Target date funds have become especially popular with workers in their twenties, according to a recent report from the ICI and EBRI. Among younger workers, 52% are investing in TDFs, compared with... Read More
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Target Date Funds
BY NAPA Net Staff | 12/13/2013
The Great Recession brought an inordinate amount of scrutiny to target date funds from both industry experts and political organizations. And the scrutiny came with good reason: Some estimates show... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 12/10/2013
Saving for retirement is easy compared with figuring out how much you will need when you retire, which is why TDFs have become so popular. Though using a single investment strategy for people born... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 12/5/2013
As Vanguard closes in on top TDF provider Fidelity, the Boston fund company is taking steps to bolster its shrinking advantage, lowering fees on their Freedom Index Funds. Fidelity’s new pricing will... Read More
BY Jerry Bramlett | 11/25/2013
There are two significant trends in DC investing: the use of traditional glidepath strategies (reducing equity as an investor ages) and the use of mostly cap-weighted passive money management. Both... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 11/18/2013
While the trend toward managed investments — mostly in the form of TDFs — is moving in the right direction, there’s a basic flaw in how they are presented. That flaw can be easily fixed, however.... Read More
BY John Ortman | 10/16/2013
Fred Reish highlights a problem with most Investment Policy Statements: Most lack a robust set of criteria to be applied to TDFs. For example, an IPS might be completely silent on the issue or may... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 10/14/2013
Drinker Biddle provides some concise guidance for advisors interested in using custom target date funds. While the use of packaged TDFs has skyrocketed, the use of custom TDFs is limited. The DOL... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 9/30/2013
Business reasons and changing market dynamics have caused Fidelity to get more aggressive in the equity allocation for their estimated $175 billion in TDF funds. RIABiz reporter Brooke Southall... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 8/29/2013
There’s a lot of discussion about the efficacy of TDFs that invest only in the fund complex’s investments. Many are predicting that it’s only a matter of time before they’re forced to open up to... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 8/12/2013
Morningstar recently released their 2013 Q2 “Target-Date Fund Series Rating and Research Reports,” which are one-page analyses of the 22 most widely held TDFs. The reports review the glide paths, sub... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/17/2013
Though TDF assets grew 20% in 2012, according to a joint report from Brightscope and TD Analytics, the net number of TDFs dropped from 50 to 48, a first since the rating agencies started covering... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/5/2013
As more assets flow into TDFs, analysis of how they are created is becoming essential to advisors and plan sponsors. There are numerous tools available from firms like Allianz, Pimco and JP Morgan to... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/2/2013
Morningstar has released a comprehensive and far-reaching review and analysis of the TDF market that includes results from Q1 2013. Some of the findings are not surprising, including the continued... Read More
BY John Ortman | 6/27/2013
Citing TDFs’ benefits to participants and the safe harbor protection offered to fiduciaries under the QDIA rules, Fred Reish and Bruce Ashton of Drinker Biddle advise plan fiduciaries to add TDFs to... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 6/26/2013
Though TDF assets grew 20% in 2012, the net number of TDFs dropped from 50 to 48, according to a 200-page report from Brightscope and TD Analytics. This marked the first drop in that number since the... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 6/19/2013
In a panel of TDF providers at the 401konvergence conference in New York this week, managers from JP Morgan, MFS and Franklin Templeton were asked to opine about the next generation of QDIAs. When... Read More
BY John Ortman | 6/10/2013
While re-enrollment programs have (of necessity) been around more or less since the invention of participant choice, a new BNY Mellon white paper points out, the first really massive wave of re-... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 5/16/2013
Even with the exponential growth and popularity of TDFs — and maybe because of it — columnist Ronald l. Delegge cautions advisors about the dangers in a recent article on AdvisorOne. Delegge’s... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 5/15/2013
TDFs continue to break records, with an estimated $518 billion in AUM, according to a report from Morningstar’s Ibbotson. The $23 billion in Q1 2013 was a 44% increase from the previous record of $16... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/29/2013
Could a rise in interest rates create a problem for short term TDFs? With many TDFs moving to bonds for safety as their target dates approach, they’re vulnerable to losses if interest rates rise and... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 4/16/2013
A recent research report from Vanguard breaks down the growth trend for target date funds and their impact on DC plan investment strategies. In 2012, the report found, 27% of Vanguard participants... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/11/2013
Claiming that TDFs are the biggest prospecting opportunity in today’s DC market, Glenn Dial, head of Allianz’s DCIO team, highlighted questions plan advisors should be asking when evaluating TDFs at... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 3/29/2013
Target date funds continue to grow in popularity as QDIAs and as part of a lineup of designated investments offered to participants. After the financial problems of 2008, the DOL and the SEC became... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 3/14/2013
According to the Callan DC Index, asset flows into TDFs dominated last year, at the expense of large, small and mid-cap equity funds and company stock. The equally weighted index, based on 79 plans... Read More
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