Cash Flow Matching Overview

Pension Overview
Pension Objective Fund benefits in a cost-efficient manner with prudent risk
Pension Needs Liquidity to fund benefits
Reduce Contribution costs
Reduce Volatility of Funded Status
Strategy Cash flow match liability cash flows (benefits + expenses)
Value in Bonds Certainty of cash flows (only asset class with such value)
Maturity selection = yield curve (term structure)
Cash flows every month as portfolio
Methodology
Ryan ALM creates a Custom Liability Index (CLI)
  • Provides all calculations needed for ALM
  • Based on actuarial projections of B+E
  • Discount rates = ASC 715 and ROA
Ryan ALM creates Liability Beta Portfolio (LBP)
  • Cost Optimization Model
  • Investment grade bond portfolio
  • Target area of liabilities to fund chronologically
  • Cash flow matches + duration matches liabilities
LBP Benefits
Fully funds B+E and secures benefits with certainty
Reduces funding costs by 2% per year (1-10 years = 20%)
Eliminates cash sweep of growth assets (Alpha assets)
Buys time for Alpha assets to grow unencumbered
Reduces volatility of funded ratio/status
Outyields liabilities creating alpha
Enhances funded status and ROA
Reduces Contribution costs
Mitigates interest rate risk
Hedges pension inflation
Low fee
Note: LBP does not change any accounting, actuarial and asset allocation (AA) actions.
LBP is a less risky & less costly alternative to active bond management.
LBP is a best fit to the true pension objective.
Interest Rate Risk (IRR) Biggest and dominant risk on bonds present values (PV)
Benefits + expenses = future values (FV)
B+E are not interest rate sensitive
LBP funds Benefits + Expenses
LBP mitigates IRR
Pension Inflation Actuarial projections unique to each pension plan
Inflation assumptions =/= CPI
Generic Bond Indexes Not a proper benchmark
Do not represent pension liabilities
Liabilities are like snowflakes, unique to each plan sponsor
Only a Custom Liability Index could measure/monitor liabilities
Value Added Ryan ALM offers clients a series of synergistic values:

ExperienceMore than 160 years with more than 40 years in cash flow matching
ModelProprietary cost optimization model unique in the bond business
EducatorsWealth of fixed income research produced over the last 50 years
IndexesSeparate division to create Custom Liability Indexes (CLI)
FocusDedicated to only one asset management product
TeamFour asset managers working as a team
FeesVery low at 15 bps (includes CLI)
ExpertiseAward winning bond expertise
Awards Gold Medal Winner – The U.S. Pension Crisis book of the year
Bernstein, Fabozzi, Jacob Levy – Research Paper of the year
William F. Sharpe Index Lifetime Achievement
Money Management Letter Lifetime Achievement
Capital Link – Most Innovative ETF
IMN - ETF of the year
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Ryan ALM Pension Monitor Q1’23

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Immunizing Pension Expense Volatility