In the face of escalating inflation, Americans are increasingly longing for the retirement security once provided by pensions, a sentiment reflected in a survey revealing widespread concerns about the reliability of existing retirement plans such as 401(k)s.

 This shift away from traditional pensions stems from their expense and risk for companies, leading to the widespread adoption of defined contribution plans like 401(k)s, which place the onus of retirement planning on employees. However, the recent surge in inflation has exposed the vulnerabilities of 401(k)s, particularly for older adults nearing retirement. 

To address this, there's a growing interest in annuities, which offer a guaranteed income stream and can be seen as a modern iteration of traditional pensions. Annuities, available in various forms including fixed and variable, provide retirees with a way to insure their income stream, offering stability in an uncertain financial landscape and potentially bridging the gap left by the decline of pensions and shortcomings of 401(k)s.

Finsum: Annuities can offer a more secure return and replace the void left by pensions for many Americans.

2024 has proven to be a much more challenging year for financial markets than 2023. Entering the year, the consensus was that the economy would continue to weaken, inflation would keep trending lower, and the Fed would be proactive and aggressive in cutting rates. 

Clearly, this has not happened. Amid this new paradigm, allocators are understandably looking to make appropriate adjustments to portfolios. Here’s why they should consider increasing exposure to active strategies.  

With fixed income, active investing can allow for precise exposure to a specific theme. For instance, those who don’t believe that inflation will keep trending lower may want to have higher exposure to short-duration debt. Another benefit is that active managers are able to quickly change strategies depending on how events develop, which makes them particularly useful in the current environment. This means that holdings can be optimized for the current environment of ‘higher for longer, but then managers can quickly pivot once the Fed actually starts cutting rates.

Active strategies can also be useful in other asset classes, such as international equities, which currently appeal to many investors due to favorable valuations relative to US equities. With active management, there is more focus on bottom-up, fundamental-focused analysis, which can result in more alpha in less efficient markets. Further, it can also lead to more diversification and risk management than is typically found with passive investing.

Finsum: The first quarter of 2024 has had several unexpected developments. Here’s why allocators should consider active management to navigate this tricky environment. 

iCapital, headquartered in New York and a sizable user base of over 100,000 financial advisors and 560 asset managers, has rolled out its latest offering, the portfolio construction tool, on the iCapital Marketplace. 

Dubbed Architect, this tool equips advisors to delve into alternative assets such as private equity and hedge funds, alongside structured investments, to fine-tune client portfolios. Architect boasts capabilities to simulate past performances, discern macroeconomic influences on portfolio returns, and align future projections with client objectives. 

This initiative aims to bridge the gap between traditional portfolios and alternative investments, historically kept separate. Now accessible to a broader audience, including users via a collaboration with Morningstar, Architect underscores iCapital's commitment to empowering advisors with flexible tools for better client service.

Finsum: Easy access to alternatives in portfolio construction gives clients better access to uncorrelated returns.