Data & Research April 8, 2013

Nearly Half of Marylanders Not Plan Participants

Almost half of employees in Maryland (49%) do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, a report found.
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“Are Maryland Workers Ready for Retirement?,” a study by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), found that a big problem is the dip in employee sponsorship of retirement plans. Maryland employees’ access to employer-sponsored plans has fallen eight percentage points over the past 10 years, signifying an overall downward trend in retirement security for Maryland residents. As of 2010, only 59% of employed state residents, ages 25 to 64, worked for an employer that offered access to either a defined benefit or defined contribution plan.

Young employees, ages 25 to 44, suffered the largest drop in sponsorship (13%). The research suggests this downward trend will continue as this group ages. Among ethnic groups, Hispanic employees saw a 20% decline in sponsorship rates, more than double that experienced by white and black, non-Hispanic counterparts, both of whom had a 9% decline in sponsorship. Asian employees, however, saw an increase in plan sponsorship of 4%.

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Sponsorship was found to vary across industries with the biggest decline in entertainment and recreation services, which showed a 26% decrease. In addition, those in the construction services saw a 25% decrease.

Decreasing sponsorship also varied by company size. Firms with 500 to 999 employees showed the biggest drop (16%). Small firms with fewer than 24 employees and those with 25 to 99 employees saw decreases of 12% and 10%, respectively. 

In reviewing the liquid assets of Marylanders, the study found 41% of near-retirement households have too little saved and will have to rely almost exclusively on Social Security or defined benefit pensions for their retirement income. Only 34% were found to have assets in excess of $300,000 and considered to have adequate income for retirement.

According to the study, the downward trend started in 2000, which suggests the declining figures are not a temporary result of the 2008-09 recession, but more a product of persistent structural trends.

Are there regulatory or other obligations that are causing employers to close or forego retirement plans? How can more small businesses be encouraged to sponsor plans? The report says more research is needed to answer these questions.

A copy of the report is here.

Products April 8, 2013

Mariner Investment Debuts Multi-Strategy Fund

The Mariner Incubation Fund will be managed by Eric Pellicciaro, who joined Mariner Investment Group from BlackRock.
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The fund uses a multi-strategy via investment managers culled from the hedge fund industry, who will provide Mariner with strategy-level investment expertise while using Mariner’s infrastructure and the potential to create future stand-alone hedge funds.

Mariner, an alternative asset manager, takes an investment-led approach to mandates, according to Bracebridge Young, chief executive  of Mariner. “The Mariner Incubation Fund reflects our latest thinking on where the opportunities lie in the rate, credit and equity markets,” Young said. “Eventually, we anticipate developing new funds for a number of the portfolio managers who will be part of the Mariner Incubation Fund.”

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Pellicciaro will manage Alarium Mariner Global Macro LLC, a global macro portfolio, within the Mariner Incubation Fund. The Alarium Mariner portfolio will utilize a global macro strategy that draws on Pellicciaro’s 17 years of experience in fundamental macro and fixed-income investment management. The investment approach couples fundamental research with systematic and quantitative methods across the broader G20 liquid market segments. Mariner plans to launch the Alarium Global Macro Fund as a stand-alone fund to be managed by Pellicciaro.

The first manager in the Mariner Incubation Fund, Pellicciaro previously managed the global rates investment team at BlackRock. He was part of the core portfolio strategy group, specifically responsible for macro and global interest rate strategy for the $600+ billion fundamental fixed-income portfolios. He also co-managed the fixed-income mutual funds as well as various alternative investment portfolios.

The Mariner Incubation Fund is currently a fund-of-one and will be used to fund talent in areas that the firm considers investment opportunities, giving the company an efficient structure for incubating new managers. Managers will oversee portfolios with initial investments ranging from $50 million to $100 million on behalf of the fund.

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