Table of Contents
Issue Date: Monday, May 13, 2013
News
'Insourcing' trend growing among big institutional investors
Large institutional investors increasingly are “insourcing” asset management to improve returns by cutting costs.
Will giant TXU LBO become a distressed debt deal?
Energy Future Holdings Corp., the company formerly known as TXU Corp., is morphing from the largest LBO ever to what could be an enormous distressed debt buying opportunity.
New risk management tools for a post-financial crisis era
Institutional investors are reaching out for new risk management tools to address shortcomings in estimating risks that left them more exposed to losses in the financial market crisis than they expected.
Stars are aligning for resurgence of buyout boom
Cheap debt and easy loan terms like those available now typically set the stage for the return of the megaleveraged buyouts, but market participants are divided over what kinds of opportunities are likely to arise.
Equity market jump helps bottom lines of money managers
Rising equity markets helped large publicly traded money managers such as Invesco Ltd., Affiliated Managers Group Inc. and Franklin Resources Inc. gain higher-fee inflows in the first quarter of 2013, but it's far from clear whether that could signal a groundswell toward stocks and away from lower-fee fixed-income investments.
Money managers looking good to PE firms
Private equity firms' interest in money manager investments is rising in tandem with the managers' increases in assets under management and revenue.
Accounting changes are pushing Japanese companies to DC plans
New accounting rules effective this year are prompting a growing number of companies in Japan to add defined contribution plans to their retirement programs or to expand existing ones.
EMEA is a driving force in BlackRock's growth
BlackRock Inc. is revving its overseas growth engine, powered to a large extent by the company's institutional business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Buzz on advertising rising as regs near
An 80-year-old tradition of silence among issuers of private offerings is coming to an end, as SEC officials finish rules lifting a ban against solicitation and general advertising during periods of fundraising.
Retirement calculators evolve into sophisticated tools
Interactive financial calculators, long a staple of defined contribution plans, have evolved from a collection of numbers that yield a lump-sum accumulation to a detailed analysis of retirement spending that counts more than a participant's DC plan balance.
Deadline looms for Best Places to Work, Innovators
Time is running out to participate in two of Pensions & Investments' biggest editorial projects of the year.
Something for everyone at Milken conference
A near-term recovery of the global economy was given no better than 50/50 odds by Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC during a packed session of the Milken Institute Global Conference.
Legal & General expanding its market focus
Legal & General Investment Management has been expanding through what might be dubbed as a grave-to-cradle approach to pension funds.
Firms go extra mile to help marathon bombing victims
Money managers in Boston stepped up to the plate to contribute to One Fund Boston, created by the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts to assist families of the three people killed in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings and the scores who were severely injured.
Special Report
Defined contribution plans around the world
Plan sponsors and regulators continue to search for the right mix of contributions, investment choices and income streams to give participants the security once provided by defined benefit plans.
Top-performing money managers: Q1 2013
In equities, energy strategies give some firms the edge in quarter marked by major theme shift. In fixed income, high-yield bonds still dominate, but sector loses some ground in current quarter.
Corrections
Frontlines
Editorial
Bullies and DB plans
The American Federation of Teachers has generated a lot of heat but not much light in naming investment managers purportedly opposed to defined benefit plans.
Other Views
A looming threat employers face from 401(k) plan loan defaults
As an employee benefits lawyer who counsels employers, I have become increasingly concerned about the implications of “pension leakage” for fiduciary liability, at least in the absence of currently available loan protection or a statutory safe harbor.
Letters to the Editor
Department: Portfolio Management
Hedged global bonds could be answer to DC volatility problem
Many defined contribution plan sponsors are seeking solutions aimed at reducing undue volatility — excess volatility without a commensurate increase in return — that can prevent a plan and its participants from achieving their long-term objectives. Our research suggests hedged global bonds may be one solution.
Face to Face
SEC's Champ is very comfortable with change
Norm Champ moved around a lot before landing at his current job as the SEC's director of the investment management division, and that's good thing.
