“The key to making money in stocks is to not get scared out of them.” – Peter Lynch The S&P 500 finished the quarter down 4.3% and down less than 10% from its February high. This might seem surprising given the headline news. And while Fidelity’s Peter Lynch is undoubtedly right, staying calm is a lot harder when you are investing your own money! The math is simple but the intuition is not. An example: Stock A: returns +50% in…
This quarter’s theme is based on Newton’s First Law of Motion which states “an object will remain at rest or in motion at a constant speed and direction unless an outside force acts upon it.” There are two critical elements in focus: force and speed. While the law applies to physics, it can also be loosely applied to finance. When we discuss inflation, for example, we are specifically addressing the rate of change (speed) in prices. To forecast (rather than…
December was a tough month for the stock market with the S&P 500 falling -2.38%. However, for the year, the S&P 500 returned just over 25%, nearly matching the prior year’s 26% return. And as the Wall Street Journal notes, this is the best two-year performance in a quarter century. If we extend the lookback period to three years and include the market selloff of 2022, investors still earned an average of nearly 9% per year. Download PDF
There is considerable confusion on exactly what OCIO services mean. Simply put, the primary difference in OCIO versus traditional consulting services is who owns final discretion for the selection of managers/funds and the execution of investment decisions. According to the PGIM survey, the top objective for plan sponsors is very different than OCIO service provider goals. All Plan Sponsors considering the benefits of implementing this type of service should begin by identifying internal goals and priorities before conducting due diligence…
Why bring attention to a service 64% of Plan Sponsors have not evaluated yet? As the Great One said, Wayne Gretzky, “I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” Projections are that OCIO assets will rise from $1.1 Trillion to $1.7 Trillion in the next 3 years according to Cerulli Associates. Plan Sponsors are being approached by their current advisors/ consultants or new consultant touting the OCIO or ERISA 3(38). The OCIO/ERISA 3(38) term means…
Recent changes continue to reshape the Retirement landscape due to Recordkeeper and Advisor/Consultant Consolidation. Plan Sponsors should be prepared to evaluate how these changes will affect their plans and participants.
Managed Accounts All 401(k) Plan recordkeeping firms are experiencing margin compression in their core business and seeking ways to increase their revenue in other areas, such as selling Managed Accounts. It is critical that Plan Sponsors realize Managed Accounts are NOT a service but an investment product. Why the distinction? A Managed Account as an investment product means you have a fiduciary duty to conduct due diligence to evaluate the benefits. As with any fiduciary decision, it is important for…
OCIO/ERISA 3(38) As this consolidation has occurred on the advisor side, Advisor firms are actively positioning OCIO (Outsourced Chief Investment Officers), ERISA 3(38) or Discretionary Asset Management services to Plan Sponsors. The three terms are used interchangeable and relate to hiring an advisor/consultant to take fiduciary responsibility from the Retirement Committee for all investment related decisions including hiring and firing investment managers/funds in your retirement plan. Generally, Committees are utilizing this service due to: Plan Sponsors considering the implementation of…
COVID-19: Update on Monetary & Fiscal Policy Efforts PLAN SPONSOR USE ONLY Monday, March 23, 2020 at 4:30pm Good afternoon. The staff at Comperio wanted to provide another update given the unprecedented nature of this crisis and the market’s response to it. And once again, we ask for your understanding that the situation is unfolding rapidly and that this communication may be outdated in a short period of time. Nevertheless, we feel it is imperative to provide you with the…
Gradually…then Suddenly Warning: due to the rapidly evolving situation, this update will likely become outdated in a very short period of time. In a few short minutes after this article was written, the Fed announced $700 billion in asset purchases and cut the Fed Funds rate to 0% – 0.25%. And the governors of Ohio and Illinois mandated the closing of bars and restaurants indefinitely. PLAN SPONSOR USE ONLY March 15, 2020 It seems like just yesterday that we were…
Comperio Retirement Consulting has been named one of the largest 100 Investment Consultants in the United States according to Pension & Investments (P&I) for the past 7 years
