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Navigating The New Normal
How do you gain strategic clarity when your crystal ball is cloudy?
by Jill J. Johnson, MBA
Today’s business climate continues to be exceptionally complex and volatile. Even as we move into this “new normal” environment, we no longer have the luxury of being able to take for granted that shifting trends will be visible or that customer needs will be stable. Now is the time to clarify what is required to…
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Beginning To See Greater Interest In Sustainable Investing Across Generations
Most Americans believe they will gain more returns when invested in sustainable funds
According to Schroders Global Investor Study 2020*, higher returns, rather than just the positive societal and environmental impacts are driving Americans’ adoption of investing in sustainable funds, with 55% of Americans being more likely to invest in sustainable funds for their more attractive return profile. This study of more than 23,000 people who invest from…
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The Era of Big Government is Upon Us
In which governments take a more direct and proactive role in economic policy and management through fiscal policy
A new era of big government has begun and is likely to remain underway for decades to come, according to analysis from the global macro research team at Insight Investment, a world-leading defined benefit investment manager with $909bn under management, which includes assets managed for approximately 23 million plan participants across the world.
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Knowledge Gaps That May Be Costing Life Insurance Policyholders
2020 Life Settlement & Retirement Survey finds 43% of policyholders do not know they can sell their life insurance
Harbor Life Settlements, a company dedicated to helping people unlock the value of their life insurance by making the life settlement process straightforward and transparent, today announced the key results of its 2020 Life Settlement & Retirement Survey. Harbor Life conducted a national survey of 1,702 U.S. adults to better understand people’s knowledge of life…
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True Unemployment Effects on US States Masked by Workforce Exits
Challenging their ability to manage through the crisis
In addition to large swings in headline unemployment figures this year, material labor force exits are complicating the picture for US states. Certain states have seen an outsized proportion of their populations drop out of the labor force since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, clouding an already high and uncertain unemployment landscape, says Fitch…
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Impact of COVID-19 On Pension Plan Actuarial Experience And Assumptions, Including Mortality
Effects on the economy, workforce patterns & plan budgets are significant
COVID-19 is responsible for over 200,000 deaths in the U.S. as of the date of publication of this issue brief, according to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While these deaths have been concentrated more heavily among those over age 65 so far, there have been deaths in all age groups particularly for those who…
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Americans Find Breathing Room Between Bouts Of Market Volatility
New study findings from Allianz Life show people feel better about their current finances as they look to an uncertain close to the year
As markets settle from initial COVID-19-related health and economic crises, Americans are evaluating the damage and reassessing their market volatility threshold. According to new findings from the Q3 Quarterly Market Perceptions Study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) fewer people express concern over a coming recession than they did last quarter…
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SCOTUS Change Raises Risk of ACA Repeal, Reduced US Hospital Revenue
The law has had a ‘positive effect’ on industry financial profiles
Fitch Ratings-New York/Chicago/Austin-- A vacancy in the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) increases uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), given the court’s pending decision regarding the severability of the individual mandate, says Fitch Ratings. A repeal of the ACA, which would result in fewer insured patients and lower reimbursement…
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401(k) Savers Say They Want Help Understanding How Much They’ll Need for Retirement
Workers identify sources they will use to create a 20-year-plus “retirement paycheck”
The area where 401(k) participants say they could most use help is understanding how much they’ll need to save for retirement, according to a nationwide survey of 1,000 401(k) plan participants from Schwab Retirement Plan Services.
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The Investment Risk Pyramid: CEFs, ETFs, & Mutual Funds
Why complicate something that is already over-complicated?
by Steve Selengut
Fifty-Six years ago, in Investments 101, "Pistol Pete" Williams jumped up on the chair next to his desk, pointed his fingers at his students and proclaimed: "if you don't take the time to thoroughly understand the Investment Risk Pyramid on page xx, the big guns on Wall Street will shoot your financial aspirations full of…
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