June 2022
21Jun

US. Senate Version of SECURE 2.0 Set to Move Forward

The Senate version of SECURE 2.0, titled the “Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act,” is scheduled for mark up Wednesday morning. The news comes two weeks after Senators Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., introduced a SECURE 2.0-like bill titled the “Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg (RISE & SHINE) Act.” “Americans deserve dignified retirements after decades of hard work, and our bill is an important step forward,” Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron...

June 21, 2022
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21Jun

US. PennPSERS commits $350 million to alts

Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, Harrisburg, approved two new alternative commitments totaling up to $350 million. The $75.9 billion pension fund's board at its June 17 meeting approved commitments totaling up to $250 million to GCM U.S. Partnership Opportunities, a private infrastructure fund managed by GCM Grosvenor, and up to $100 million to venture capital fund Greenoaks Capital Opportunities Fund V, spokeswoman Evelyn M. Williams said in an email. Penn PSERS previously committed up to $100 million to Greenoaks Capital...

June 21, 2022
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20Jun

U.S. high yield takes a fall

By Larry Rothman With high inflation persisting, the Federal Reserve recently raised short-term interest rates by 75 basis points, the largest one-time increase since 1994. As the Fed continues hiking rates, this raises the risk that the central bank will go too far in combating inflation and tip the U.S. economy into a recession. As a result, high-yield spreads could widen further than they already have this year since cash flow would come under pressure, raising the risk of financial...

June 20, 2022
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17Jun

US. Stock market’s fall has wiped out $3 trillion in retirement savings this year

The U.S. stock market rout that has put U.S. equities in a bear market isn't just reducing the net worth of billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. It's also taking a toll on Americans' retirement savings, wiping out trillions of dollars in value. The selloff has erased nearly $3 trillion from U.S. retirement accounts, according to Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. By her calculations, 401(k) plan participants have lost about $1.4 trillion...

June 17, 2022
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16Jun

US. DC plan participants prioritizing returns over principles

Increased interest in incorporating ESG principles in defined contribution retirement plans, leveraging collective investment trusts (CITs) and offering financial wellness tools as a value-add are some of the latest trends on the minds of consultants and advisors, according to T. Rowe Price’s 2021 Defined Contribution Research Study conducted in partnership with Schaus Group. Michael Davis, T. Rowe Price’s head of defined contribution plan specialists, told Benefits PRO that the survey responses from 32 consultant and advisory firms jibes well with...

June 16, 2022
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15Jun

US. Recession, stagflation risks top concerns for managers

As the U.S. stock market officially entered a bear market, investor gloom continues to grow as global profit expectations and fears of stagflation reach the highest point since 2008, according to the results of Bank of America's June Global Fund Manager Survey. Of the 300 surveyed fund managers, which oversee a total of $834 billion in assets, expectations of global growth were at a net -73% in June, down from a net -72% in May and reaching a new lowest...

June 15, 2022
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15Jun

Millennials, Gen Z worry about retirement, sustainability, employer values

Money, politics, and stress are all factors affecting younger generations' willingness to stay in a job. A newly released study by Deloitte, a professional services networked, surveyed nearly 15,000 millennial and Gen Z professionals to see what their top priorities were in the workplace, as the Great Resignation continues. The survey by Deloitte found that workers from the millennial and Gen Z age groups are more likely to bring their political opinions to the workplace. The 2022 study by Deloitte...

June 15, 2022
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14Jun

US. New York State Common allocates $350 million for in-state co-investments

New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, committed $350 million total to a pair of investment funds through its In-State Private Equity Investment Program. The pension fund committed another $50 million to the Hudson River Co-Investment Fund III, in addition to the $300 million previously committed, confirmed Mark Johnson, a spokesman for Thomas P. DiNapoli, the state comptroller and sole trustee of the $279.7 billion pension fund. The pension fund also announced a $300 million commitment to the new Hudson River...

June 14, 2022
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14Jun

United States: IRS Announces New Retirement Plan Pre-Examination Program

The Internal Revenue Service announced last week that it was piloting a pre-examination retirement plan compliance program beginning this month. This program involves the IRS notifying an employer by letter in advance that the employer's retirement plan was selected for an upcoming examination. The letter gives the employer a 90-day window to review its retirement plan's document and operations to determine if they meet all current tax law requirements. If the employer does not respond within 90 days, the IRS...

June 14, 2022
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13Jun

Pension investors launch campaign against dual-class share structures

Leading UK and U.S. pension investors managing more than $1 trillion have launched a campaign to stop companies using dual-class share structures that concentrate voting power in the hands of certain shareholders at the expense of others. Launched by British railways pensions scheme Railpen and the non-profit Council of Institutional Investors (CII), others backing the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV) include the New York City Comptroller's Office and the Washington State Investment Board. Companies with dual-class structures have two or...

June 13, 2022
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