Pension Risk Blog For $28 Trillion Retirement Plan Industry

Posted by Susan Mangiero on March 23, 2011

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Five years ago, valuation and risk management professional Dr. Susan Mangiero launched the first blog devoted exclusively to the topic of retirement plan governance and investment best practices. This unique blog, www.PensionRiskMatters.com, continues to serve as a resource for ERISA and public plan trustees, board members, actuaries, advisers, attorneys, auditors, consultants, money managers and regulators who want to explore important ideas about pension risk issues within a fiduciary framework.

Since the inception of www.PensionRiskMatters.com, the challenges that confront retirement plan decision-makers continue to mount. The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) each seek to expand the definition and scope of investment fiduciary duties. Pension litigation is on the rise with some lawsuits being certified as class actions and resulting in multi-million dollar settlements. Liability insurance underwriters and federal, state and international regulators are asking tough questions about risk-taking and due diligence. Lawmakers actively examine issues relating to 401(k) fees. Taxpayers worry that more than $3 trillion of unfunded IOUs will strain local budgets. Pay-to-play and other types of conflict of interest investigations grab headlines. Investors worry that bad employee benefit plan economics could roil share prices or thwart corporate mergers.

Click here to sign up for a complimentary subscription to www.PensionRiskMatters.com by email.

Institutional Real Estate Investment Due Diligence

Posted by Susan Mangiero on February 28, 2011

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Dr. Susan Mangiero, CFA, FRM is pleased to join a panel entitled "Manager Monitoring & Ongoing Due Diligence" on March 30, 2011 in New York City. Part of IMN's "Real Estate Investment & Search Consultants Congress: Meet the Gatekeepers" event, Dr. Mangiero will participate in a discussion about the following topics:

  • Factors used to evaluate fund managers;
  • Asset manager - client communication best practices;
  • Organization and strategies as relates to style shifts;
  • When to consider replacing a manager;
  • Duties of a limited partner;
  • Benchmarking against the agreed upon scope of work; and
  • Performance reporting pitfalls.

According to statistics published by the Pension Real Estate Association ("PREA"), real estate equity accounts for an average of roughly 4.6 percent of surveyed plans that control about $5 trillion in assets (including single-employer public and corporate pensions, endowments, foundations and Taft-Hartley plans). About 90 percent of surveyed institutional investors state that they expect no change in allocation to this asset class. Given the size of monies being deployed to real estate and the various mechanisms used (including but not limited to commingled funds, direct investments, real estate investment trusts, joint ventures), a detailed discussion about manager due diligence is timely and helpful.

Use online registration code SP10 if you plan to attend this conference in the Big Apple on March 30.