After creating relatively little concern for the financial markets over the past decade, the “I” word, or inflation, has recently been escalated to headline status. There has been wide agreement that the world’s economies have experienced a low rate of inflation over the past 10…
…markets steady or on an upward trend? The Federal Reserve Continues Its All-In Support: The Federal Reserve (Fed) has pumped trillions of dollars to support the financial markets and has pledged to keep interest rates at or near zero for the indefinite future. This has…
A blog by Frederic P. Slade, CFA, Director of Investments As the first wave of baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1950) attain “normal” retirement at age 65, an important question has been raised: will all these present and future boomer retirees depress the…
…is our view that volatile markets are precisely the environment where plan investment committees should follow an IPS. Volatile markets are unpredictable. Volatile markets can be emotional and emotional times can make for poor investment decisions unless a well-crafted IPS is utilized as the basis…
…as the new Fed chairperson in the coming weeks. Finally, how does the Fed impact retirement savings? It is well established that so long as the Fed keeps interest rates low, fixed income investments such as money markets and Certificates of Deposit (CDs) will have…
…of asset classes. Since 1982, pension plans have incorporated exposure to asset classes outside of the public markets, such as private equity and real estate. Even though they are covered by the same law, 401(k) plans almost never incorporate exposure to alternative assets due to…
…including the dollar. Market Capitalization by Cryptocurrency (7/24/21) Sources: coin.dance.com, Bianco Research Regulators, governments and financial markets have been grappling with understanding and determining the direction of cryptocurrency. Given that this sector is constantly evolving, below is a summary of a few parallel developments: In…
…What this means is that retirement plan fiduciaries should only use “pecuniary” factors – those that have a material, demonstrable impact on performance — when assessing investments of any type. The final rule does leave some room for ESG types of investments, but this assumes…
…my 2019 Current Thinking Blog. The allocation of US pension funds to infrastructure investments has been estimated to be around 2%, a far lower allocation than countries such as Canada and Australia1. US pension funds have generally classified infrastructure as a component of the private…
In turbulent markets, stable value investments can be an attractive choice for retirement plan participants worried about the fluctuations in the marketplace. Like any investment option, stable value funds have advantages and disadvantages. Consequently, there are circumstances where stable value funds may be a great…
…attempts to time the market. Growth stocks have benefited from low interest rates and Federal Reserve (Fed) policies that have pumped trillions of dollars into businesses and financial markets. Value stocks such as financials have generally been hurt by low interest rates which have diminished…
…threshold is exceeded (e.g. when stocks appreciate by 10% or more versus bonds over a 4-week period). Given that current equity markets are very richly valued with the added variables of Covid-19, higher interest rates and geopolitical risks, there may be several potential benefits to…