Blog
Archive October 2025
All of the articles archived for the month that you have specified are displayed below.
Strengthening Public Pensions Through Data
I'm excited to share how two of our flagship research initiatives—the NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study and our Public Pension Compensation Survey—provide the critical insights that pension systems need to stay current in an evolving and uncertain landscape.
The Changing World of Credit
By: Anders Persson, NuveenThe traditional boundaries between public and private lending are rapidly dissolving, creating unprecedented opportunities for investors. The future of credit investing won’t be about choosing between public and private markets, but about combining them strategically to create portfolios that seek to withstand market cycles over the medium to long term.
Selecting the Right AI Vendor for Your Organization
By: Norm Buckwalter, SegalArtificial intelligence (AI) offers tremendous potential to enhance business operations, drive efficiencies and unlock new opportunities. This article discusses why choosing the right vendor for your organization is a critical decision that requires careful consideration and provides criteria for a structured evaluation process to ensure a successful and sustainable integration.
How Bonds Can Enhance the Pension ROA
By: Ronald Ryan, Ryan ALMThe true objective of a pension is to secure and fully fund the benefit payments in a cost-efficient manner with prudent risk. Cash flow matching is the best fit to accomplish the pension objective.
It’s Time to Start a Discussion About Private Equity in Retirement Plans
By: Tim Hill, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Pension Resources DepartmentAs other alternative investments become mainstream, the piece makes the point that it might be worth asking whether private equity (PE) — with proper safeguards and labor-conscious design — could responsibly serve as a diversification tool in 401(k) and 457 plans. With broad growing interest in investment democratization, now is the time to start a serious conversation about how to give working Americans fair access to the same opportunities as wealthier investors.
Parsing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)
By: Richard J. O’Neill, CFA, CAIA', Meketa
Recently, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). At nearly 900 pages, the OBBBA is broad in scope. In the article some of the key changes related to: taxes, new spending, offsets, and debt ceiling adjustments are summarized.
Recently, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). At nearly 900 pages, the OBBBA is broad in scope. In the article some of the key changes related to: taxes, new spending, offsets, and debt ceiling adjustments are summarized.
Submit Your Nomination for NCPERS Public Pension Communicator of the Year Award
This award honors staff members at public pensions who have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills; shown superior innovation and creativity; and created a positive impact with their communications or member services work in the preceding year.
Navigating Three of Today’s Biggest Securities Class Action Pain Points
By: Bill Kidder, Financial Recovery Technologies
Documentation audits, claim deficiencies, and class action program governance are some of the key shareholder recovery challenges pension funds face today. To address this operational friction, plans need the right mix of people, process, and technology to solve routine issues with automation and proactively flag non-standard issues for hands-on review.
From Blue Chips to Micro Chips: How Market Leadership Has Transformed
By: Chris McDonough, Investment Performance Services, LLC
This article highlights how public equity markets have become more concentrated, U.S.-dominated, and driven by intangible-rich technology firms, reducing traditional diversification. Public pension trustees should reassess portfolio construction to address rising concentration risk and consider complementary strategies, including selective private market exposure, to access early-stage growth.
Complexity vs. Simplicity: Affirming the Power of Diverse Portfolios
By: Joanna Bewick and Christopher Tessman, Wilshire
Pension fund investors can learn that while the 60/40 portfolio showed strong performance in 2024 due to a booming equity market, it is important not to underestimate the enduring benefits of diversification over the long term. By spreading risk and capturing returns across various asset classes, diversified portfolios can offer better resilience and potentially higher returns, making them a sound long-term strategy despite their complexity and higher fees.
