After 26 years as publisher of the Money Market Directories, Thomas A. McQueeney is retiring July 1.
Mr. McQueeney is going into what he calls a "self-renewal" and has his hands in several new projects.
In 1970, Mr. McQueeney and partner Tom Roberston decided to start a consulting business and needed a list of pension funds and investment managers. "Wall Street wasn't having a good year," said Mr. McQueeney. "The consulting business didn't go well."
Their need for information, however, resulted in what is now familiarly known as the MMD, published for the first time in 1971.
The industry has changed a lot over the last 26 years, and Mr. McQueeney feels good about his contribution to it. Bringing out information and bringing about public awareness are very important, he said.
He does have concerns about the future, particularly the trend toward 401(k) plans replacing defined benefit plans. He notes today's retirees - who have had the protection of defined benefit plans - are the most affluent we've ever had. But he fears there will be an incredible liability 15 to 20 years out.
"People who have the discipline will do very well," he said, but even very intelligent, good employees don't necessarily have the discipline to defer money into retirement plans.
As to his own "retirement," Mr. McQueeney plans to produce a documentary on the social and economic impact of the GI Bill of Rights. He also is starting a program called Present U, which will use video to train people how to interview for jobs and school, a skill he feels young people lack.
