SVIA Quarterly Survey in Stable Times
SVIA’s Quarterly Characteristics Survey demonstrates the virtues of stable value: consistent positive returns, principal preservation as well as having the lowest correlation to stocks as compared to other investments, which means stable value can act as a diversifier. For the third quarter of 2012, stable value fund assets included in the survey were $445 billion, […]
SVIA Elects Four Board Members
While not nearly as controversial as the national elections, the SVIA Board of Directors election held in October 2012 featured incumbents both retaining and losing seats, and the unanimous approval of a plan sponsor running unopposed. The field of candidates was especially strong this year with seven highly qualified candidates, three of them incumbents, running for only […]
SVIA-LIMRA Stable Value Sales and Assets Survey in Stable Times
The SVIA-LIMRA Stable Value Sales and Assets Survey demonstrates the durability of stable value funds. The biannual Sales and Assets survey differs from other Association surveys, not only because it is conducted in partnership with LIMRA, but also because of the survey respondents. Most SVIA surveys focus on stable value managers. The Sales and Assets Survey respondents are the bank and insurance company issuers […]
Insiders Assess Stable Value Issues
Stable value “insiders” are a diverse lot. Among others, they include stable value asset managers and contract issuers, banks and insurance companies, retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan consultants. All share the same overarching goal of providing consistently positive returns for retirement plan participants, yet each views the asset class from a slightly different perspective. In a […]
Moody’s Fires a Shot Across the Bow of U.S. Treasuries by Considering Downgrade
On September 11, 2012 Moody’s provided an update on the outlook for the US Government’s credit rating. In this update, Moody’s stated that budget negotiations in 2013 will likely determine the direction of the US government’s current Aaa rating, with negative outlook. The scale of any potential downgrade seems to be limited, as Moody’s indicated it would probably expect to lower the rating to […]
Prudential Economist Sees Continued Strong Case for Bonds
Just a year and a half ago, investors were worried about what a rising interest-rate environment would do to bond portfolios. After all, interest rates were already at extraordinarily low levels in many sectors of the fixed-income market, and it seemed that rates had nowhere to go but up. Rising interest rates, of course, translate into falling […]
Portrait of a Plan Participant
In the wake of recent regulations, plan participants are soon to be provided with more information than ever regarding their defined contribution plans. In the lead up to fee compliance, issues such as getting the information out to participants and ensuring that they know how to access it have been considered. However, the matter of what plan participants will do with the fee […]
SVIA Files Supplemental Comments on Stable Value Contract Study
On November 1, 2012, SVIA filed written comments with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Commissions reopened their original August 25, 2011, request for information that covered 29 questions on October 2, 2012. The Commissions reopened the request for information since the earlier comments did not have the benefit […]
Highlights from AARP’s “Boomers and the Great Recession: Struggling to Recover”
A recent AARP report focuses on the major challenges that baby boomers, those aged 50 and older, face from the Great Recession. As the title portends “Boomers and the Great Recession: Struggling to Recover,” the report documents how boomers were affected and coped with the challenges of the market meltdown in 2007 and the subsequent Great Recession, which they say ended in October of […]
