Defined Benefits

Young workers are struggling to find jobs, despite labor shortages.

We maintain a neutral-duration posture overall. We prefer an up-in-quality bias and have become increasingly selective in non-investment grades.

I thought I’d lead with some really impressive statistics. I just finished reading our latest ADV Part 2 (the SEC disclosure document provided annually to clients) describing the firm.

Fitch Ratings unexpectedly downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+, only the second downgrade in U.S. history, citing debt limit standoffs and rising entitlement costs.

A member of Putnam's Fixed Income team since 2007, Onsel Gulbiten analyzes macroeconomic issues, including inflation, interest rates, and policy developments.

UK gilts rally after headline and core inflation numbers surprise to the downside.

ESG scoring and mandates remain a subject we have contested since it sprang to life in 2020. The push of “woke activism” on, and by companies, to meet nebulous or artificial standards has led to various bad outcomes.

Transitioning to a green net-zero economy requires climate solutions that enable the economy to decarbonise, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, and recycling technologies.

Small business owners without workplace retirement plans now may take advantage of expanded tax credits if they establish one, according to John Kutz, National Retirement Plan Strategist at Franklin Templeton. He outlines recent regulatory and legal developments.

In 2022, the funded status of $20 billion club members reached its highest level since 2007 due to steep rises in discount rates.

Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.

India is rapidly transforming into a formidable global superpower and an increasingly attractive destination for investor capital. Amid rising geopolitical tensions and the impact of disruptive technologies, India's story is a beacon of opportunity in a challenging landscape.

Sam Weitzman of Western Asset Management highlights the overlooked potential of municipal bonds as a high-quality asset class. With fixed income yields reaching near-decade highs and higher tax rates impacting taxable fixed income investing, municipal bonds are offering above-average after-tax returns and downside protection, making them attractive for income seekers.

Imagine a new digital environment where our data is portable and democratized, challenging the current monopolies. Web3 promises to be such an environment, using blockchain technology.

Although once considered a niche strategy, secondaries have matured and now represent a vital cog in the private equity ecosystem, according to Franklin Templeton Institute’s Tony Davidow.

While the retirement of several high-profile CIOs has generated ample news, and headlines, there’s been very little press coverage about OCIO as a potential solution. We find this perplexing.

Tony Davidow, Senior Alternative Investment Strategist with Franklin Templeton Institute, illustrates the potential impact of adding alternative investments to pursue growth and income—as well as seek to dampen volatility—during the accumulation and distribution phases of retirement.

The private equity (PE) industry has been all the rage over the past 10 years.

The Federal Reserve’s higher interest rates, the work from home trend, ESG distractions, increases in crime, etc., are having far reaching effects on our economy and investors.

Investors have been loading up on T-bills and money market funds this year, but according to our Total Return team, that is not a sustainable strategy as it exposes investors to both reinvestment risk and inflation while creating an asset/liability mismatch.

Transit has not made a complete recovery from the pandemic.

Over the past decade or so, there has been a broad trend in the industry toward closing and freezing defined benefit plans.

Most of us spent moments of our childhood, crayon in hand, connecting numbered dots that gradually revealed a picture that we couldn’t deduce simply by looking at the separate dots. With experience, we got better at looking at those isolated dots and mentally connecting them into a coherent “gestalt.”

Both domestic and external forces may limit China's growth prospects.

We often talk about technology’s influence on the economy. After the Strategic Investment Conference, though, I’ve decided that isn’t strong enough. It’s more correct to say technology is the economy.

The current economic and investing environment remains one of the most challenging and difficult to navigate in recent times. We have stubborn inflation, economic resilience, geopolitical tensions, tight labour markets, rising interest rates, higher for longer monetary policy, QT, bank failures, overwhelming bearishness and now, issues surrounding the debt ceiling.

Muni investors have more reasons for optimism than concern as California tackles a projected $31.5 billion budget deficit.

Taking risks is no longer necessary to make a return on your savings.

Next week also brings what could be a pivotal Federal Reserve policy meeting. We use this word “pivotal” to say an event is important. Taken literally, it means to turn in a different direction than you were previously going.

Economic fundamentals are lining up for a return of QE. Yes, inflation is still on the high side but falling so rapidly that at least some central banks will be willing to take action before inflation is back to 2%.

Amid the overabundance of economic opinion, unexamined clichés, and unverified assertions, and nutrient-free word salad dispensed by talking heads on television, market observers, and even Federal Reserve officials, I often wonder how many of them have ever taken the time to carefully examine historical data.

It’s believed that to meet this goal, two out of every three passenger vehicles manufactured in the U.S. would need to be electric models.

Despite recent headwinds, structural drivers underpinning China’s growth remain intact. Sectors that will benefit from the structural trends include healthcare, industrial automation, and domestic brands targeting increased spending by Chinese consumers.

Senior Fixed Income Analyst Bedford Lydon shares three factors that may affect states' creditworthiness in a downturn.

Emerging Markets (EM) have faced a challenging environment over the past five years, due to a series of global shocks that have triggered elevated market volatility and led the MSCI EM equity benchmark to experience its most protracted drawdown in history.

The simplest thing that can be said about current financial market and banking conditions is this: the unwinding of this Fed-induced, yield-seeking speculative bubble is proceeding as one would expect, and it’s not over by a longshot.

For years I’ve used a sandpile metaphor to describe complex systems like banking. Keep dropping grains of sand long enough and you will eventually trigger an avalanche.

Sixty-six million Americans currently receive monthly benefits from Social Security, which, if nothing changes, is expected to be insolvent by 2035 at the latest. It’s time for Americans to take a greater role in their own retirement planning.

The extreme “tail” risk ahead may be disorienting.

The high-profile collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week is a story about bad debt, just not in the way most people think.

The long-term outlook for stocks remains questionable, as most of my leading indicators of risk assets suggest sub-par performance over the next year or so.

While 2023 has started on shaky ground for the municipal bond market, there are reasons to be optimistic for more stability ahead, according to Jennifer Johnston, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income’s Director of Municipal Bond Research. She explains why California’s issues don’t reflect all states, and offers reasons for optimism.