Table of Contents
Issue Date: Monday, September 7, 2009
News
CalPERS trustee target of pay-to-play probe
The taint of pay to play has moved to the nation's largest pension fund, where Charles Valdes, a longtime board member at the $194 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, is under investigation for taking campaign contributions from executives at a placement agent that works for CalPERS.
Managers eager to get a crack at banks
Real estate money managers are joining private equity firms in the line to buy failed banks.
Lewis Sanders: Back in business
Lewis A. Sanders' plans to launch a new money management firm could prove to be a migraine for AllianceBernstein, the company he dominated until his dismissal last December by executives at parent company AXA Financial.
Actuary group in court fight for ousting president-elect
The normally sedate actuarial world has been rocked by an ugly feud between the board of the American Academy of Actuaries and the president-elect it's trying to oust.
Old Mutual boutiques still tempting
Old Mutual's money management boutiques have remained targets of interest for private equity firms and other potential acquirers this year, long after the London-based parent reversed a decision to consider selling the business.
Renaissance to open up a bit
Highly secretive Renaissance Technologies Corp., hit by performance problems and huge redemptions in its largest open hedge fund, may concede greater transparency in the strategy for large institutional investors.
Investors turn to options to hold gains while trimming losses
After the scalding they took from the financial crisis, more institutional investors are embracing options strategies both to lock in upside gains and limit downside losses.
Dementia threatens aging boomers' portfolios
A startling number of older adults either lack the cognitive abilities to manage their finances or delegate that responsibility to others — a finding that could have implications for plan executives and other fiduciaries as a wave of wealthy Americans approach retirement.
Rivals begin circling Big 3 multimanagers
The global market for multimanagers has opened up as the Big Three — Northern Trust Global Advisors, Russell Investments and SEI Investments — have struggled with performance in some key strategies and have imposed cutbacks that further hurt the companies' ability to compete.
Borrowing and boom times are bursting bond bubble
The three-decade overall bull market in bonds is dead — and though there are opportunities in some corporate and emerging-markets bonds, the easy money has been made.
Deadline nears for Eddy Award entries
The entry deadline for the 2010 Eddy Awards, sponsored by Pensions & Investments, is just around the corner — the cutoff is Oct. 9.
More plans look hard at record-keeper changes
Defined contribution plan executives are shopping for new record keepers with lower fees and better services as the markets and economy continue to stabilize.
New consultant to handle county plan's CIO duties
San Diego County Employees Retirement Association hired consultant Integrity Capital to handle the $6.5 billion plan's CIO functions.
Special Report
Tough year for top players
The world's largest 300 retirement funds shrank 12.6% in 2008, according to the annual survey conducted by P&I and Watson Wyatt Worldwide. The decline — just the second in 20 years — is the largest drop since P&I ran the first ranking in 1989.
At Deadline
Frontlines
Editorial
It's time for registration
The time has come for the federal government to require registration of hedge funds, and perhaps other private investment pools, and limited disclosure of their activities.
Staying the course, with adept steering
Investors of all sizes will be hoping President Barack Obama got it right when two weeks ago he reappointed Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Board chairman.
Other Views
Small loans make big difference in village
Dana Dakin, a retired marketing consultant to money managers, launched a microfinance program for women in the village of Pokuase in Ghana, West Africa. WomensTrust mostly makes loans to women working in the informal economy, such as bakers and seamstresses.
The debate over target-date funds
Because the joint Department of Labor and Securities and Exchange Commission hearing on target-date funds in June spurred so much discussion, Pensions & Investments is offering three Other Views commentaries on the issue.
The need to look at more than just age
Anup K. Basu and Michael E. Drew address concern over their research that suggested retirement plan participants increase their exposure to the stock market with age, saying this notion can be attributed to a misinterpretation of their findings.
Seeing a standard of living, not just a pot of assets
Keith Ambachtsheer argues that the Basu-Drew study examining a scenario of a 25-year-old worker investing 9% of salary over a 40-year period in four lifecycle strategies using one-year return data drawn randomly from 1900-2004 suffers from two serious flaws.
Finding the right risk measure for glidepaths
The author says we need an alternative risk measure that captures the importance of protecting account balances near retirement.
News Briefs
Face to Face
Lifting the fog: Face to Face with Phyllis C. Borzi
Phyllis C. Borzi is no stranger to the pension community in Washington, and the new assistant secretary of the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration is ready to clear up the maze of rules and regulations.