Crash: Avoid the Most Common Accidents by Planning for Your Takeoff and Landing
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reveal that 76% of aviation accidents occur during takeoff or in the final approach and landing.[i] The greater number by far occur at the end of the flight, during the final approach and landing. Clearly, beginnings and endings are challenging and require sound processes to avoid unexpected…
Read MoreDecember 2022
Summary Markets closed out a difficult year by finishing lower in December. After a late year rally, stocks slid, with the S&P losing 5.8 percent for the month. The Federal Reserve raised rates by 50 basis points mid-month, a slight reprieve from the series of 75 basis point moves earlier in the year and bond…
Read MoreThe 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 MoreNovember 2022
Summary Stocks and bonds were broadly positive in November as inflation slowed, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) coming in at +7.7% year-over-year and below market expectations (+8%). Treasury yields declined and stocks rallied, as investors took the positive inflation surprise as a signal that the Federal Reserve would likely begin scaling back their tightening…
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 MoreOctober 2022
Summary With macroeconomic news continuing to dominate the headlines in October, investors became comfortable with rotating back into riskier assets, pushing domestic stock indexes higher. In anticipation of another Fed rate hike in November, Treasury yields rose. Inflation (high), unemployment (low), and growth (positive) data provided a cushion for policy makers wary of causing a…
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 MoreSeptember 2022
Summary Markets concluded a volatile third quarter with another negative month. The steady drumbeat of stubborn inflation, rising interest rates, and underwhelming earnings led to selloffs across risk assets. Many major indexes were plumbing new lows for the year by the close of September. Rhetoric was not encouraging, with the Federal Reserve remaining steadfastly committed…
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…
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