Insight
Forecasting Equity Returns – What Can I Count On in 2024? Part One: Normalized Distribution – Ring a Bell (Curve)?
Photo credit: Pixabay A three-part conversation with Highland Consulting Associates. In the next several weeks we’ll consider what you can expect from investment returns in 2024—or, rather, whether you can count on 2024 predictions at all. We’ll break this series into three parts to cover the major areas of investment opportunities beginning with historical returns,…
Read MoreSVB – A Year After the Bank’s Collapse
Photo Credit: Alexey Yarkin Short-sighted, Vulnerable, Broke Nearly a year ago, Silicon Valley Bank failed. On March 8, 2023, SVB announced a $1.75 billion capital raising effort, offering its common stock and depository shares. As the announcement moved through media outlets, the message heard was this: SVB is short on capital and it may not…
Read MorePower of the PENsion: Two-Faced January – Looking Back to Look Ahead at Capital Markets
Looking Back to Look Ahead at Capital Markets The month of January is named for the Roman god Janus, the god of thresholds and new beginnings. Janus is depicted with two heads signifying his look back to the past even as he looks forward to the future. At Highland, it’s been our practice to analyze…
Read MoreOperation London Bridge – What’s Your Plan?
photo credit: Unsplash “Begin with the end in mind.” −Stephen Covey In December 2023, the award-winning Netflix series on Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, The Crown, ended its run. During a recent break, we found ourselves watching those later episodes of the aging Queen at the time of her Golden Jubilee and, later,…
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: Reality and Resolutions – Guaranteed Retirement Income
photo credit Unsplash The Reality Americans have experienced in recent years: a worldwide pandemic, inflation, interest rate increases and geopolitical issues. There is a general feeling of unease. Add to that baseline the anxiety that workers report (up 33% in 2023[i]) concern about their jobs, their earnings, and their future financial security. According to a…
Read MoreAuld Lang Syne: Some Things Remain the Same (including Retirement Plan Committee Best Practices)
photo credit Pixabay As 2023 ends and a new year begins, in Scotland’s highlands and lowlands you’re likely to hear the familiar “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish expression meaning “old long since.” It’s a tribute to times past or a longing for old times. If you’re a plan sponsor fatigued by the pace of change,…
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: Have We Stuck the Landing? (Or are we skating on thin ice?)
Earlier this month, the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) unanimously agreed to hold the key federal funds rate in a target range of 5.25% to 5.5%. This short-term benchmark rate has been held steady since July 2023. With the decision to leave the rate unchanged, it might have seemed we’d stuck the landing—the economy’s soft landing…
Read MoreMinimum Required Contributions: It’s Time to Pay the Piper
Photo credit: Unsplash Rising rates and increasing economic pressures may surprise pension plan sponsors with MRCs not paid in years. But the gig is up. It’s time to pay the piper. In recent years, fall has tended to be an unremarkable time for pension plan sponsors. The plan’s AFTAP (adjusted funding target attainment percentage) valuation…
Read MoreAvoid A Knockout
“You can map out a light plan or a life plan but when action starts it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to the reflexes you developed in training…” Joe Frazier (American Professional Boxer) A friend shared with me how his son was preparing for a formal boxing match. Beyond…
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: Count the Cost of Offering a Pension Plan
Comprehensive analysis of your plan may show the cost to be well worth your employees’ benefit What is the cost of providing a defined benefit pension plan? Beyond employer contributions, when determining costs, we consider custody, asset management, and consulting fees. These fees vary depending on the management of the plan and whether it is…
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