Pensions

Over the past two decades, the story of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has spawned a growing number of investment institutions explicitly based on Peter Drucker’s design principles. These institutions, according to Keith Ambachtsheer, are our best hope for articulating and implementing the truly long-horizon, wealth-creating investment programs that workers everywhere will rely on for their future prosperity.

Financial advisors have an increasingly important role to play in building sustainable retirement income strategies for their clients. But as is the case with most investment advice, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. To help advisors and investors sort through the issues here is a list of essential reading and resources.

Three practitioners offer some straightforward suggestions for changing the trajectory of the financial profession.

At the recent CFA Institute Global Investment Risk Symposium, Ron Ryan, CFA, of Ryan ALM, appealed for greater transparency and the application of commonsense principles in pension accounting, warning that without such changes the solvency of corporations, cities, and states is at stake.

Increasingly, it is recognized that defined benefit plans are not sustainable, and traditional defined contribution schemes are not properly designed to meet core retirement goals of most individuals. Nobel Laureate Robert C. Merton conducted… READ MORE ›

M. Barton Waring has succeeded in creating one of the definitive works on the structure and management of defined benefit plans. This indispensable guide for pension advisers dispels any notion of easy solutions to the problems of defined benefit plans, especially underfunding. His sensible solutions are within our grasp if we choose to accept them.