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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Stable Times Volume 16 Issue 2
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SVIA Elects Four Board Members
While not nearly as controversial as the national elections, the SVIA Board of Directors election held in October 2012 featured incumbents both retaining and losing seats, and the unanimous approval of a plan sponsor running unopposed. The field of candidates was especially strong this year with seven highly qualified candidates, three of them incumbents, running for only […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Consultant’s Perspective on Stable Value
A lot changed in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, including the way retirement plan sponsors and their advisors think about stable value funds. “Twenty years ago, clients wanted a fully benefit responsive, competitive yield from their stable value fund, with no onerous restrictions if they wanted to cancel their contract,” observes plan consultant Angelo Auriemma. “Then the financial crisis hit, […]
Stable Value and the Small-Plan Market
Stable value funds continue to play an important role in smaller defined contribution plans, and industry insiders suggest there’s little reason to believe that won’t continue to be the case going forward. Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs is among the segment’s champions. When it decided to acquire stable value money manager Dwight Asset Management earlier this year, says David Solomon, head of defined […]