Our Investing 101 video series covers the fundamentals of investing. This series aims to create a knowledge base for trustees, staff, and other investors of the key terms and concepts that they encounter most frequently, with guidance provided by several of Marquette’s research analysts and directors.
The series covers:
Marquette encourages open dialogue with our consultants and research team. For more information, questions, or feedback, please send us an email.
On May 23rd, with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) passed in the House with a 417–3 vote. The bill is the first major retirement legislation since 2006 and has 29 total changes or new provisions.
The bill will impact most workers from part-time employees to small business owners to more tenured employees. In this newsletter we have outlined some of the major changes outlined in the SECURE Act.
Download PDF > Securing Retirement Through the SECURE Act
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.
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.
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.
Regularly rebalancing portfolios is one of the key duties of trustees and other fiduciaries responsible for managing an institutional portfolio. Asset allocations are set to provide a predetermined risk/reward profile that fits a fund’s objectives and constraints. Portfolios are rebalanced when they drift away from policy target in order to maintain the risk/reward profiles implicit in the original asset allocations. But how often should clients rebalance their portfolios? What guidelines should clients use to determine when to rebalance? And what are the costs and benefits associated with rebalancing? This paper takes a rigorous look at rebalancing and provides some guidelines for implementing a rebalancing policy.
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.
Our 2018 Investment Symposium speakers summarize their presentations — from CEO Brian Wrubel’s opening remarks to the keynotes and flash talks.
The symposium covered the current market environment, emerging investment themes and investment stewardship challenges in the year ahead. The event featured six flash talks designed by our research team to brief clients on relevant topics and encourage timely conversations with investment consultants.
All keynote and flash talk videos are now available on demand:
2018 Investment Symposium flash talk by Greg Leonberger, FSA, EA, MAAA
In this session, Greg explores the effects of various policy changes in the U.S. and how they could impact investor portfolios. In particular, we examine the effects of tax reform, U.S.-China tariff escalation and finally, the upcoming mid-term elections. While the ultimate impact of each is not yet known, we highlight trends and sensitivities that can help guide prudent portfolio decisions in the coming months.
A summary of this flash talk can be downloaded here.
2018 Investment Symposium flash talk by Ben Mohr, CFA
Given the current fixed income environment of rising rates and tight credit spreads, investors are questioning how much interest rate risk and credit risk they should hold in their portfolios. This session addresses the questions of how much duration (interest rate risk) and credit risk investors should take by examining current market conditions, anticipated changes, and an overall assessment of where we are in the credit cycle.
A summary of this flash talk can be downloaded here.
2018 Investment Symposium flash talk by David Hernandez, CFA
This year, index provider MSCI began including China A-shares in the emerging markets equity index. While A-shares currently only constitute 0.8% of the benchmark, we expect that number to grow over time. In this flash talk, we will discuss what China A-shares are and how U.S. investors have traditionally accessed the Chinese market. We will review how A-shares are different from other Chinese investments, why institutional investors should take note of them and what the future may look like given their potential to impact institutional portfolios.
A summary of this flash talk can be downloaded here.
2018 Investment Symposium flash talk by Samantha T. Grant, CFA, CAIA
Since the 2008 financial crisis, investors have flocked to new and innovative growth stocks over more traditional and seemingly boring value stocks. This is not the first time investors have favored growth over value, and surely it will not be the last. In this session, we will discuss what makes the current growth cycle different from previous growth cycles, the companies at the forefront of the technology wave and what could cause the market to reverse course and favor value over growth.
A summary of this flash talk can be downloaded here.
2018 Investment Symposium flash talk by Derek Schmidt, CFA, CAIA
Investors are adapting to an investment landscape altered by a 46% decline in the number of publicly traded companies and the emergence of less expensive passive investment opportunities. These changes have shifted record levels of capital into private equity as investors have pursued attractive investment opportunities in small companies. We will discuss how the private equity market has responded to increased investor demand and will attempt to identify where institutional allocations may be headed and where to find the best opportunities for returns within this increasingly diversified private market.
A summary of this flash talk can be downloaded here.
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