A short note from the WSJ this morning, "Just five stocks account for nearly 1/5 of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization—the highest share since the dot-com bubble peaked at the turn of the century (1999). They are: Facebook, Apple,...

Is it time to sell your long bonds ? America has been in a prolonged bull market for bonds since 1982 when long Treasuries hit 14% yields. Today that 30-year bond has a yield of just 2.0%. One needn’t think...

Actuarial practices use present values (PV) to calculate the funded ratio and funded status. But benefit payments are future values (FV). This suggests that the future value of assets versus the future value of liabilities is the most critical evaluation,...

I've been discussing during my conference presentations the need for American pension systems to take some risk off the table, especially given the fact that we have enjoyed 10+ years of a bull market for US equities. I wish that...

I entered the retirement industry in 1981 when asset consulting was still in its infancy. At that time many defined benefit plans were managed by a single balanced investment program (60% equity and 40% fixed income), and often it was...

I have lived in New Jersey my entire life. I can only blame my parents for the first 18 years of my existence in this state. Beyond that is no one's fault but my own. I mention this because NJ...

I frequently write about the state of multiemployer plans in the U.S. There is a "grading" system that makes it easy to identify more successful plans (Green) from those that are in trouble, which are defined in not so favorable...

I first mentioned Carol's plight in August 2018 when her story was brought to my attention. As you may recall, Carol was a retired Teamster who had been promised a benefit for life upon taking early retirement. Regrettably, her union...

I am at the Made In America conference in Las Vegas. I enjoy this particular event because the crowds tend to be smaller providing the participants with more of an opportunity to interact. This particular gathering has a really good...

Every year brings something new to the Social Security system if only a slight inflation adjustment and 2020 is no different. The Social Security Administration announced in October that benefits would increase by 1.6 percent in 2020. For a recipient...