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March 2024
Summary Returns were positive across the board for major global asset classes in March. For large cap developed markets stocks, the close of the first quarter of 2024 marked the 5th consecutive month of positive returns, while for bonds, March offered some welcomed relief after a slow start to the year. The rally was truly…
Read MoreThe 401(k) Forfeiture Kerfuffle and What it Means for 401(k) Plan Sponsors
photo credit: istock On February 21, 2024, yet another lawsuit was filed against a 401(k) plan sponsor over alleged misuse of forfeited retirement plan savings of terminated participants. This is the seventh lawsuit filed by the Pasadena-based law firm of Hayes Pawlenko LLP in federal district courts throughout California. This latest claim against Tetra Tech…
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 MoreFebruary 2024
Summary Markets were mixed in February, with strong equity returns rising to new highs, continuing to ride a wave of AI-powered optimism. Treasury yields rose for the month, with most of the pain centered around the January CPI release that came in higher than expected and a better than expected jobs report. Non-U.S. markets experienced…
Read MoreJanuary 2024
Summary Markets broadly got off to a poor start in 2024, punctuated by a final-day of January sell-off in U.S. equities. Economic indicators showed a sturdy jobs market and strong holiday spending from consumers. Inflation numbers for December came in slightly above expectations but remained moderate at 0.3% for the month. Interest rates carried 2023’s…
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 MoreDecember 2023
Summary Keeping with the holiday spirit, markets finished the year in a generous mood, filling investors’ stockings with one final month’s worth of bumper returns for stocks and bonds. With the consensus in the U.S. and internationally, agreeing that interest rate hikes are likely a thing of the past, worries of a broad economic recession…
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,…
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