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140 Matching News Items

1.  New Study Addresses Pension Risk Management Gaps
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Oct. 14, 2008
Excerpt: Pension Governance, LLC is pleased to make available a new research report that explores current pension risk management practices. In what is believed to be a unique large-scale assessment of pension risk practices since the publication of a 1998 study by Levich et al., this survey of 162 U.S. and Canadian plan sponsors seeks to: (1) understand why and how pension plans employ derivative instruments, if they are used at all (2) identify what plan sponsors are doing to address investment risk in the context of fiduciary responsibilities and (3) assess if and how plan sponsors vet the way in which their external money managers handle investment risk, including the valuation of instruments which do not trade in a ready market. The report was written by Dr. Susan Mangiero, AIFA, AVA, CFA, FRM, with funding from the Society of Actuaries.
2.  Pension Risk Management: Derivatives, Fiduciary Duty and Process (PDF)
Society of Actuaries and Pension Governance, LLC via Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Oct. 14, 2008
64 pages. Excerpt: Recognizing that meaningful change, as needed, cannot occur without knowledge of the status quo, the objectives of this research are threefold – (a) understand why and how plan sponsors employ derivative instruments, if at all (b) identify what plan sponsors are doing to address investment risk in the context of fiduciary responsibilities and (c) assess if and how plan sponsors vet the way in which their external money managers handle investment risk, including the valuation of instruments which do not trade in a ready market.
3.  Highway Bill Brings Rise in Pension Risk
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
July 1, 2012
"[The pension provisions of the] just-passed highway bill ... could force costs upward for American businesses. For one thing, sponsors will be able to stretch out their cash outlays to buoy underfunded defined benefit plans over time. As a result, tax-deductible contributions will be smaller in the next few years, taxable income will be higher and federal tax coffers will go up by an estimated $9.4 billion over the next 10 years. In addition, [PBGC] insurance premiums ... will be higher to the tune of roughly $10 billion in the coming decade. The news is troublesome for numerous reasons."
4.  Comments on Pension Fund Risk Management
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Oct. 17, 2006
Excerpt: Applied to pension funds, the issue of a risk culture and taking steps to act before the fact is huge. ERISA fiduciary breach litigation is skyrocketing as are ERISA liability insurance costs, not to mention the economic urgency for mitigating risk in the presence of large and growing liabilities.
5.  Pension De-Risking Presents Potential Conflicts of Interest
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Nov. 4, 2012
"One company that entered into a pension de-risking transaction cited the upside to include the following: Enhancing the sponsor's long-term financial position; Removing a 'volatile' pension liability from the balance sheet; Reducing cash flow and income statement volatility; and Improving financial flexibility. It is not known yet whether someone will challenge this kind of rationale as being too shareholder heavy or instead primarily in the best interest of plan participants who are impacted by a particular transaction."
6.  De-Risking of Pension Plans, HR Strategy and the Bottom Line
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Dec. 16, 2013
"While true that numerous executives have fiduciary fatigue and want to spend their time and energies on something other than benefits management, it is not always a given that restructuring or extinguishing a defined benefit plan is the right way to go. Indeed, some sponsors have reinstated their pension offerings in order to retain and attract talented individuals who select employers on the basis of what benefits are offered."
7.  Comments: Wobbly Third Leg -- Social Security at Risk
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
May 8, 2006
Excerpt: A three legged stool is often used to describe retirement planning: private savings, pension benefits from employers and Social Security. The problem is that each leg is becoming increasingly wobbly.
8.  Can a Retirement Plan Have Too Much Risk Management?
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Feb. 28, 2017
"[T]he critical question is whether investment fiduciaries can be too cautious. Most reasonable people would likely say 'yes.' ... Retirement plan fiduciaries and their advisors are well served by identifying primary goals, major obstacles and both short-term and long-term nightmares that would generate serious pain for participants."
9.  Report Finds Public Pension Valuation Numbers Wanting
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Dec. 16, 2012
"The problems [the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board] found include the following: Insufficient testing of controls over how pension plan assets are valued; Testing of controls that were imprecise and therefore did not allow for an assessment of the risk of material misstatement by plan auditors; Failure to properly test the valuation of pension plan assets; and/or Relying on management or the person(s) who performed the reviews without seeking an independent assessment as to why 'variances from other evidential matter' were occurring."
10.  U.S. Infrastructure and Pension Fund Investment
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
July 5, 2013
"[I]nfrastructure investing by pension funds seems like a good idea. There is both a demand for long-term capital and a supply in the form of interested money in search of returns over time. Like any investment and/or strategy however, one needs to weigh risks against expected returns. Currency risk and project completion risk are two considerations. Being able to obtain and properly interpret adequate performance reports is another concern."
