News

Milliman Says Corporate Pensions Suffer Funding Drop in November

In the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pensions, the global consulting and actuarial firm showed these plans experienced a $22 billion decrease in pension funded status for the month of November.

The Origins of Innovation

From aiCIO Magazine: Editor-at-Large Joe Flood executes the ultimate tie-in-reviewing a book on the roots of innovation (whose author shares an editor with Flood) two weeks after our Industry Innovation Awards. Kudos, Flood.

Who Is This Man?

Cover Story from aiCIO Magazine: Warren Buffett chooses an heir. Kip McDaniel & Paula Vasan report.

CERN Revolutionizes Risk Management

Strategy + Tactics from aiCIO Magazine: "We call it a capital preservation philosophy," notes Theodore Economou, the pension head at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), echoing Benjamin Graham's mantra that to win, the first thing you have to do is not lose. "Losing money is not okay." 

Yes We Do!

From aiCIO Magazine: This is the new era of fund administration—the ‘Yes We Do’ era, not just for administrators, but for managers, as well as end investors. Bonnie Scott reports.

Ataturk Makes Good

From aiCIO Magazine: It is a curious twist of historical fate: Two bodies established to enshrine the past of an impoverished nation are the forerunners of a very wealthy future. Nick Lord reports.

Mercer Abandons Public Pension Plans

The Consultant Corner from aiCIO Magazine: As the consultant industry—an expensive, time-consuming, litigious space—continues to shift, one can't help wonder if other firms will follow Mercer's lead in a clustering effect, spurred by fear of being the last out. aiCIO Senior Editor Paula Vasan reports.

Innovation, Meet CalSTRS. CalSTRS, Innovation.

From aiCIO Magazine: CalSTRS is quietly undermining public funds’ staid image with a unit focused exclusively on testing new investment strategies. aiCIO Editor-in-Chief Kip McDaniel reports.

The Chinese Are Coming! Oh, Sorry, I Meant the Albertans

From aiCIO Magazine: With 52% of world reserve supply, the Canadian government, along with the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and two minor producers, collude to keep potash prices artificially high. Editor-in-Chief Kip McDaniel reports.

Rebalancing

From aiCIO Magazine: Is the failure to rebalance an institutional portfolio “the height of irresponsibility,” or, as some think, not a failure at all? Joe Flood reports.