Transforming Tomorrow: Awakening the Super Saver
Stig Nybo has spent most of his career promoting best practices for qualified retirement plans, but his commitment to that task took a more personal and passionate turn about four years ago. The catalyst was an incident that occurred during a simple walk through a parking lot with his two young sons. En route to […]
Dodd Describes His Work on Signature Bill as Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
Groundbreaking legislation generally springs from extraordinary circumstances. In the case of the far-reaching Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the extraordinary circumstance was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, a debacle that cost the U.S. trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, millions of homes lost to foreclosure, and the […]
Stable Value: Challenges and Opportunities
By almost any objective measure, the stable value industry is doing well. From 2000 through 2012, assets in stable value funds increased significantly to an all-time high of $701 billion.[1] This represents about 14 percent of the $5.1 trillion of assets in defined contribution plans at the end of that period. Stable value wrap capacity, […]
Stable Value Seen Outperforming Other Fixed-Income Sectors in Rising Rate Environment
Rising interest rates are generally bad for fixed-income investments, but perhaps not as bad for stable value funds as for some other short-term sectors of the bond market. Researchers at New York Life Investment Management recently looked at how six different asset classes have performed in the past during periods of steadily rising interest rates […]
The Big Picture: Trends in Defined Contribution Plans
Investors in 401(k) plans may not be saving enough for retirement, on average, but they’re saving more than headline numbers would suggest. In a wide-ranging panel discussion at the 2013 SVIA Fall Forum, Elizabeth Heffernan, vice president of investment product management at Fidelity Investments, said the average account balance in plans for which Fidelity provides […]
Shields Says Income Inequality Could Be “Sleeper Issue” of 2016 Election
There are plenty of issues that could define the 2016 presidential election. Republicans and Democrats could still be fighting about taxes and spending, foreign policy, and even healthcare. But nationally known columnist and political commentator Mark Shields says that income equality could be the issue that determines who will occupy the White House next. According […]
Evaluating Fiduciary Risks
Over the past decade, the retirement plan industry has been subject to a wave of litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Allegations have included breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with excessive fees for both investment management and record-keeping services. In a presentation at the 2013 SVIA Fall Forum, Jeremy Blumenfeld, a partner […]
Stable Value Roundtable
What’s happening in the stable value market? Seven experts from diverse sectors of the industry brought participants at the 2013 SVIA Fall Forum up to speed during a lively roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C. Among the highlights: Wrap diversification: A preference for having multiple wrap contract providers for a stable value fund still persists among […]
Building an Optimal Investment Lineup for a Defined Contribution Plan
Are you a plan sponsor or consultant looking to create a great investment lineup for a defined contribution plan? David Blanchett, head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management, offers this advice: Don’t start with a goal of building the best lineup possible. Instead, start with your end point in mind: building the lineup that […]