11.  Cracks in the Pension Safety Net System?
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Dec. 1, 2008
Excerpt: According to two separate news accounts, cracks may be appearing in the pension back-up systems for the United States and UK, respectively. Already jittery taxpayers may look at these warnings with heightened alarm. In 'Pension Agency Sounds Alarm on Big Three,' Wall Street Journal reporter John D. Stoll (November 28, 2008) writes that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ('PBGC') is worried that large automakers may offer early retirement or buyout deals to some plan participants, at the expense of those who remain.... In 'Pension lifeboat may be sunk by wave of firms being liquidated' (November 28, 2008), Phillip Inman and Simon Bowers - reporters for The Guardian - write that 'The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which has already rescued more than 66 retirement schemes, may be forced to increase its levy on profitable companies to boost its finances or risk a government bail-out if more companies go bust.'
12.  Detroit Emerges from Bankruptcy, Yet Pension Risks Linger
The New York Times; subscription may be required Link to more items from this source
Nov. 11, 2014
"If all goes as planned, the grand bargain will keep the retirees' reduced pension checks coming for the rest of their lives. But the pension system that the settlement leaves behind has some of the same problems that plunged the city into crisis in the first place -- fundamental problems that could also trip up other local governments in the coming years.... These risks might not matter if Detroit's pension obligations were just a marginal part of the city's finances. But they are not."
13.  Derivatives, De-Risking and Disclosures
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
May 26, 2015
"If true that lower interest rates may discourage some plan sponsors from fully transferring risk to a third party insurer via a buy-out but they nevertheless seek to more actively manage pension risks, one could logically expect a greater use of a strategy such as Liability-Driven Investing (LDI). To the extent that LDI frequently entails the use of derivatives, those plan sponsors in favor of LDI may want to take note of a recent move by the [SEC]....[C]ertain registered funds could soon be asked to publish a considerable bounty of data about how they price securities, characteristics of trading counterparties and the specific use of derivative instruments."
14.  California Pension Reform
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Sept. 3, 2012
"Lots of people throughout the United States are watching and hoping that change occurs quickly. Plan participants want assurances about promises made. Taxpayers are groaning about possible hikes to cover what they describe as employee benefit plan largesse. Municipal bond investors are nervous about defaults."
15.  New Study Says Plan Sponsors Must Improve Fiduciary Practices
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Jan. 27, 2009
Excerpt: [The MetLife U.S. Pension Risk Behavior Index] considers investment, liability and business risk management among the largest U.S. defined benefit pension plan sponsors.... Designed to measure both the aptitude and attitude of employee benefit decision-makers, the research creates a base case gauge as to the current state of pension risk management. Not surprisingly, respondents ranked the following risk factors as 'Most Important,' in part it is believed because they are the simplest to model and measure: Asset Allocation; Meeting Return Goals; Underfunding of Liabilities; Asset and Liability Mismatch.
16.  Tug of War: Pension Plan Participants vs. Bankruptcy Claimants
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Dec. 15, 2014
"[C]ustomer risk is real for organizations such as Franklin Templeton. Unless its higher costs can be passed along to customers, expect some lenders and suppliers to say 'never mind' and look elsewhere for business. This would logically reduce the supply of capital and services and could mean higher costs for all municipalities, not just those seeking bankruptcy protection.... The best outcome is that pension-plagued municipalities seeking to exit from bankruptcy get their financial house in order as quickly as possible."
17.  Hedge Fund Valuation is a Big Deal for Pension Fiduciaries
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
June 20, 2006
Excerpt: According to U.S. SEC Commissioner Roel C. Campos, 'To avoid dilution and unfairness, valuation numbers must be accurate and unbiased. A key element of monitoring the risk of hedge funds is to understand the valuation used by said funds and counterparties to the funds.' Hiring an independent appraiser can go a long way to aiding this process...
18.  Private Equity Fund Limited Partners and Pension Funding Levels
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Mar. 2, 2014
"Despite the 'record year' described by Wall Street Journal reporter Ryan Dezember, private equity investments, like any other, necessitate careful due diligence on the part of institutional investors that seek a seat at the limited partner table.... A critical question is whether continued gains will be diminished if a portfolio company has to divert cash to top off an underfunded pension plan. One way to address the issue is for a pension plan, endowment or foundation to ask the private equity fund general partner how much attention they pay to ERISA economics."
19.  Dodd-Frank, Swaps Clearing and Compliance for Pension Plan Asset Managers
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Jan. 21, 2014
"A pension plan, whether a corporate ERISA plan or government employee benefits plan, must have an account with a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) in order to enter into swaps trades that are subject to clearing. This requires diligence and negotiation of important documentation about the clearing relationship. Pension plans should also consider the trade-offs between using swaps and nearly equivalent futures contracts."
20.  New ERISA Pension Litigation Study Launched
Pension Risk Matters Link to more items from this source
Apr. 14, 2009
Excerpt: As part of its ongoing commitment to independent research, analysis and training, Pension Governance, Incorporated and its PensionLitigationData.com partner, The Michel-Shaked Group, are proud to debut a new study about pension litigation statistics for plan sponsors, their service providers, legal counsel and policy-makers, respectively. Based on over 2,400 ERISA cases filed between January 1, 2005 and August 31, 2008, 'ERISA Litigation Study - April 15, 2009' is a statistical overview of pension lawsuits by category, court and case disposition.
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