By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. We at Ryan ALM, Inc. truly appreciate every opportunity that we get to speak with plan sponsors, consultants, and actuaries. We find the give and take during those conversations to be incredibly...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. When multiemployer pension funds submit an application for Special Financial Assistance (SFA), the PBGC has 120 days to act on said application. It just so happens that there are 12 applications that...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. With the tryptophan effects finally wearing off, the PBGC is reporting that 2 pension plans - The Defined Benefit Plan for the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association Local Union 394...

By: Ron Ryan, CEO, Ryan ALM, Inc. Most fixed-income managers are required to outperform a generic market index benchmark. Usually, it is one of the Lehman, now Bloomberg Barclay’s (BB), indexes designed by Ron Ryan when he was the Lehman...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. OOPS! I guess that forecasts anticipating the "collapse" of the US labor market were a bit premature. The announcement that the US added 263,000 new jobs blew away forecasts. The fact that...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. Is bigger better? Do firms that have huge research staffs perform better than investment shops that don't have the same internal resources? How do you know? Where do experience and expertise get...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We are pleased to provide the weekly update on the PBGC's activity as it relates to the ARPA legislation. As one would imagine,...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. With great anticipation, the Federal Reserve's notes from the November 2nd meeting were released at 2 pm EST. Immediately, both equity and bond markets rallied. I was sure that there must have...

By Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. I don't know Bob Michele, JP Morgan's CIO for fixed income, but I absolutely agree with his sentiment when he said on Bloomberg Television’s “Wall Street Week” that "bonds are back"! He...

By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc. As we begin this holiday week, we at Ryan ALM, Inc. wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving! The window has been opened for Priority Group 5 multiemployer pension plans (effective...