Fixed-Income Managers See Opportunities Despite Low Interest Rates
Despite extraordinarily low interest rates that would seem to have nowhere to go but up, some investment managers contend that fixed-income markets were offering some solid opportunities heading into 2016. A key variable in that outlook is U.S. monetary policy. Ever since the Federal Reserve set the target for its benchmark federal funds rate near […]
Sequence of Returns Risk: Worse Than You Thought
The stock market downturn that stretched from late 2007 through early 2009 gave recent and soon-to-be retirees a harsh lesson in the dangers of sequence of returns risk. That’s the risk that poor investment returns at or near retirement age will devastate your portfolio and result in you outliving your savings. It makes a strong […]
Advisors, Consultants, Sponsors and Defined Contribution Plans
If there’s a relevant rallying cry for the retirement plan industry right now, it might be this: embrace change. That, at least, was the underlying message from Greg Jenkins, senior director with Invesco Advisors, Inc., in a talk at the SVIA’s 2015 Fall Forum in October. Jenkins, also chair of Invesco’s Defined Contribution Institute, painted […]
“Follow the Yield” for Stable Value Rate of Return Expectation
By Phil Connor, MassMutual When individuals are faced with a personal decision sometimes they’ll resort to that familiar advice of “follow your instinct.” For stable value investments, a phrase such as “follow the yield” comes to mind when endeavoring to determine how the rate of return on the investment may trend over time. Stable […]
Simplifying—and Selling—Stable Value
It’s hard to maximize sales and market share when consumers don’t fully understand or appreciate your brand— Imagine that automobile buyers didn’t know that Ferraris are fast, that Jeeps are designed to take on rugged terrain or that a Lexus is likely to deliver above-average reliability. This is something anyone in the stable value business […]
The Rise of Robo Advisors
In the nearly two decades since their debut, online investment advisory services have enjoyed modest success in convincing some investors to use them. Now they’ve got a sexy new name—“robo advisors”—and with it perhaps an improved chance of winning customers. Much has changed since industry pioneers like mPower and Financial Engines starting providing online investment […]
Looking Back and Moving Forward
By Jim King, Prudential, SVIA Chairman As 2015 draws to a close, so does my tenure as Chairman of the Board of the Stable Value Investment Association. It’s been an eventful and exciting six years for me serving on the Board and for the stable value industry as a whole. As I sat down […]
Making Government Work: A Former Congressman’s Plan to Revive American Democracy
To watch American elections is to watch democracy in action. Or maybe not. As former U.S. Congressman Mickey Edwards sees it, the United States has devolved to a point where the most extreme members of the two major political parties—not the public at large—control who can get elected. That’s not democracy, he argues, and he […]
Policy Maker Outlines Ideas for Improving Retirement Savings Plans
The modern defined contribution retirement savings plan—what most people today know as a 401(k)—is now three decades old. Its close cousins, 457 and 403(b) plans, have been around even longer. We’re still trying to get them right. The problem? While Americans held approximately $6.8 trillion in defined contribution plans at year-end 2014, according to the […]