Insight
The Power of the PENsion: LDI in 2023 – Batten Down the Hatches
As we look back on the economic volatility of 2022 and face a possible recession in 2023, pension plan sponsors could be unnerved. Consider where we find ourselves at the close of 2022: Add to these dreary measures: It’s been a difficult year, and we’ve few reasons to expect smooth sailing in 2023. But the…
Read MoreThe Other Shoe to Drop
In the early 1900s, New York City tenement buildings were poorly constructed with thin walls and ceilings and bedrooms stacked on top of one another. As the resident on the floor above you would prepare for bed by taking off his shoes, you would hear one shoe drop to the floor. What would come next?…
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: Where There’s a Window – Pension Plan Sponsors Moving to Act Before a De-Risking Window Closes
The equity and bond markets’ fall in recent months has captured the headlines and attention of anyone invested in a retirement plan. But as the rising rate environment has shaken the markets, it has helped improve the funding status of some pension plans and may have opened a window of opportunity for defined benefit (DB)…
Read MoreGilt Trip: What Plan Sponsors Can Learn from the U.K. Pension Fund Crisis
Pension plan sponsors across the United Kingdom endured a harrowing week in late September as an unexpected spike in long gilt (or U.K. government bond) yields exposed their levered hedging programs to the brink of insolvency. Some sponsors went to bed feeling secure about their diversified plans (with seemingly prudent hedges) and woke the next…
Read MoreFlipped Out over Fiduciary Liability Insurance?
In 2020, more than 200 class action lawsuits were filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). It was the high water mark for actions targeting the alleged mismanagement of 401(k) and 403(b) defined contribution retirement plans. A total of 125 such actions were filed in 2021, and subject experts expect another 75 to…
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: What is OCIO? A Discussion of Advisory Relationships
OCIO, CEO, E-I-E-I-O: Is OCIO just another abbreviation to remember? For those in need of investment management, this is one you don’t want to forget. The term OCIO, or Outsourced Chief Investment Officer, originated in the 1970s and was designed to add the responsibility of asset management to the duties of the traditional investment consultant….
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: Labor Day and the Pension Plan
Although summer may end officially on September 21, for most Americans, the season ends with Labor Day. The first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882. Far from marking the end of summer fun, it was meant to be a “workingmen’s holiday” between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. Two years later, the first Monday in…
Read MoreClients Ask:
What do rising inflation and interest rates mean for fixed income investments and the economy?Are we seeing mixed signals? Highland Responds Our Highland clients have wanted to know how rising inflation and interest rate hikes impact fixed income investments and the broader economic picture. Are we seeing mixed signals? Possibly. And there may have been…
Read MoreThe Power of the PENsion: Understanding the Costs
What’s 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 active or passive. Active management employs professionals who actively buy and sell investments on behalf of the…
Read MoreIt’s a Long Road. (But Look How Far You’ve Come.)
Don’t Let Emotional Biases Cloud Your Financial Outlook The S&P 500 has declined 12.8% so far in 2022 (through May 2022). That’s hard to stomach, but with a shift in perspective we can see that maybe it isn’t as bad as it feels. Humans are prone to a multitude of emotional biases and cognitive errors,…
Read More
