All Letter from the US articles – Page 3
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from US: Investors and savers hold steady in the face of the pandemic
During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many investors stayed the course and did not make drastic changes to their asset allocations or to their saving rates. That is according to the first quarter 2020 retirement analysis by Fidelity Investments of more than 30m 401(k), Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and 403(b) retirement accounts in the US. Data updated to 17 April confirm the trends.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from US: Short-term relief, long-term pain
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an immediate and transparent impact on American defined contribution plans. But it also has implications for defined benefit plans in the long run
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from US: The Democratic agenda takes shape
“On day one, [Joe] Biden will use the full authority of the executive branch to make progress and significantly reduce emissions. Biden recognises we must go further, faster and more aggressively than ever before, by (among other things) requiring public companies to disclose climate risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains.” That is Joe Biden’s ‘Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice’ as it appears on joebiden.com, the official campaign website.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Lower rates, deeper holes
Something unprecendented happened in the US in the first weeks of January when the Milliman 100 PFI discount rate fell 35bps to a 20-year low of 2.85% “It was a very poor month for defined benefit (DB) plans, not a good start of the year and it dug an even deeper hole in their financial situation,” points out Zorast Wadia, principal, consulting actuary at Milliman. He is also author of the Milliman 100 pension funding index (PFI), an annual study of the 100 largest DB pension plans sponsored by US public companies.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter From US: New Secure Act – a step in the right direction
New rules encourage employers to offer annuities in 401(k)-type retirement plans
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Opinion Pieces
Letter From US: Concerns over common ownership unabated
No matter who wins the presidential election this November the issue of concentration of US corporate ownership by the Big Three money managers – BlackRock, Vanguard and SSGA – will not go away
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: US pension funds braced for lower for longer
The last edition of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) twice-yearly Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) points to the risks that lower-for-longer yields pose, especially for pension funds.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Industry debates private equity role in 401(k) plans
Should those who invest through 401(k) retirement plans have greater access to private equity?
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from The US: How boards can hurt pension plans
US state and local pension funds manage over $4trn (€3.6trn) in retirement assets for 20m active and retired plan members. But most of the funds are in bad financial shape.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from Canada: Considering controversy
Pension funds have essentially one goal – invest and grow the fund for members. But what if money-making investments run afoul of environmental, social and governance practices?
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: On a secure retirement path
The most significant changes to US retirement plans in more than a decade look set to be approved by Congress. On 23 May, the House of Representatives passed the Secure Act – Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement – by 417-3, and the Senate is also likely to approve it, with President Donald Trump unopposed.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Practitioners defend ESG from executive threat
The proxy season was different in the US this time around. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) resolutions – as well as the use of those criteria for investing – are under scrutiny by the Trump administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Opinion Pieces
Personalised TDFs on the rise
The newest trend in 401(k) plans is launching personalised versions of target-date funds (TDFs)
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: The $20bn club shifts strategy
The funded status of US corporate defined benefit (DB) plans is getting better, thanks to investment gains and higher corporate bond interest rates that decrease liabilities.
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Opinion Pieces
Hedge funds under scrutiny
Last year was good for hedge funds in terms of raising new money. But at the same time the industry suffered its biggest annual loss since 2011
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Opinion Pieces
Is BlackRock set to revive annuities?
What can happen if the largest global asset manager teams up with the largest software company, which also happen to be the first and second largest companies in the world by market cap?
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: REITS a good long-term bet, says study
Investors have lost some of their enthusiasm for US REITs – real-estate investment trusts – after their poor performance in the third quarter. From July to September, the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs index gained 0.5%, compared with a 7.6% return for S&P 500 over the same period. The return of the REITs index has trailed behind S&P 500 by more than seven percentage points for the first three quarters of the year.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Controversial nomination for PBGC
How do you fix a pension programme that has liabilities of $67.3bn (€58.4bn) and assets of only $2.3bn?
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Insurers back new annuities rules
Insurance companies hope to play a greater role in 401(k) retirement savings plans if congress approves new rules on annuities
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: No panic as investors stay the course
Some 59% of US defined contribution (DC) plans’ assets and 47% of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are invested in mutual funds, with a total of $8.8trn (€7.5trn). Overall, the US mutual fund industry manages about $22trn on behalf of more than 100m investors.