SVIA-LIMRA Stable Value Sales and Assets Survey in Stable Times
The SVIA-LIMRA Stable Value Sales and Assets Survey demonstrates the durability of stable value funds. The biannual Sales and Assets survey differs from other Association surveys, not only because it is conducted in partnership with LIMRA, but also because of the survey respondents. Most SVIA surveys focus on stable value managers. The Sales and Assets Survey respondents are the bank and insurance company issuers […]
Insiders Assess Stable Value Issues
Stable value “insiders” are a diverse lot. Among others, they include stable value asset managers and contract issuers, banks and insurance companies, retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan consultants. All share the same overarching goal of providing consistently positive returns for retirement plan participants, yet each views the asset class from a slightly different perspective. In a […]
Moody’s Fires a Shot Across the Bow of U.S. Treasuries by Considering Downgrade
On September 11, 2012 Moody’s provided an update on the outlook for the US Government’s credit rating. In this update, Moody’s stated that budget negotiations in 2013 will likely determine the direction of the US government’s current Aaa rating, with negative outlook. The scale of any potential downgrade seems to be limited, as Moody’s indicated it would probably expect to lower the rating to […]
Prudential Economist Sees Continued Strong Case for Bonds
Just a year and a half ago, investors were worried about what a rising interest-rate environment would do to bond portfolios. After all, interest rates were already at extraordinarily low levels in many sectors of the fixed-income market, and it seemed that rates had nowhere to go but up. Rising interest rates, of course, translate into falling […]
Portrait of a Plan Participant
In the wake of recent regulations, plan participants are soon to be provided with more information than ever regarding their defined contribution plans. In the lead up to fee compliance, issues such as getting the information out to participants and ensuring that they know how to access it have been considered. However, the matter of what plan participants will do with the fee […]
SVIA Files Supplemental Comments on Stable Value Contract Study
On November 1, 2012, SVIA filed written comments with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Commissions reopened their original August 25, 2011, request for information that covered 29 questions on October 2, 2012. The Commissions reopened the request for information since the earlier comments did not have the benefit […]
Highlights from AARP’s “Boomers and the Great Recession: Struggling to Recover”
A recent AARP report focuses on the major challenges that baby boomers, those aged 50 and older, face from the Great Recession. As the title portends “Boomers and the Great Recession: Struggling to Recover,” the report documents how boomers were affected and coped with the challenges of the market meltdown in 2007 and the subsequent Great Recession, which they say ended in October of […]
Stable Times Volume 16 Issue 2
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Apples to Apples
Participant fee disclosure rules published by the Department of Labor (DOL) went into effect in 2012, presenting new reporting challenges for the defined contribution industry, including stable value. The key purpose of the new disclosure is to achieve greater transparency and more meaningful comparisons of investment options in participant-directed retirement plans. This article highlights some of the key investment-related disclosures required by the Employee […]
