United States, Institutional
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LDI in 2023: Ten questions corporate plan sponsors are asking
Members of our LDI Team address a range of topics that US corporate plans will be thinking about in the coming year, from the investment implications of pension accounting changes to the role of alternatives in a return-seeking portfolio.
Article
2023-12-31
Setting ROAs for 2023: A guide for US corporate and public plans
How are pension plans adjusting their ROA assumptions? How do those assumptions line up with our long-term capital market assumptions? Find out in this annual update.
Whitepaper
2023-11-30
Return-seeking portfolio construction: Renovations for a new market regime
Amid major shifts in economic and market conditions, members of our LDI Team offer their latest views on return-seeking assets, including the role of defensive and diversifying strategies.
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Article
2023-09-30
Time to rethink your return-seeking allocation?
Multi-Asset Strategist Amy Trainor explains why corporate defined benefit plans may want to consider structural allocations to defensive equities and diversifiers.
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Article
2023-09-30
Cash-balance and traditional liabilities: An integrated investment approach
For corporate defined benefit plans juggling both cash-balance and traditional liabilities, Multi-Asset Strategist Amy Trainor makes a case for a more targeted investment approach.
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Article
2023-09-30
Cash-balance liabilities: A new investment framework
A cash-balance plan is very different from a traditional pension, and the differences can have a major impact on interest-rate sensitivity. With this in mind, we propose a focus on capital preservation, consistent income, and liquidity.
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Article
2023-08-31
Intermediate credit: A compelling LDI opportunity?
While it has been a painful start to the year for credit investors, Portfolio Manager Connor Fitzgerald sees a structural case for intermediate credit and a potential near-term window of opportunity.
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Article
2023-06-30
Nearing the finish line: Ideas on end-state investing for corporate DB plans
As corporate plans approach their fully funded “end state,” new goals will need to be set. Members of our LDI team share their research on this transition and the required realignment of asset allocation strategies, including changes in return-seeking and liability-hedging portfolios and key liquidity considerations.
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Article
2023-04-30
Preserving funded-ratio stability in volatile markets
Faced with extreme market volatility in the early months of 2022, what can corporate DB plan sponsors do to potentially provide stability in their portfolios while still pursuing longer-term funding aspirations? Multi-Asset Strategist Amy Trainor offers thoughts on rerisking, hedge ratios, and liability-hedging and return-seeking allocations.
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Article
2023-03-31
Start at the end: How to size and structure private allocations for corporate plans
How should corporate defined benefit plan sponsors think about the private allocation decision? Members of our LDI and Alternatives teams propose a “start where you want to end up” approach that incorporates liquidity and return requirements.
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2023-02-28
LDI in 2022: Nine questions corporate plan sponsors are asking
Our LDI Team offers insights for the coming year, addressing some of the most commonly asked questions on funded ratios, securitized assets, intermediate credit, alternatives, and other return-seeking and liability-hedging topics.
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Article
2022-12-31
Setting ROAs for 2022: A guide for US corporate and public plans
How are pension plans adjusting their ROA assumptions? How do those assumptions line up with our long-term capital market assumptions? Find out in this annual update.
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Article
2022-10-31
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
After hitting derisking triggers in 2021, many plans are looking ahead to the next trigger and thinking about how expensive the investment-grade credit market is currently. LDI Team members Connor Fitzgerald and Bill Cole offer metrics to aid the decision-making process and consider potential alternatives.
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Article
2022-11-30
The evolution of derisking: Assessing new and time-tested liability-hedging ideas
As defined benefit plans contemplate the best path to their eventual “end state,” members of our LDI team update their liability-hedging research with a blend of traditional benchmark ideas and new opportunities to capitalize on changing market conditions and a broader investment universe.
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Article
2022-09-30
Inflation’s big comeback: Should corporate pensions care?
It’s been a long time since anyone worried about inflation getting off the ground. That seems to be changing, and for corporate plans, we think the risk is greater for return-seeking portfolios than liability-hedging portfolios. But we also believe that falling inflation is more worrisome than rising inflation. In this paper, we consider the implications and the potential role of different return-seeking allocations in preparing for various inflation outcomes.
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Article
2022-06-30
Fighting downgrade drag to reduce pension liability lag
Even robustly constructed liability benchmarks can struggle to keep pace with the liabilities they are meant to represent, and credit-rating downgrades of issuers in the benchmark are a primary culprit. In this paper, members of our LDI Team define the problem and offer ideas to help plan sponsors and LDI managers work together to fight back.
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Article
2021-11-30
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