Opinion
Preparing for austerity
The results of the elections in France and Greece have lessons for this country's political leaders, but they probably will learn the wrong lesson. That would be unfortunate for the nation.
May 14, 2012
Search for auditors; don't rotate
In March, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board held hearings about whether to require public companies to change — or “rotate” — their external auditor periodically.
May 14, 2012
Court chastises indifference to conflicts of interest
On Feb. 29, Chancellor Leo Strine of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a landmark ruling that promises to change the way Wall Street handles conflicts of interest.
May 14, 2012
Medical research needs MPT
Academics at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston propose applying modern portfolio theory to medical research to save lives and money. Some critics are reacting angrily.
May 14, 2012
Rethinking capital market expectations
The financial crisis of 2007-'09 presented challenges to investors, but it was the official response to that crisis that has truly turned the world upside down.
May 03, 2012 | 12:01 am
Needed: An objective-based approach to DC investing
Despite years of industry effort at investment education and retirement plan menu design, defined contribution plan participants remain undersubscribed and disengaged.
April 30, 2012
Hedge funds need more accountability
Some serious ethical lapses show that new rules are needed to help investors and guide managers.
April 30, 2012
Fed no friend of DB plans
The quote: “The faster I run, the behinder I get” is certainly true for the nation's 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans.
April 30, 2012
Action needed on pension relief
The U.S. House of Representatives has not included pension funding relief in its version of the highway bill, as the U.S. Senate has done in its version.
April 30, 2012
BATS IPO failure not all bad
BATS Global Markets' failed IPO might have been a disaster for executives of the company and its owners who wanted to recoup some of their investment, but it likely will be a blessing to...
April 16, 2012
Save the money market
Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in an effort to make money market funds safer for investors through tighter regulation, could end up eliminating such funds as an...
April 02, 2012
Private equity buoys pension fund returns
Pension plans are not able to consistently generate adequate returns from public markets to meet their needed return targets.
March 21, 2012 | 12:06 pm
Exposing wrongdoing
Institutional investors and companies should be beefing up their internal compliance programs in the face of the Securities and Exchange Commission's whistleblower program, adopted last year under...
March 19, 2012
Due diligence lessons from the Goldman Sachs resignation letter
There has been much attention paid to the recent resignation letter from former Goldman Sachs Executive Director Greg Smith in which he highlights his criticism of the culture at the financial giant.
March 15, 2012 | 05:05 pm
DC plans in uncertain times: Matching contributions and target-date funds
Whether the economy is improving or not, employees and defined contribution plan executives are keenly aware that we live in uncertain times — and financial prospects for many retirees are...