Ryan ALM
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Opportunity Cost Goes Both Ways
I had an interesting conversation at the IFEBP Investment forum. It wasn't the first time that this topic has been raised and I am willing to state that it won't be the last. I was discussing the benefits of cash...
Benefits of Cash Flow Matching (CFM)
By: Ronald J. Ryan, CFA, Chairman, Ryan ALM, Inc. The true objective of a pension is to secure and fund benefits in a cost-efficient manner with prudent risk. This is best accomplished by cash flow matching (CFM). In the 1970s...
Verus: "LDI for Public Sponsors"
Dan Hougard, FSA and Associate Director, Actuarial Services at Verus has recently published an excellent thought piece on LDI for public pension plans . In this case, the LDI refers to Cash Flow Matching (CFM). We at Ryan ALM, believe...
ARPA Update as of April 25, 2025
In some ways it is difficult to believe that we are through 1/3 of 2025, but in other ways it seems like it has been a very long four months. Regarding ARPA and the PBGC's implementation of this critical legislation,...
A Call for Pension Reform - Five Years Later
On March 25, 2020, I produced a post titled, " Why Pension Reform is Absolutely Necessary ". A few of you may recall that blog. I penned the post in reaction to a series of statistics that my friend John...
Housing: A Major Impediment to Saving for Retirement
The demise of defined benefit (DB) pensions is putting great financial pressure on individuals to save for retirement through a defined contribution (DC) program. I've often railed about asking untrained individuals to take on the responsibility to fund, manage, and...
Public Pension Funding Declines
Milliman analyzes data from the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit plans and publishes that information through the Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI). They have recently released output from the index through March 31, 2025. The PPFI funded ratio fell...
ARPA Update as of April 18, 2025
For those that observe, we hope that you had a Blessed Easter or a Happy Passover. Regarding ARPA and the PBGC's activity last week, we'll refer to it as muted. There were no new applications submitted, as the eFiling portal...
The Intrinsic Value of Bonds
Ronald J. Ryan, CFA, Chairman The true value of bonds is the certainty of their cash flows (interest + principal payments). I don’t believe there is another asset class with such attributes. This is why bonds have traditionally been the...