SVIA Stable Value Composite Introduced
By Gina Mitchell, SVIA A question that always comes up with any investment is, “What are the returns?” The answer to that question typically looks at past performance as the most important indicator. Most stable value funds have created a model to illustrate past performance for the stable value asset class. Many simulate stable value […]
Financial Reform Legislation Could Affect Some Stable Value Products
By Randy Myers The sweeping financial reform legislation being debated by Congress in April makes no specific mention of stable value funds, but could have an impact on the stable value industry nonetheless if the legislation becomes law. Both the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed by the House in December and the […]
JPMorgan Chase Teams with Barclays to Develop Stable Value Index
By Randy Myers While stable value funds emerged from the recent credit crisis relatively unscathed—none lost money and returns held well above those on money market funds—the crisis did have some fallout. Specifically, the market value of many stable value portfolios temporarily fell below book value during the crisis, prompting many wrap issuers to push […]
401(k) Industry Moves Toward Benchmarking
By Randy Myers For years, smart companies have benchmarked their performance against their peers to identify opportunities for improvement in a variety of areas, from how efficiently they manage their inventory to how quickly they collect on their accounts receivable. One area they have often overlooked, especially if they were not a very large employer, […]
Stable Value Performs “Admirably and As Advertised” through Financial Crisis
By Randy Myers Stable value funds proved to be one of the few success stories during the financial crisis of 2008-09. At a time when most asset classes were tumbling, stable value funds continued to generate consistently positive returns for their investors. “Stable value performed admirably and as advertised,” SVIA President Gina Mitchell told industry […]
Wrap Issuer Makes Case for Tighter Stable Value Investment Guidelines
By Randy Myers The push by wrap issuers for more conservative stable value investment guidelines may have heightened the tension between issuers and fund managers, but it doesn’t appear to be threatening their symbiotic relationship. In a panel discussion at the SVIA’s 2010 Spring Seminar, for example, one leading fund manager conceded that his company […]
Survey Confirms Trend Toward More Restrictive Wrap Contracts
By Randy Myers As the stable value industry has moved to tighten wrap contract terms for stable value funds over the past two years, it has gotten some pushback from an important constituency–employers who make the ultimate decision on whether to include stable value funds in their 401(k) plan investment lineups. “We’re getting some resistance […]
401(k) System Passes “Trial by Fire”
By Randy Myers Not so long ago—the 1980s, to be precise—it was commonly argued that the self-directed, largely participant-funded 401(k) retirement system would implode if the financial markets experienced a severe crisis. Individual investors, the theory went, would not have the sophistication or the stomach to successfully negotiate a dramatic upheaval in the financial markets. […]
Prudential Strategist Argues for Moderation by Fed in Raising Interest Rates
By Randy Myers With the worst of the financial crisis apparently behind us, the Federal Reserve may try to push interest rates higher toward the end of this year, says Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist for Prudential Insurance Co.’s Prudential Fixed Income unit. But he wouldn’t advise it. A more prudent course, he argues, would […]