Every Good Idea Starts With The Right Question:

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In 2011, 29% of defined contribution plans included a self-directed brokerage window. What does this mean for 404(c) compliance and participant investment decision making?

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How can assumptions about skewness and kurtosis in investment returns improve Sharpe ratio analysis?

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The % of workers under 40 who said their retirement program was an important factor in accepting their jobs: 28% in 2009, 63% in 2011. How can employers differentiate their retirement plan and attract top talent?

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What role should currency play in asset allocation?

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Numerous studies show that movement along an efficient frontier accounts for approximately 90% of investment return variance. What approach can move the frontier itself to improve investment returns?

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Brokerage commission and bid-ask spread costs are not embedded in mutual fund expense ratios. To what degree can these hidden costs affect fund performance?

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How should asset class correlation models adjust to data from the 4th Quarter of 2008? What are the effects on Modern Portfolio Theory?

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How can triggers for tax loss sales help limit tax liability and improve portfolio diversification?

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Over the 20th century, inflation eroded U.S. purchasing power by 95%, reducing a 1900 dollar to a 2000 nickel. What investment approach combats the effects of inflation?

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How does short selling influence the correlation statistics for traditional asset classes? Can short correlations be captured through hedge fund betas?

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Today, there is a 25% chance that at least one member of a 65 year-old couple lives to age 97. With a potential need for 30-40 years of retirement income, how can one guage retirement readiness?

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62% of private sector employees had a defined benefit pension in 1980. In 2012: 7%. How should workers manage the loss of guaranteed retirement income?

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A 2013 study found that investors who work with a financial advisor replace 80% of their working income in retirement, while those who don't replace 56%. What is the value of financial advice?

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With increasing expected life spans and potentially muted forward investment returns, what is an suitable investment drawdown assumption in retirement?

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How do asset classes perform in various economic cycles? How should these correlations influence asset allocation?

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Research shows the potential for deeper recessions and slower recoveries moving forward. How can low volatility portfolios enhance long-term returns in these environments?

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Why is index construction especially important in emerging markets?

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An ERBI study found that 55% of working adults do not know how much they need to save to retire comfortably. What is an appropriate retirement adequacy savings formula?

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Decimalization in securities quotation ushered in the era of high frequency trading. What is the effect on volatility assumptions in risk modeling?

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How can synthetic NAVs hide the true costs of an investment product?

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Appeals courts ruled that company stock in pension plans is entitled to the presumption of prudence, a ruling the Supreme Court declined to review. Is company stock practically prudent as an investment option?

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53% of American households won't be able to support their working lifestyle in retirement, a $6.6 trillion savings deficit. How can employers address this problem?

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What asset allocation strategy is prudent given increased market volatility and higher correlation coefficients across asset classes?

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What role should inflation assumptions play in retirement planning?

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67% of U.S. workers say they are behind schedule in saving for retirement, with 42% admitting they don't currently save for retirement. What's the solution for increased savings incentives?

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What role should longevity insurance play in mitigating the risk of outliving your assets?

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How can factors for cognitive bias and behavioral economics improve pricing and risk models?

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Lack of personalization, no perspective on other assets, uniform risk profile, singular glide path, no deculumation provision. What alternatives are available for these target date fund deficiencies?

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Research studies indicate 401(k) participants who seek financial advice are more diversified and realize better long-term investment returns. How should plan sponsors implement an advice-based model?

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Research suggests that most people should save between 6-19% of their income for retirement, depending on their age, yet less than 1/3 actually do. What can spur employees to save more?

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The worst performing funds are 2.5 times likelier to be removed from a plan menu if they are unaffiliated with the trustee. How does conflict of interest threaten fiduciary duty?

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How should pricing models adjust for access to dark trading pools?

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Fund Selection. Asset Allocation. Rebalancing. Increased Savings. Which variable is most important for retirement income adequacy?

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40% of retirement plan sponsors admit that they don't fully understand their fiduciary responsibilities. Does this situation create liability?

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Fidelity faces a class action lawsuit alleging fiduciary self dealing in float interest. How can turnkey pension providers claim fiduciary status?

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Client account trading can circumvent the Volcker rule. What are the implications for monitoring market and concentration risk?

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66% of retirees and 75% of pre-retirees have no formal plan to manage income, expenses, and assets in retirement. What planning tools help overcome avoidance?

