Posts by Tom Cassara
Pooled Employer Plans: Investment Lineups & Offerings
Article July 29, 2022 Pooled Employer Plans: Investment Lineups & Offerings Written by Tom Cassara Alec Constanza Share In our prior Pooled Employer Plan (PEPs) articles, we covered the contrasts in certain plan designs and the flexibilities or constraints that PEP providers may offer. This article will focus on characteristics within a PEP’s investment lineup…
Read MorePooled employer plan design: Flexibility vs Mandates
Article June 27, 2022 Pooled employer plan design: Flexibility vs Mandates Written by Tom Cassara Michael Clark Share This is another article in our series on Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs). In prior articles we’ve looked at PEPs from a high level and we’ve also discussed the various fee arrangements offered by PEPs. In this article…
Read MorePooled employer plan fee arrangements
Article June 16, 2022 Pooled employer plan fee arrangements Written by Tom Cassara Mike Lynch Share This is another article in our series on Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) – click here for an introduction to PEPs. The goal of one of the provisions in the bill that allowed for PEPs was to encourage employers that…
Read MoreWhy you need to know and understand pooled employer plans
Article May 31, 2022 Why you need to know and understand pooled employer plans Written by Tom Cassara Share With the passage of the SECURE Act in late 2019, there has been a lot written about the benefits of Pooled Employer Plans (PEP) for plan sponsors and their participants. These benefits include items such as…
Read MoreNavigating a Frozen Plan to Termination
Article January 5, 2022 Navigating a Frozen Plan to Termination Written by Vaidehi Hoyer Tom Cassara Share Pension plan terminations are on the rise. Strong portfolio performance, strong corporate balance sheets and rising interest rates have contributed to many plan sponsors of frozen pension plans to either consider or implement a full termination. Through our…
Read MoreAlternatives to traditional pension de-risking
Article October 8, 2021 Alternatives to traditional pension de-risking Written by Tom Cassara Share Are you looking to further de-risk your defined benefit pension plan, while improving the bottom line at the same time? If so, in this note we explore de-risking ideas that are potentially more profitable than simply shifting assets from equities to…
Read MoreCreative ideas for managing pension plan risk
Article September 14, 2021 Creative ideas for managing pension plan risk Written by Tom Cassara Michael Clark Share The past couple of years have been very interesting times for US pension plan sponsors. Obviously, the global pandemic and its effect on the economy has been the most impactful. We’ve also had new pension legislation as…
Read MoreWhen good tools are used inappropriately, bad things happen
No, all derivatives are NOT the same. Derivatives are a tool, nothing more, nothing less.
Read MorePension plan glidepath: an investment opportunity
Many frozen pension plan sponsors have established “glidepaths” to manage the allocation of assets between growth assets (typically equity) and hedging assets (typically fixed income).
Read MoreA case study in liquidity – because when it rains, it pours!
Liquidity management is of increasing importance on the agendas of trustees and plan committee members, with many plans potentially now paying out more cash out than is coming in and with the recent market volatility having a negative impact on asset levels.
Read More