TRUMBULL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five years ago, valuation and risk management professional Dr. Susan Mangiero launched the first blog devoted exclusively to the topic of retirement plan governance and investment best practices. This unique blog, www.PensionRiskMatters.com, continues to serve as a resource for ERISA and public plan trustees, board members, actuaries, advisers, attorneys, auditors, consultants, money managers and regulators who want to explore important ideas about pension risk issues within a fiduciary framework.
Since the inception of www.PensionRiskMatters.com, the challenges that confront retirement plan decision-makers continue to mount. The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) each seek to expand the definition and scope of investment fiduciary duties. Pension litigation is on the rise with some lawsuits being certified as class actions and resulting in multi-million dollar settlements. Liability insurance underwriters and federal, state and international regulators are asking tough questions about risk-taking and due diligence. Lawmakers actively examine issues relating to 401(k) fees. Taxpayers worry that more than $3 trillion of unfunded IOUs will strain local budgets. Pay-to-play and other types of conflict of interest investigations grab headlines. Investors worry that bad employee benefit plan economics could roil share prices or thwart corporate mergers.
Not every situation is a disaster waiting to happen. There are countless decision-makers who are doing a great job but seldom have their work see the light of day. Dr. Mangiero's award-winning, syndicated blog includes commentary on investment industry lessons learned, leadership, trends and research, with a primary goal of getting people to more clearly connect the pension governance dots. With hundreds of thousands of visits, www.PensionRiskMatters.com remains a popular and informative "go to" site about a variety of topics relating to pension financial risk such as the use of derivatives, fiduciary best practices, valuation, asset-liability management and fees.
Dr. Susan Mangiero is a CFA charterholder and certified Financial Risk Manager. She provides independent risk management, valuation and financial forensics analysis, training and litigation support services, including expert witness testimony and calculation of damages. Dr. Mangiero is the author of Risk Management for Pensions, Endowments and Foundations and numerous articles and speeches about investment best practices, risk mitigation and asset-liability management. She has over twenty years of experience in global capital markets, including work on several bank trading desks and with corporate treasury departments.