Ryan ALM
Blog
ARPA Update as of August 22, 2025
Welcome to the last week of "summer". I don't know about you, but I can believe that Labor Day is next weekend. I suspect that the PBGC is feeling the same way as they continue to work their way through...
Confusing the Purpose!
There recently appeared in my inbox an article from an investment advisory firm discussing Cash Flow Driven Investing (CDI). Given that CDI, or as we call it Cash Flow Matching (CFM), is our only investment strategy, I absorb as much...
Hey Ryan ALM - What if...?
We hope that you are enjoying a wonderful summer season. Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, where we've now produced >1,650 mostly pension-related posts. I wanted to share the following email exchange from earlier this week. I...
Bond Yields... Caveat Emptor
Happy to share with you a recent research piece by Ron Ryan discussing the problem with YTM as a return calculator. His 50+ years as an industry-leading fixed income researcher/portfolio manager provide him with a unique understanding of misleading yield...
ARPA Update as of August 15, 2025
Hard to believe that we are nearly 2/3rds of the way through 2025. I suspect that the PBGC is having a hard time with that reality given the workload that remains with 119 multiemployer plans still seeking a successful review...
What might SS Recipients Get in 2026's COLA
With the demise of the defined benefit plan for many workers in the US private sector, Social Security benefit payments become ever more important for a greater percentage of the American retirees and those with disabilities. There have been several...
Are Investors About to Get Their Comeuppance?
As we've discussed in this blog on many occasions, the U.S. interest rate decline from 1982 to 2022 fueled risk assets well beyond their fundamentals. During the rate decline, investors became accustomed to the US Federal Reserve stepping in when...
Corporate Pension Funding - UP!
I was out of the office last week, and as a result I am trying to play catch-up on some of the stories that I think you'd be interested in. Happy to report that Milliman released its monthly Milliman 100...
ARPA Update as of August 8, 2025
I hope that you continue to enjoy a terrific Summer. Regarding ARPA and the PBGC's effort to implement this critical legislation, last week was rather tame in terms of obvious activity. There were a couple of applications submitted and that's...
ARPA Update as of August 1, 2025
Talk about jumping out of the frying pan into the fire! I left New Jersey's wonderful heat and humidity only to find myself in El Paso, TX, where the high temperature is testing the limits of a normal thermometer. Happy...