US Corporate Pension Funding Nudges Higher in FY 2020
Asset returns of 13.4% offset plunging discount rates to lift funded levels to 88.4%.
Research
More Investors Are Allocating to Emerging Alternatives Managers
The lack of in-person meetings did not dampen interest in smaller firms, which are putting themselves out there through Zoom.
Funded Levels of Canadian DB Plans Climb to 20-Year High
Surging bond prices helped boost defined benefit plans’ funded ratios to 124%.
Study Suggests There Is No Imminent Public Pension Crisis
Reforms enacted by many plans will cause benefit cash flows to decline significantly, paper finds.
Diversity Efforts at Private Equity Firms Have a Long Way to Go
More institutional investors are calling for equity and inclusion, but challenges remain in disclosures and transparency.
Pandemic Accelerates Social Risks to Investment Portfolios
State Street Global Advisors report says 2020 increased the importance of the ‘S’ in ESG.
Auto-Enrollment Triples New Hire Participation
Vanguard report finds DC plan take-up rates surge to 91% from 28% under automatic enrollment.
Q&A: Shundrawn Thomas Discusses His Push for Diversity, Empathy
The president of Northern Trust Asset Management has written several open letters about the unequal toll marginalized communities face.
Special Report: How City Office Centers, Written Off as Relics, Will Return, Post-Pandemic
The urban workspaces of the future are going to see more personalization, more automation, and more focus on health and wellness.
Exclusive Coverage: CIOs Assess How Pension Fund Investors Can Be Successful After COVID-19
Better governance, flexibility, and clever investment strategies and solutions can prepare pension funds for the future, plan leaders say.
Racial Wealth Gap Between Black, White Americans Remains Wide
Survey finds 71% of white Americans own stocks, compared with 55% of Black Americans.
OECD More Than Doubles US Economic Growth Forecast
Fiscal stimulus and a sustained vaccination pace are expected to spur the strongest GDP growth in 37 years.
US Corporate Pension Funded Ratio Climbs to 92.9% in February
Despite weak returns, funded levels rise for the fifth consecutive month.
ESG-Backing Institutions’ Fave Allocation: Investment Grade Bonds
They’re the top asset in those sustainable portfolios, with 81% opting for them, survey says.
Forget Offices, Invest in Life Sciences Real Estate, Report Says
Spaces for pharmaceutical research and medical device development can generate cash flow, as well as offer downside protection, according to Willis Towers Watson.