May 2020
15May

Selfies can help Brazil create a super supplementary pension

By Arun Muralidhar, Robert C. Merton, Alexandre Vitorino Brazilian policy makers and researchers have discussed the introduction of a complementary pension system to complement the Regime Geral de Previdência Social (RGPS), specially for those that want a retirement income above the RGPS ceiling. This article first recommends that the complementary system must be SUPER (Simple, Universal, Portable, Efficient with low cost and Robust Regulatation). It then proposes the adoption of a financial innovation called SeLFIES (Standard-of-Living, Forward-starting, Income-only Securities),...

May 15, 2020
Articles, Investment, Pension design, , , ,
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April 2020

18Apr

Pension Funding Index April 2020

By Charles J. Clark and Zorast Wadia Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions in March see surprising $93 billion funded status gain from massive surge in discount rates, despite heavy investment losses Milliman 100 PFI funded ratio improves to 85.6% The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans rose by $93 billion during March as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). The funded status deficit improved to $255 billion at the end of March...

April 18, 2020
Books, Investment, Pension Management, Reports,
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08Apr

Regime-Switching in the Volatility of Mexican Pension Fund Returns

By Francisco López-Herrera, Marissa R. Martínez-Preece, Roberto Joaquín Santillán-Salgado Several Latin American countries reformed their retirement-pension systems during the 1980s and 1990s because the previous funded or pay-as-you-go systems were deemed insufficient to support the rapidly growing aging populations. Mexico was no exception, and in 1997 it replaced its traditional pay-as-you-go system with a privately managed scheme, in which contributions by or on behalf of active workers are deposited in individual accounts and channeled to a privately managed pension...

April 8, 2020
Articles, Investment
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06Apr

PPI Coverage: Coronavirus’s effects on pensions

No Country for Old Men (or Women): The Impact of Migration on Pension Funding Adequacy and Sustainability 10/09/2022 Retirement security is of paramount importance to working people. Adequate retirement income is also a leading concern for private and public pension systems. Changes in Retirement Savings During the COVID Pandemic19/08/2022 This paper documents changes in retirement saving patterns at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 Private Pension Withdrawals and Unemployment Tenures 08/07/2022 This is the first study to evaluate the...

April 6, 2020
Investing, Investment, News, Slider-Left, Uncategorized,
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March 2020

20Mar

Insurance against Long-Run Volatility Risk: Demand, Supply, and Pricing

By Chuck Fang Despite its importance implied in asset pricing and macroeconomic models, insurance against long-run volatility risk has received little empirical documentation regarding its demand, supply, or pricing. This paper bridges the gap. First, I show that households have directly purchased large quantities of insurance against long- run volatility risk through the minimum return guarantees available in variable annuities, a form of retail retirement and savings product offered by life insurance companies. Total net assets with such insurance...

March 20, 2020
Articles, Investment, Pension Management
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13Mar

Feverish Stock Price Reactions to COVID-19

By Stefano Ramelli, Alexander F. Wagner This paper studies how markets adjust to the sudden and rapid emergence of previously neglected risks. It does so by analyzing the stock price effects of the 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Over the first two months of 2020, the health care industry did relatively well in China, the US, and several other countries. Transportation and Energy plummeted everywhere. Within industries, US firms reliant on Chinese inputs and those with a strong export...

March 13, 2020
Articles, Investment, , ,
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February 2020

22Feb

Long-Term Investing by Pension Funds. How to Effectively Design and Implement Mandates: A Dutch Case Study

By Alfred Slager, Marcel Jeucken Pension funds are increasingly trying to embed long-term investing choices within their portfolios. Many publications focus on the rationale for long term investing; however, it remains unclear what long term investing actually is, what sets it apart from the current way of investing, and how it should add value. The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical framework for pension fund trustees aiming to bolster and implement long term investing. In doing so,...

February 22, 2020
Articles, Investment, Pension Management, ,
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15Feb

Target Date Funds and Portfolio Choice in 401(k) Plans

By Olivia S. Mitchell, Stephen P. Utkus Target date funds in corporate retirement plans grew from $5B in 2000 to $734B in 2018, partly because federal regulation sanctioned these as default investments in automatic enrollment plans. We show that adopters delegated pension investment decisions to fund managers selected by plan sponsors. Including these funds in retirement saving menus raised equity shares, boosted bond exposures, curtailed cash/company stock holdings, and reduced idiosyncratic risk. The adoption of low-cost target date funds...

February 15, 2020
Articles, Investment, Pension design, , ,
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January 2020

24Jan

Achieving Investment Excellence: A Practical Guide for Trustees of Pension Funds, Endowments and Foundations

By Kees Koedijk, Alfred Slager, Jaap van Dam Achieving Investment Excellence offers trustees and asset managers a comprehensive handbook for improving the quality of their investments. With a stated goal of substantially and sustainably improving annual returns, this book clarifies and demystifies important concepts surrounding trustee duties and responsibilities, investment strategies, analysis, evaluation and much more. Low interest rates are making the high cost of future pension payouts fraught with tension, even as the time and knowledge required to...

January 24, 2020
Books, Investment, Pension Management, ,
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24Jan

Man versus Machine: A Comparison of Robo-Analyst and Traditional Research Analyst Investment Recommendations

By Braiden Coleman, Kenneth J. Merkley, Joseph Pacelli Advances in financial technology (FinTech) have revolutionized various product offerings in the financial services industry. One area of particular interest for this technology is the production of investment recommendations. Our study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the properties of investment recommendations generated by “Robo-Analysts,” which are human-analyst-assisted computer programs conducting automated research analysis. Our results indicate that Robo-Analysts differ from traditional “human” research analysts across several dimensions. First, Robo-Analysts collectively produce...

January 24, 2020
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