December 2021
29Dec

What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Evidence from Retirement Plans

By Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay & Hanbin Yang We study empirical patterns in investment behavior using a comprehensive data set of defined contribution plans. Using plan-level portfolio allocation data for the near universe of 401(k) plans over the period 2009-2019, we document substantial differences in investment behavior across plans. Plans with wealthier and more educated participants tend to have higher equity exposure while plans with more retirees and minorities tend to have lower equity exposure. These patterns cannot be explained...

December 29, 2021
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29Dec

US. Rising Inflation Viewed as Biggest Threat to Retirement in 2022

While Americans worried most about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, they now see rising inflation as the biggest risk to their retirement plans. According to Allianz Life’s annual New Year’s Resolutions Study, nearly half (48%) of respondents identified the pandemic as the most worrisome threat of 2021. However, in looking ahead to 2022, a full one-quarter of Americans now view rising inflation as the single greatest risk to their retirement plans—more than doubling from 2020, when only...

December 29, 2021
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28Dec

US. With Pandemic Lessons Learned, Institutional Investors Gear Up for 2022

Recently, the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) announced it had finalized the consolidation of Barings’ mutual funds with MassMutual funds onto the MassMutual investments platform. To mark the occasion, PLANSPONSOR sat down with Keith McDonagh, the head of MassMutual’s institutional solutions business, to talk about this and other developments, including the state of competition in the institutional services space and the challenges he is hearing about from brokers, consultants and their institutional investor clients. At a high level, McDonagh...

December 28, 2021
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27Dec

Record returns notched in pandemic head list

A global pandemic in its second year, historically strong equity markets and a new occupant in the White House dominated headlines during the past year, while the return of inflation and regulatory and legislative changes were also among Pensions & Investments' top 10 stories of 2021. The top story this year — chosen by P&I's editors — is the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As it lagged on, a historic market recovery spurred in part by actions taken to...

December 27, 2021
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27Dec

Chinese province offers $31,000 baby loans to counter shrinking population

A Chinese province with one of the fastest-shrinking populations is rolling out special loans to encourage couples to marry and have babies, as the rapidly-aging country tries to reverse a slump in births. Jilin province in northeast China will support banks to provide up to 200,000 yuan ($31,400) of “marriage and birth consumer loans” to married couples, according to an official blueprint on policies to promote population growth. There were no details on how the government would offer support, but the...

December 27, 2021
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24Dec

US. News and analysis for those planning for or living in retirement

I’ll have $5 million for retirement when I sell my dental practice next year – but my wife and kids don’t want me to retire: Retiring can be emotional, and not just for the individual. When should I claim Social Security? The dilemma and the strategy: So many factors go into deciding when to begin Social Security benefits, and the wrong choice can have dire consequences on how much someone ultimately receives. A plan for aging in place: How we’re turning...

December 24, 2021
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23Dec

US. 3 NYC pension funds divest $3 billion from fossil fuels

Three of five pension funds in the $266.7 billion New York City Retirement Systems have divested about $3 billion in fossil fuel company holdings, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer announced Wednesday. The divestment "is proof positive that environmental and fiscal responsibility go hand-in-hand," Mr. Stringer, the fiduciary of the five pension funds in the city system, said in a news release. "New York City is leading the way toward a clean, green and sustainable economy, and the impacts of...

December 23, 2021
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22Dec

US population growth in first year of Covid was lowest in history

The US recorded the lowest rate of population growth in its history in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the US Census Bureau. The year from July 2020 to July 2021 was also the first time since 1937 that the population of the US grew by fewer than 1 million people. Only 392,665 people were added to the count, growth of barely 0.1%. The figures released on Tuesday would appear to indicate that although tens of millions of...

December 22, 2021
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21Dec

US. PennPSERS pushes $1.1 billion into alternatives

Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, Harrisburg, announced $1.1 billion in new alternative fund commitments. The $72.5 billion pension fund's board at its Dec. 17 meeting approved commitments of $300 million to Brookfield Global Transition Fund, a real assets fund investing across sectors including industrials, renewable power and utilities, managed by Brookfield Asset Management; €200 million ($226 million) to ICG Europe Fund VIII SCSp, a mezzanine fund managed by Intermediate Capital Group; and $125 million to Bain Capital Special Situations...

December 21, 2021
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21Dec

Proposed changes to the U.S. retirement system are still on the table in Congress. Here’s where things stand

Two years after Congress passed a law that ushered in improvements to the U.S. retirement system, lawmakers’ efforts to make further enhancements are moving forward — albeit slowly. There’s bipartisan backing for measures in both the House and Senate that would build on the 2019 Secure Act, which aimed to increase both the ranks of savers and retirement security. While progress on the proposals has been slow, there’s hope for action in 2022, say supporters. “At the end of the first...

December 21, 2021
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