The Labor-Treasury Agenda: Improving Defined Contribution Plans
By Randy Myers The federal government wants defined contribution plans to work more effectively for their participants. Retirement savings plans are looking healthier than they did just a short while ago, but total plan assets slipped to $2.7 trillion in 2008 from $3.8 trillion in 2007. They have rebounded to $3.5 trillion by the first […]
Swap or Not? Regulators Assess Stable Value under Dodd-Frank Act
By Randy Myers Is a stable value fund really a swap? Under the terms of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the over-the-counter derivatives market now falls under the purview of federal regulators. Those regulators–at the Securities & Exchange is reason to believe that stable value funds do not meet […]
Behind the Curtain: 401(k) Particpants Ride Out Market Storms
By Randy Myers Many investors panicked during the stock market downturn that stretched from late 2007 to early 2009, but investors in 401(k) plans proved remarkably unflappable. In examining the retirement plans T. Rowe Price Group Inc. administers on behalf of clients, it found that the percentage of eligible employees who participated in those plans […]
Post-Mortem: The Midterm “Recession Election,” and a Look Ahead to 2012
By Randy Myers Republicans may have manhandled Democrats in the recent midterm election, but it’s probably too soon to assume their victory will carry over to a win in the White House in 2012, says political pundit David Wasserman, house editor of the Cook Political Report. Addressing the 2010 SVIA Fall Forum, Wasserman attributed the […]
Stable Value Continues to Deliver on Its Promise
By Randy Myers In an uncertain economic environment, stable value funds have continued to deliver to investors what they have long promised–long-term returns comparable to those available from intermediate-term bond funds but without the corresponding short-term volatility–SVIA president Gina Mitchell told participants at the organization’s 2010 Fall Forum in Washington, D.C. Since the end of […]
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.
Stable Value Performs “Admirably and As Advertised” through Financial Crisis
By Randy Myers Stable value funds proved to be one of the few success stories during the financial crisis of 2008-09. At a time when most asset classes were tumbling, stable value funds continued to generate consistently positive returns for their investors. “Stable value performed admirably and as advertised,” SVIA President Gina Mitchell told industry […]
Risk Controls and the Coming Stable Value Surge
By Robert Whiteford, Bank of America “Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” –George Patton The quote shown above is an odd one considering the source, but I believe that it may be appropriate advice for several groups of participants in the stable value market–the wrap providers and the asset managers. All […]
