The Markets

With some exceptions, sponsors of 403(b) retirement plans, especially school systems, have problems getting employees to participate in the plans.

Target-date funds (TDFs) are an important tool for workplace retirement investors, says Steven Anderson, of Schwab Retirement Plan Services, but more efficient methods of delegated lifecycle investing are...

The economic cost of maintaining liability for a defined benefit (DB) pension plan in May remained level at 108.7% of the same liability, according to the Mercer U.S....

The global investment picture continues to strengthen at midyear 2014, despite first quarter setbacks, with stronger performance in developed economies and persistent low inflation predicted.

The relative attractiveness of annuitizing pension liabilities fell for the second month in a row, according to Dietrich & Associates, Inc.’s Pension Risk Transfer Index.

One lesson Stuart Ritter, of T. Rowe Price Investment Services, strives to impress on the public is that $25,000 saved and $25,000 borrowed are far from equivalent.

Retirement plan advisers can deliver significant value by helping sponsor clients address the shortcomings of prepackaged TDF solutions, says Tara Mashack-Behney of Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors.

Defined contribution (DC) plan participants bucked the stock market adage of “sell in May and stay away,” continuing recent trends with a light trading month in May, says...

Long-term funds netted $39.2 billion in May, increasing the year-to-date intake to $215 billion, according to Strategic Insight (SI).

Global asset manager Russell Investments announced the annual realignment of its global equity indexes to reflect market changes from the past year.

Plan investment committees could benefit from a greater diversity in membership, says a new paper from Vanguard.

Eight in 10 defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors expressed interest in pension risk transfer products.

The effort to de-risk defined benefit (DB) pension plans is an immensely complex task that presents no shortage of challenges or opportunities to retirement plan sponsors and consultants.

The stable value market has changed significantly post financial crisis, says Josh Kruk, head of stable value portfolio management at Dwight Asset Management, and the evolution is ongoing.

A paper from Towers Watson recommends, for defined contribution (DC) plans, up to 25% of traditional U.S. aggregate bond assets can be switched to absolute return assets.

Retirement plan participants need to look at their investments over a longer time horizon, says a recent paper from Fidelity Investments, especially when they use target-date funds (TDFs).

The strong growth of passive investment products shows little sign of slowing over the short term and could signal an important secular trend, according to new research from...

A recent analysis from Gerstein Fisher challenges the notion that mutual fund managers don't have as much incentive to outperform as peers running other fund types.

Witnesses for a hearing about women’s retirement security advocated for Social Security improvements, expanded retirement plan access, and plan design changes.

For first quarter 2014, target-date funds were muted in terms of performance amid healthy cash flows into the funds, says Ibbotson Associates Inc.