Ryan ALM
Blog
Lessons Learned?
My wife and I are rewatching The West Wing, and we are often amazed (disappointed) by how many of the social issues discussed 20 years ago when the show first aired that are still being debated today. It really just...
ARPA Update as of March 7, 2025
It is often said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This phrase is typically associated with weather patterns, but it may just be appropriate in describing the PBGC's effort last week. As you...
Reminder: Pension Liabilities are Bond-like
Milliman has released the results for their corporate pension index. The Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI), which tracks the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans showed deterioration in the funded ratio dropping from 106.0% to the 104.8% as of...
Markets Hate Uncertainty
I've published many posts on the impact of uncertainty on the well-being of individuals and our capital markets. In neither case are the outcomes positive. What we are witnessing in the last several trading days is the direct result of...
A Retirement is Out of the Question for Many - Unfortunately!
Is there such a thing as a retirement anymore? According to Fidelity's Q4 2024 Retirement Analysis, 41% of "retirees" are working, have worked, or are currently seeking work. I would guess that the need to work is strongly correlated to...
What's Your Duration?
The recent rise in U.S. Treasuries had us redoubling our effort to encourage plan sponsors of U.S. pension plans to take some risk off the table by using cash flow matching (CFM) to defease a portion of the plan's liabilities,...
ARPA Update as of February 28, 2025
Welcome to March! We are pleased to provide you with the latest update on the PBGC's implementation of the ARPA pension legislation. The last week saw moderate activity, as the PBGC's eFiling portal was temporarily open providing three funds, Local...
Milliman Reports on Public Pension Funding
Milliman has released details related to the recent update of its Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI) covering both December 2024 and January 2025. The index consisting of the U.S.'s largest 100 public pension funds revealed a slight decline...
Risk On or Risk Off?
I have the pleasure of speaking at the Opal/LATEC conference on Thursday. My panel has been given the topic of Risk On or Risk Off: How Are You Adjusting Your Portfolio, and Which Investment Risks Concern You Most? I think...
A Little Late to the Party!
P&I is running a story today about two U.S. Congressmen, Representatives Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Rick Allen, R-Ga., who have produced a Feb. 20 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding excess Special Financial Assistance (SFA) payments to multiemployer plans...