Posts by River and Mercantile
US pension briefing – August 2021
Article September 7, 2021 US pension briefing – August 2021 Written by River and Mercantile Share Key takeaways Pension discount rates increased by 0.05% during August, translating to pension liability decreases of approximately 0.5%-0.7% for a typical pension plan. Discount rates are still down about ~0.50% from the March 2021 highs. Asset market performance was…
Read MoreMonthly macro update – August 2021
Article August 23, 2021 Monthly macro update – August 2021 Written by River and Mercantile Share Snapshot of views Throughout the year, our base case has been that pandemic-driven inflation will be transitory. Despite continued high short-term inflation readings, long-term inflation as priced by the markets continues to moderate to what we believe to be…
Read MoreUS pension briefing – July 2021
Article August 5, 2021 US pension briefing – July 2021 Written by River and Mercantile Share Key takeaways Pension discount rates fell almost 0.15% during July, translating to pension liability increases of approximately 2% for a typical pension plan. Discount rates are now down ~0.50% from the March 2021 highs. Asset market performance was generally…
Read MoreMonthly macro update – July 2021
Article July 26, 2021 Monthly macro update – July 2021 Written by River and Mercantile Share Snapshot of views As pandemic-driven pent up consumer demand diminishes and government support is reduced, we expect economic growth to slow over the coming year, albeit from currently high rates in much of the world. The uneven rollout of…
Read MorePension plan annuity purchase update – Q1 2021
Article July 14, 2021 Pension plan annuity purchase update – Q1 2021 Written by River and Mercantile Share Market activity Group annuity risk transfer sales ($ millions) Source: LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute After a strong finish to 2020, pension buyout sales were very slow to start the new year, totalling just over $1B in…
Read MoreUS pension briefing – June 2021
Article July 7, 2021 US pension briefing – June 2021 Written by River and Mercantile Share Key takeaways Pension discount rates declined 0.20% – 0.25% in June which will translate to pension liability increases of 2-3% for a typical pension plan. Asset performance was also generally positive for June, with both US fixed income and…
Read MoreMonthly macro update – June 2021
Inflation is materializing, but it remains our base case that this is transitory and driven primarily by COVID-related short-term supply and demand issues.
Read MoreUS pension briefing – May 2021
After four months of significant activity, pension plans took a breather in May of 2021, with only small changes in both liabilities and asset values.
Read MoreMonthly macro update: May 2021
Company earnings growth is materializing better than expected, particularly within cyclical sectors. Almost one in four companies have surprised on the upside, helping drive the S&P 500 to its best month since November.
Read MoreUS pension briefing – April 2021
Equity market returns continued to increase as the global economy continued to improve and generally outperformed liabilities.
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