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Should plan sponsors include insurance products, such as longevity insurance and annuities, as investment options? What are the regulatory guidelines?

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83% of DC pension participants withdraw their entire balance within 3 years of retirement. Should pension managers strategically position the DC pension as an accumulation or distribution vehicle?

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How can a firm adhere to a common fiduciary standard for investment advisors and broker-dealers and related evidentiary reporting?

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How can innovation in liquid investment vehicles move an efficient frontier? Can new asset classes move it up and to the left?

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ISDA eliminates restructuring as a credit event. How should pricing and credit models for credit default swaps change?

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Gen X investors control $3 Trillion in financial assets, yet more than half of them admit to having little or no knowledge of investments and financial products. What advice distribution channel can reach the greatest number of them?

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If Fannie and Freddie dissolve and lenders are forced to pay the government insurance premiums to guarantee mortgage securities, how could loan pricing adjust?

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How does investment cost relate to investment performance?

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Matrix pricing can misrepresent security valuation in an index. How should a portfolio reporting solution adjust?

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The 10 year period that ended in 2009 produced the worst domestic stock performance ever. What are the implications for portfolio risk management?

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How can businesses receive tax benefits by establishing a 401(k) plan?

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Fewer than 33% of workers had defined-benefit coverage in 2010, down from 88% in 1983. Investment responsibility now resides with employees. How should they adapt?

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Nearly 25% of middle-income Americans save nothing annually for retirement. What approach can encourage higher savings rates?

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Historically, health care costs have risen at about 2x, and long term care insurance about 3x, the rate of a comprehensive inflation index. What are the implications for retirement income planning?

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What approach can circumvent Required Minimum Distributions from qualified retirement accounts?

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Studies show that increased savings, not investment returns, are the strongest catalyst for a secure retirement. What can sponsors do to encourage participant contributions?

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With updated regulatory requirements for liquidity risk, how can firms take advantage of thinly traded securities?

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Capital quality initiatives, such as leverage ratios, will further de-lever bank balance sheets. How will financial modelers need to adjust bond spreads?

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How can regression analysis help construct portfolios on the efficient risk frontier?

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How can return and risk-based portfolio management improve retirement readiness?

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How does an annuity potentially decrease bequests to heirs?

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Short interest and pricing provides important market information. With a ban on short sales, what substitutes can market participants utilize?

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Are the probabilities of economic cycles equivalent across sovereign states? What if fiscal and monetary policies are governed at different levels, e.g., Europe?

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By 2030 almost 20% of the U.S. population will be over 65 and in need of retirement income. What investment approach can best satisfy this need?

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How do mutual funds disclose costs, such as 12(b)1 fees and sub-transfer agent fees, in reported expense ratios? Can plans avoid these costs in other investment vehicles?

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Is leverage an acceptable mechanism to achieve a target risk level?

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How should studies on risk factors in market capitalization and price to book value affect asset allocation decisions?

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A 2013 study found that the ability to replace income in retirement is not tied to income level but rather to savings level, with 10% savings as the key threshold. What is your savings history?

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What role should external credit agency benchmarking play in an economic credit model, given their inaccuracies in during the 2008 credit crisis and the emergence of structured finance deals without ratings?

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Regulatory reform could include increased capital minimums and a conservation buffer that restricts dividends and stock buy backs in times of distress. How should equity pricing models adjust?

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What investment vehicles can lower plan costs for small to medium sized pension plans?

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Within active investment approaches, how does past performance relate to future performance?

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Large Cap U.S. stocks have produced positive returns over every 20 year period since 1926, but also declines of 68% in one year and 50% over 18 months. What asset classes best offset equity volatility?

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50% of plan sponsors say employee participation is their paramount concern. What is the most effective way to engage participants?

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What's the best method for estimating liquidity haircuts for assets other than cash and sovereign debt?

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Over the last century, domestic stocks have outperformed bonds and cash over almost every 20+ year period. What are the investment implications for retirement income that may need to cover 30 years or more?

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When exchange clearing is unnecessary, how can a firm support federal monitoring requirements for OTC derivatives contracts?

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A plan sponsor is responsible as a fiduciary for accumulation of participant assets prior to retirement. Should it be responsible for decumulation in retirement?

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Retirees are retiring earlier and living longer. Investment returns may not approach historical averages. What is an appropriate drawdown rate assumption for retirement spending?

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