Implementing RP-2014

The IRS’s somewhat unexpected decision to delay implementation of the RP-2014 mortality tables has impacted at least three separate aspects of pension plan strategy: calculating minimum contribution requirements; determining variable-rate PBGC premiums; and valuing lump-sum distributions to be paid out to terminated vested participants. This brief discusses what has changed and provides general considerations for all sponsors to weigh in the near term.

May 2017

A Stronger Union: Addressing the Unique Investment Challenges of Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plans

Adaptive and sophisticated strategies are necessary to serve the unique features, constraints, and needs of multiemployer plans. In this note, we explore some of the key challenges that many multiemployer plans face, discuss how to invest in light of these challenges, and provide thoughts on governance and the overall role of the investment advisor in the multiemployer context.

April 2017

403(b) Plan Fiduciary Oversight

In an increasingly complex landscape, the fiduciary management of robust 403(b) plans has become more challenging than ever.

November 2016

Hedge Fund-ing the Pension Deficit: The Case for UK Schemes

Select hedge funds have provided attractive long-term returns with reduced equity beta and can be integral to pension investment strategies.

October 2016

Don’t Forget the Credit Spread!

While corporate plan sponsors are keenly aware of interest rate risk within their defined benefit plans, few fully appreciate the complex and significant risk posed by credit spreads.

October 2016

Hedge Fund-ing the Pension Deficit

Select hedge funds have provided attractive long-term returns with reduced equity beta and can be integral to pension investment strategies.

June 2016

Private Investments: Filling a Pension’s Return Void

Well-diligenced private investments in a skillfully constructed portfolio are important growth drivers that have helped pension funds deliver superior performance and increased the probability of meeting or exceeding long-term required returns.

October 2015

Navigating the Diversified Growth Fund Maze

Diversified growth funds (DGFs) have garnered significant attention and assets—particularly amongst UK defined benefit pension schemes—as a less volatile source of long-term growth. DGFs can be valuable tools for pension portfolio management, but only if trustees understand what they are buying and how it fits into the context of the total portfolio. The simple bifurcation of the available products into traditional and absolute return strategies can be a starting point for trustees to help make sense of the market and set appropriate risk/return expectations across different market environments.

October 2015