Liability-driven investing
Innovative LDI solutions and the ability to partner with plan sponsors at ALL stages of plan design and implementation
OUR EDGE IN LDI
Our client solutions draw on multi-asset skill within a distinctively collaborative environment
- Fixed income expertise in rates, credit, securitized, and derivative markets
- Deep fundamental credit research enhanced by equity investor perspectives
- Specialist trading resources to help support liquidity needs
- Actuaries who translate liability cash flows into practical investment ideas
- Experience managing full pension solutions and implementing glidepath approaches
LDI Alerts
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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
LDI Alert —
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
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With a growing number of derisking plans seeking exposure to intermediate credit, members of our LDI team highlight some notable differences between the intermediate and long-duration segments of the investment-grade market, as well as some key investment considerations.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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March 2021
LDI Alert —
Adding intermediate credit to the derisking tool kit: What plan sponsors need to know
Adding intermediate credit to the derisking tool kit: What plan sponsors need to know
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Funded-ratio improvements and the associated derisking opportunity can be short-lived. LDI Team members Bill Cole and Connor Fitzgerald offer ideas to help plans ensure they’re ready.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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January 2021
LDI Alert —
Time to prepare for a “clear skies” environment?
Time to prepare for a “clear skies” environment?
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FEATURED RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION IDEAS
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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
publish
November 2021
LDI Alert —
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
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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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
Setting ROAs for 2022: A guide for US corporate and public plans
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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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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October 2021
The evolution of derisking: Assessing new and time-tested liability-hedging ideas
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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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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June 2021
Inflation’s big comeback: Should corporate pensions care?
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A cash-balance plan is very different from a traditional pension plan, and the differences can have a major impact on the interest-rate sensitivity of the plan’s liability. In this paper, we consider the implications of a cash-balance plan’s design and propose an investment framework focused on capital preservation, consistent income, and liquidity.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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June 2021
Cash-balance liabilities: A new investment framework
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As corporate DB plan sponsors finalize their liability-hedging allocations, a growing number are considering how to structure their return-seeking allocations. Members of our LDI Team propose a portfolio construction framework that emphasizes funded-ratio growth via a more stable path of returns.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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March 2021
Constructing next-generation return-seeking portfolios
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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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2020
Fighting downgrade drag to reduce pension liability lag
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HOW DO WE WORK WITH YOU?
We partner with plan sponsors at all stages of the LDI process, tapping the full breadth of Wellington’s capabilities.
1. Custom research and consultation
Liability cash-flow analysis
Asset/liability studies
Glidepath construction
2. Investments for a broad range of objectives
Liability matching
Long-duration
- Long credit/corporate
- Long government/corporate
- STRIPS
Absolute return plus long bonds
Cash balance
Return-seeking: Bridge
Listed infrastructure
Low-volatility equity
Opportunistic fixed income
Multisector credit
Return seeking: Core
Active equity
- US
- Global
- Emerging market
Absolute return strategies
3. LDI portfolio construction
Custom LDI benchmarks
Completion management
Cash bond portfolios with derivative overlays
Cash-flow driven investment (CDI)
Dynamic pension management
This is for illustrative purposes only and is not an investment recommendation. This is not an all-inclusive list of approaches that may fit the stated theme. Investing involves risk, and an investment in an approach could lose money.
Meet our LDI team
Amy Trainor, FSA
LDI Team Co-Chair, Multi-Asset Strategist & Portfolio Manager
Amy helps corporate pension sponsors set strategic asset allocation policy. She also manages customised multi-asset portfolios, including glidepath approaches. She partners with the Fixed Income team to implement LDI solutions.
- 25 years of professional experience, including roles at Hewitt Associates (Aon Hewitt) and Towers Perrin (Willis Towers Watson)
- Wellesley College, BA in economics and mathematics
- Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
- Chair of Wellington’s Retirement Benefit Plans Oversight Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance Committee
Bill Cole, CFA, CAIA
LDI Team Co-Chair, Fixed Income Investment Director
Bill works closely with LDI portfolio managers, fixed income quantitative strategists and global multi-asset strategy teams to design LDI solutions for corporate plan sponsors. Additionally, he provides portfolio and risk oversight to help ensure the integrity of our investment-grade credit and long-duration approaches.
- 13 years of professional experience
- Drexel University, MBA; College of the Holy Cross, BA in economics and Asian studies
- Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst
Scott St. John, CFA
Portfolio Manager, Long-Duration Fixed Income
Scott manages dedicated US corporate bond portfolios and is a member of our LDI team. He chairs the US Corporate Bond Strategy Group, which helps shape portfolio positioning for corporate bond holdings.
