Services Tags: Defined Contribution

Nat Kellogg Speaking at P&I Alternatives in DC Conference 5/12

On Thursday, May 12, Nat Kellogg will be speaking on a panel at the Alternatives in DC Conference hosted by Pensions & Investments in New York. The panel will provide guidance on performance monitoring for alternative assets in defined contribution plans to ensure that plan participants have access to the investments needed to properly fund retirement. The discussion will cover several points, including how to define success to better make asset allocation and manager selection choices, as well as plan sponsor education on how alternative assets work, when they are working well and when a change in asset class or manager is necessary.

Nat Kellogg is the director of alternatives for Marquette Associates. He is responsible for reviewing alternative investment research and due diligence particularly in the hedge fund and private equity asset classes. Nat is a member of the firm’s investment committee and alternative investment manager search committee. An owner of the firm, Nat has been with the company since 2010.

The 3rd annual Alternatives in DC Conference will provide the information that plan sponsors need to help them choose assets, design the plan menu, incorporate alternative assets, and educate plan participants on the new investment options, as well as their purposes.

For more information, please visit the Pensions & Investments website.

Target Date Funds: Preparing Participants for Retirement

A pitfall for a majority of plan participants surrounding retirement planning is a lack of familiarity with investing. Participants with little to no investment experience are expected to make allocation decisions that will greatly impact their retirement. Target date funds serve as a one-stop shop for a diversified and risk-appropriate portfolio which automatically de-risks as the participant ages. These funds are managed to a specific target retirement date; when an investor chooses his or her retirement year, the portfolio is put on “autopilot” as the fund is managed and rebalanced with risk and return characteristics appropriate for that defined investment horizon. While these funds fulfill a need for simplicity in the marketplace, there are many nuances with which plan sponsors should be educated in order to make a decision that is best for their participant pools.

This paper serves as an educational tool for plan sponsors to aid in the selection and continuing evaluation of target date funds. Topics including purpose, construction, goals, and benchmarking will be discussed.

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The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.

Kweku Obed Speaking at PSCA 68th Annual Conference 10/14

On Wednesday October 14th Kweku Obed will be speaking at the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s (PSCA) 68th Annual National Conference in Chicago.

Kweku will be speaking on the defined contribution-related topic: “Investment Oversight for Plan Committees: How Committees Can Structure the Investment Lineup for Maximum Participant Engagement.”

For additional information please refer to the PSCA’s website.

Defined Contribution Views Featured As Benefits Magazine Cover Story

An article by Marquette investment consultant Kweku Obed, Defined Contribution Plans: Growing and Evolving, was featured as the cover story of the July 2015 edition of Benefits Magazine. The article discusses key defined contribution topics, including the growth of DC plans as the primary retirement savings vehicle in the United States and evolution of governance-related best practices.

Benefits Magazine, the monthly publication of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, covers benefit issues affecting multiemployer, single employer and public employee plan representatives.

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Kweku Obed Speaking at Toigo Alumni Conference 6/12

On Friday June 12th, Kweku Obed will be speaking at the Toigo 2015 Alumni Investment Conference.

The panel titled “The DC Plan of Tomorrow Today” will focus on the latest investment science behind default construction and the art of optimal plan design. The panel will provide a review of the current landscape in the defined contribution plan industry and predictions around where innovation is likely to center in the future.

For additional information, please visit the Toigo website.

Kweku Obed Joins Plan Sponsor Council of America Investment Committee

Kweku Obed has joined the investment committee for the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA). Established in 1947, the PSCA is a national, non-profit trade association of 1,200 companies and over six million plan participants. For more than 60 years, PSCA has dedicated itself to serving the evolving needs of defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors who seek an unbiased source of industry information, education programs and regulatory updates. Since its founding in 1947, PSCA has been on the forefront of protecting America’s retirement system.

The investment committee provides PSCA’s members with thought leadership on topics, trends, best practices, new thinking, tools and activities pertaining to defined contribution retirement plan investments and investing. The investment committee is comprised of plan sponsors and providers with a shared interest in the latest trends, developments and usage of investments used in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The group discusses both theoretical and pragmatic issues relating to asset allocation, portfolio composition, and topical issues such as the adoption of target date funds and retirement income products. The objective of the the group is educational. It seeks to expand the perspective through an active dialogue of what investment committees, plan sponsors and plan participants need to understand which investment vehicles will enable participants to achieve their retirement goals.

Kweku is also the co-chair of Marquette’s defined contribution services group and sits on the firm’s investment committee. He recently authored a white paper on the evolving fiduciary duties of defined contribution plans, Defined Contribution Plans: A Look at the Past, Present & Future.

For additional information, please visit the PSCA website.

An October to Forget?

Stock markets around the globe “corrected” in October, experiencing a sudden and broad-based drop. The sell-off was somewhat unusual as there was no glaring fundamental event that triggered the market drop, but rather a confluence of events that all seemed to come to the forefront of investors’ minds simultaneously. These concerns, coming on the heels of a strong third quarter for stocks that left the market looking modestly overvalued, led to an unpleasant month of returns.

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The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.

Defined Contribution Plan Legislative Update – 4Q 2018

Retirement savings has been a major theme on Capitol Hill this year. To better prepare our defined contribution plan sponsor clients for upcoming regulatory changes, we provide legislative updates on a bi-annual basis. For a broader view of Marquette’s approach to defined contribution consulting, see our previous research including A Roadmap for Defined Contribution Plan Sponsors and Defined Contribution Plans: A Look at the Past, Present & Future.

In this update, we summarize the following legislation and provide an overview of next steps for DC plan sponsors:

  • The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
  • The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
  • Executive Order on Strengthening Retirement Security in America
  • IRS Private Letter: Student Loan Benefit Program

Download PDF> Defined Contribution Plan Legislative Update – 4Q 2018

As always, your consultant will be able to address any specific questions you may have regarding these changes.

 

The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.

Emerging Markets Equity — Reason for Concern?

After a strong 2017, emerging markets (“EM”) equities have struggled to keep pace with their U.S. counterparts in 2018. Year-to-date through August 31, 2018, the MSCI Emerging Markets equity index has underperformed the S&P 500 by 17.1%. EM equities gave up an 8.3% gain in January with a streak of weakness from February through August.

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The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.