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Nov 2019Chart of the Month: Duration of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index
Source: PIMCO, Bloomberg Market Observations The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. bond index is a widely used benchmark that most institutional investors, asset managers and investment consultants use to track the performance of the investment-grade bond market. Since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, there …
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Nov 2019Compliance Alert: IRS Announces New Retirement Plan Limits for 2020
On November 6, 2019, the IRS announced the new 2020 retirement plan limits. The applicable cost of living index increased sufficiently, allowing many standard limits to increase for 2020. The elective deferral limit under 402(g), for example, increased by $500 to $19,500. Similarly, the catch-up def…
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Oct 2019Are Negative Interest Rates Coming to the U.S.?
Negative interest rates were originally intended to help boost an ailing European economy and have become widespread. Is it only a matter of time before the U.S. gets sucked into the global trend of negative yielding debt?
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Oct 2019Chart of the Month: U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yields Move Inline with Deteriorating Fundamentals
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Investing.com Market Observations A dominant theme for financial markets in 2019 has been the sharp decline in global bond yields, particularly here in the U.S. After hitting a high of 3.25% last October, the 10-year Treasury yield now stands at just 1.…
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Oct 2019Fiduciary Breach Lawsuit Issues Explored - Topic #5: No Regular Recordkeeper RFP
With more than 100 lawsuits filed against fiduciaries of defined contribution retirement plans for breach of fiduciary responsibility, litigation has plagued the retirement plan industry over the past decade.
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Oct 2019Hardship Distributions are on the Rise: The Issues for Retirement Plan Sponsors and Participants
The number of hardship distributions has been on the rise, since legislation was passed making it easier to take them. Learn why plan sponsors and retirement plan participants should be concerned and what organizations can do to help.
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Sep 2019Chart of the Month: The Probability of a Recession in the Next 12 Months is Rising
While U.S. growth has been remarkably resilient to trade uncertainty, low inflation, and slower global growth, a probability model used by the N.Y. Fed to calculate the odds of a recession in the next 12 months has risen substantially in recent months.
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Sep 2019Case Study: Focused on Fees, Fairness, and the Future
Learn how WPI's focus on reducing fees, fairly allocating costs, and structuring their plan thoughtfully has helped to position their employees for successful retirements.
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Sep 2019Fiduciary Breach Lawsuit Issues Explored - Topic #4: Multiple Active Recordkeepers
In our Fiduciary Breach Lawsuit Series, we provide an in-depth exploration of each of the claims. This month, we explore the issue of having multiple active recordkeepers.
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Sep 2019The Race to Zero in Index Funds
The rush to adopt lower cost funds is one of the dominant investment themes of the decade, driven by investors’ new-found love for inexpensive passive investing in the aftermath of the financial crisis. How can investment managers sustain nearly-zero expense ratios and remain profitable?
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