A Fine Line: Can Wrap Contract Provisions Become Too Restrictive?
By Randy Myers The stable value industry sailed through the financial crisis of 2008 with minimal disruptions. Market-to-book-value ratios for the average stable value fund fell during the market downturn and have since recovered on average to better than 100 percent. Throughout the market volatility of the past three years, investors in stable value funds […]
401(k) Balances Improving, But Participants Still Need to Save More
By Randy Myers The average 401(k) account balance has improved significantly since the stock market downturn that ran from late 2007 to early 2009, but Americans still need to save more for retirement, according to Winfield Evans, leader of investment strategy for Aon Hewitt’s defined contribution outsourcing business. Participants in 401(k) plans enjoyed a median […]
Why Governmental 457 Plans Like Stable Value
By Randy Myers Stable value funds have long been popular with so-called “457” plans–supplemental retirement savings plans that function much like 401(k) plans but are marketed mostly to government employees. Still, there are steps the stable value industry could take to preserve its favored position in that marketplace, says Maryland Assistant Attorney General John Barry, […]
Stable Value Industry Urged to Articulate Risk Management Processes
By Randy Myers Stable value investment managers and wrap issuers devote huge chunks of their time to managing risk. Now it’s time to start documenting those efforts, says Susan Mangiero, managing director of Fiduciary Leadership LLC, an independent research and training company serving institutional investors. Regulatory and legal developments have much to do with the […]
How Asset Allocation Models Handle Stable Value Funds
By Randy Myers Given their hybrid nature–they generate returns comparable to those available from intermediate-term bond funds, but with low volatility similar to money market funds–stable value funds have never been particularly easy to account for in asset allocation models. But leading financial services firms appear to have found solutions that make them comfortable. Mutual […]
Stable Times Volume 15 Issue 2
The biannual publication of the Stable Value Investment Association that covers both industry concerns and association activities.
Stable Times Volume 15 Issue 1
The biannual publication of the Stable Value Investment Association that covers both industry concerns and association activities.
401(k) Industry Moves Toward Benchmarking
By Randy Myers For years, smart companies have benchmarked their performance against their peers to identify opportunities for improvement in a variety of areas, from how efficiently they manage their inventory to how quickly they collect on their accounts receivable. One area they have often overlooked, especially if they were not a very large employer, […]
Stable Value Funds Seen Coping if Interest Rates Start to Rise
By Randy Myers The long downward trend in interest rates since the early 1980s has been beneficial to the stable value industry. Now, many economists believe that trend is in jeopardy, prompting questions about how the industry will respond. Declining rate environments favor stable value funds because their crediting rates—the actual earning rates posted to […]