The Markets

The Dietrich Pension Risk Transfer Index increased from its prior month level of 84.92 to 86.71 as of February 1, 2013.   

Institutional investors continue to diversify their investment portfolios into alternative assets, according to Towers Watson.

The U.S. mutual fund industry (open- and closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds) is set to surpass $15 trillion in assets in February, according to Strategic Insight.

More employers plan to decrease their pension risk exposure by offering participants a one-time, lump-sum pension payout in 2013.

Investors added $86.5 billion to long-term open-end mutual funds in January.

A growing number of small and midsized U.S. institutions are considering outsourcing discretionary control of part or all of their investment portfolios, a report asserts.

 The median return of the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe was 1.95% for the fourth quarter of 2012.   

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets increased $67.7 billion (5.0%) in January.

Now is a good time for gold in retirement savings accounts —but only if investors are seeking long-term gain rather than quarterly returns.

January 2013 saw record-setting stock and bond mutual fund net inflows reaching and possibly exceeding $90 billion (excluding additional inflows to ETFs)....

Target maturity funds continue to see total assets climb to all-time highs.

 California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed a lawsuit against Standard & Poor’s (S&P) for inflating its ratings of structured finance investments.  

Concern over market volatility remains on high alert, and returns are expected to dip, according to research by Casey Quirk and eVestment.

Stock and bond mutual fund net inflows reached and possibly exceeded $90 billion during January, excluding additional inflows to exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Active manager and adviser exchange-traded fund (ETF) investment portfolios are expected to grow in 2013.

Plan sponsors face an “equity dilemma” of ensuring participants have adequate retirement savings while protecting them from volatility.

Last year was good for target-date funds (TDFs), according to Morningstar.

Institutional Investors are entrusting a smaller portion of assets to leading broad managers, according to a report released by Cogent Research.

Active investors may find themselves frustrated by the small number of diversification opportunities in their employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Daily transfer volume was above average among defined contribution (DC) plan participants in December, according to the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index.