- 25 years of professional experience
- University of Rochester, MBA
- Chartered Financial Analyst
Joe Marvan, CFA
Portfolio Manager, Long-Duration Fixed Income
Joe is a fixed income portfolio manager and serves as chair of the US Broad Market Team. As chair, he is responsible for setting aggregate risk levels and investment strategy in long-duration bond portfolios.
- 30 years of professional experience
- Babson College, MBA
- Chartered Financial Analyst
Allan Levin, CFA, FRM, FSA
Portfolio Manager, Long-Duration Fixed Income
Allan focuses primarily on inflation-linked and interest-rate markets, and is a member of our LDI Team. He develops macro, relative value, and systematic investment strategies that he implements in dedicated US Treasury and STRIPS portfolios in addition to multisector portfolios.
- 23 yrs of prof exp
- Columbia University, MBA
- Chartered Financial Analyst
Connor Fitzgerald, CFA
Portfolio Manager
- 13 years of professional experience
- Bowdoin College, BA in Economics
Schuyler Reece, CFA
Portfolio Manager
- 12 years of professional experience
- University of Pennsylvania, BA in Classical Studies
Sean Lamkin, CFA
Portfolio Manager
- 10 years of professional experience
- College of the Holy Cross, BA in Economics
Campe Goodman, CFA
Portfolio Manager
- 21 years of professional experience
- Harvard University, BA in Mathematics
Rob Burn, CFA
Portfolio Manager
- 19 years of professional experience
- University of Chicago, MBA
Marc Piccuirro, CFA
Portfolio Manager
- 18 years of professional experience
- Boston University, MS in Investment Management
Other team members
Louis Liu, CFA, ASA, MAAA
Fixed Income Quantitative Strategist
- 27 years of professional experience
- Wayne State University, PhD in Statistics
Brendan Fludder, CFA
Research Manager
- 14 years of professional experience
- Providence College, BS in Finance
Mi Li, CFA, FSA
Fixed Income Quantitative Analyst
- 12 years of professional experience
- Peking University, Masters in Finance
Amy Luberto, CFA
Fixed Income Portfolio Specialist
- 14 years of professional experience
- University of Chicago, MBA
Jake Brown, CFA
Investment Director
- 24 years of professional experience
- Boston College, MBA
Jackie Yang
Investment Strategy Analyst
- 2 years of professional experience
- Northeastern University, BS in Business
Ryan Randolph
Corporate Pension Strategist
- 22 years of professional experience
- Boston College, MBA
Brendan MacKenzie, CFA
Consultant Relations Manager
- 15 years of professional experience
- Boston College, MBA
Amy Morse, CFA
Relationship Manager
- 27 years of professional experience
- Babson College, MBA
LET’S TALK LDI
To learn more about our LDI capabilities and offerings please contact us.
Ryan Randolph
Corporate Pension Strategist
explore insights
A monthly update on equity, fixed income, currency, and commodity markets.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
Monthly Market Snapshot: October 2021
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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.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
publish
November 2021
LDI Alert —
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
Time to buy credit or Treasuries? Ideas on calibrating the trade-off
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publish
Multi-Asset Strategist Adam Berger offers a forecast on the future of alternative and climate-related investing, with insights on manager selection, public/private allocations, climate-aware capital market assumptions, and a range of other topics.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
Top of Mind Changing “weather” patterns in alternatives and climate
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As you look ahead to 2022, we invite you to explore investable ideas and trends across all major asset classes curated from our marketplace of ideas — more than 900 investors strong.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
2022 Investment Outlook
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In our 2022 Multi-Asset Outlook, we expect markets to focus on central bank efforts to tame inflation without derailing the cycle, and take a look at five post-pandemic essentials for the year ahead.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
2022 Multi-Asset Outlook
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Our 2022 economic outlook describes the forces we believe will shape macro & market events, including significant inflationary and geopolitical risks.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
2022 Global Economic Outlook
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Tech innovations are breaking down barriers, enabling us all to leave legacies of progress through the ways we allocate our capital and live our lives. Join us on a journey to witness the past, experience the present, and build a better future — all while capturing tech’s pervasive investable opportunities.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
Tech WELLcovered: Legacy redefined
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Today’s fixed income allocators face a variety of challenges. Against this backdrop, Multi-Asset Strategist Cara Lafond and Investment Directors Amar Reganti, Chris Perret, and Andrew Bayerl make the case for having an “all-weather” credit portfolio composed of carefully chosen building blocks.
Archived insights remain available on the site. Please consider the publish date while reading these older insights.
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November 2021
A credit strategy designed for all seasons
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