February 2019

25Feb

Pension Funds Investing In Crypto Is A Big Deal!

Bitcoin is back near $4,000, its highest level since early January. The rally in crypto is across the board as BitcoinCash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero and XRP are all at or near their 30-day highs. I believe that much of the recent strength is the market reacting to multiple stories about public pension funds starting to make investments in cryptocurrencies (or at least make those investments public). For me, the first story that attracted my attention was that...

February 25, 2019
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22Feb

Crypto Institutional Herd: University Of Michigan Looks To Bolster Blockchain Investment

Mike Novogratz, the chief executive of blockchain startup Galaxy Digital, recently remarked that institutions are “slow to move” when it comes to crypto assets. Yet, this doesn’t seem to be the case. According to an exclusive report from Bloomberg, the University of Michigan’s $12 billion endowment intends to siphon more of its funds into crypto-centric funds in the near future, in spite of the dramatic slump in the Bitcoin price. $12 Billion University Endowment Looks To Double-Down On Blockchain...

February 22, 2019
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18Feb

10 Critical Questions About Retirement Plan Cybersecurity

Congress is taking an interest in cybersecurity specifically as it relates to retirement plans, providers, sponsors and participants. Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Congressman Bobby Scott, D-Va., asked 10 important questions (more actually, since each have multiple parts) of the Government Accountability Office last week, seeking answers about protections in place, and what more should be done moving forward. “Under current law, retirement plan fiduciaries are responsible for designing and administering plans in the best interest of plan participants,”...

February 18, 2019
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18Feb

Aging Americans are a big market for tech investors, who also want to monitor their parents

Greg Yap is a venture capitalist looking for the next big thing in digital health. At age 45, he's also the father of young kids and the son of an aging mother, who lives nearby in an independent living facility. On days he can't visit his mom and doesn't hear from her, he still wants to know how she's doing. So he's combining his personal concerns as a son with his job as an investor and experimenting with new...

February 18, 2019
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15Feb

Why Full Retirement Age Is So Important For Social Security

As most people are aware, you can start taking your Social Security benefit as early as 62. You can also delay taking benefits until you are 70. In between 62 and 70 is what’s called your “Full Retirement Age.” Understanding the distinctions of “Full Retirement Age” is an integral part of your claiming strategy. There are basically four factors that determine your claiming strategy and ultimate amount of lifetime benefits you will receive. Three of which you can control...

February 15, 2019
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14Feb

US. Retirement In America Is Too Expensive, But It Doesn’t Have To Be

In a recent survey, Legg Mason found that a 32% of Americans are “very confident” that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement. That same study finds that retirement confidence falls sharply as Americans approach retirement and really understand just how expensive it is to retire – that is, exactly how much money must be saved that will last through retirement. In contrast, just 17% of Baby Boomers who have retired or are approaching retirement are very...

February 14, 2019
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13Feb

US. Police Pension Backs Morgan Creek’s plans to invest in cryptocurrency

Police officers and other state employees in Virginia’s Fairfax County will be looking forward to retirement with potential dividends from an unusual source: bitcoin. Two separate pension funds that collectively manage $5.1 billion in assets for the state’s police force and other employees have joined a $40 million investment in the Morgan Creek Blockchain Opportunities Fund, which in addition to backing some of the best-known startups in the space, plans to invest in cryptocurrency. Already, a portion of the...

February 13, 2019
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13Feb

US. Bosses, Beware! You’re Legally at Risk Over High 401(k) Plan Fees

Yes, CEOs have a fiduciary responsibility to their employees, and if they fail to fulfill it, the employees can sue. And win. A good 401(k) plan can be an amazing tool for helping to build your retirement nest egg. Most companies offer at least some level of employer match, and the tax deferral is a great perk. But if your 401(k) options come larded with excessive fees, it's a whole different story. In this segment from the Motley Fool...

February 13, 2019
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12Feb

First U.S. Pension Funds Take the Plunge on Crypto Investing

Morgan Creek Digital has scored what it says is probably the first investment in the crypto asset universe from a U.S. pension fund. Two pension plans in Fairfax County, Virginia are anchor investors in a new $40 million venture-capital fund, according to a statement from the company. Other investors include an insurance company, a university endowment and a private foundation, said Morgan Creek Digital founder Anthony Pompliano, who declined to provide further details. Many institutional investors, which crypto enthusiasts...

February 12, 2019
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08Feb

America’s public pension plans make over-optimistic return assumptions

Promising a pension is a long-term and expensive business, especially if the payout is linked to earnings. But whether the employer is private or public, the cost ought to be the same in the long run and so, you might assume, would be the investment approach. Until 2008 that was true for American pension plans: private and public-sector schemes had roughly the same asset allocation. But a new report by Jean-Pierre Aubry and Caroline Crawford of the Centre for...

February 8, 2019
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