Research, analysis, and thoughts on retirement investments & the future of personalization
Wow, what a year and how appropriate to be using 20/20 hindsight as a metaphor as we look back across the past 12 months. We will all remember very clearly the struggles and challenges our world collectively faced. Investors were initially giddy to begin the new decade and markets rallied over the first 6 weeks of the year. Then it all came unglued.
With another quarter in the books, we’ll take another look at asset flows within the Target Date industry.
After a very rough 1st quarter and a very strong bounce-back during 2nd quarter, the 3rd quarter was a bit more normalized, albeit still relatively strong. Performance during 3Q20 was, across-the-board, positive and enjoyed the springboard of a strong July and August despite a bit of a pullback in September
Target Date Funds (TDFs) are often categorized by being active or passive based on the makeup of the underlying holdings. Many issuers also offer blended or hybrid TDF series, which utilize both active and passive underlying holdings. However, the specific blend of active and passive holdings can be very different among issuers.
Target Date Fund (TDF) issuers have a stated target glidepath they adhere to when building asset allocation within the different vintages. One caveat is that many issuers have the ability to adjust exposure from this target/baseline exposure based on market conditions. However, issuers also have the ability to alter this target glidepath as they see fit. Often, these changes are relatively minor, but sometimes a more significant shift may occur.