Publications

1988
Chapter

Defined Benefit versus Defined Contribution Pension Plans: What are the Real Tradeoffs

By: Zvi Bodie, Alan J. Marcus and Robert C. Merton

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Cost vs Benefits

2004
Working Paper

Do a Firm's Equity Returns Reflect the Risk of Its Pension Plan?

By: Li Jin, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie

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winter 2006
Article

Observations on Innovation in Pension Fund Management in the Impending Future

By: Robert C. Merton

1986
Chapter

Promise Them Anything: The Incentive Structures of Local Public Pension Plans

By: Dutch Leonard

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Public Sector; Government and Politics; Local Range; Motivation and Incentives

November 2018 (Revised December 2018)
Case

CalSTRS Takes on Gun Violence

By: Vikram S Gandhi and Caitlin Reimers

In Spring of 2018, Chris Ailman, CIO of the $200 billion pension plan for California public school teachers (CalSTRS) was mandated by his board to “prioritize engagement with makers and retailers of firearms in California” following a series of gun-related tragedies in... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Pension Plan; Asset Allocation; Screening; ESG; Gun Violence; Business and Government Relations; Values and Beliefs; Education Industry; California; United States

Educators

July 2006
Article

Do a Firm's Equity Returns Reflect the Risk of Its Pension Plan?

By: Li Jin, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie

December 2017
Teaching Note

Vicki Fuller: Chief Investment Officer of New York State's $150+ Billion Employee Pension Fund

By: Steven Rogers and Valerie Mosley

Teaching Note for HBS No. 317-044. View Details

April 2020
Supplement

Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World? Inside GPIF's Embrace of ESG

By: Rebecca Henderson

February 2019 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Banorte and the Capital Call Facility: Infrastructure Finance in Mexico

By: John D. Macomber, Carla Larangeira and Fernanda Miguel

As a result of Mexico´s pension industry deregulation, pension funds were able to invest in energy and infrastructure projects through a variety of financial instruments, particularly through Capital Development Certificates (CKDs), an asset class that served as a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Products; Fund Management; Capital Call Facility; Pension Funds; Infrastructure; Energy; Finance; Decision Making; Investment Funds; Financial Instruments; North America; Mexico

Educators

2010
Chapter

Public Policy and Saving for Retirement: The 'Autosave' Features of the Pension Protection Act of 2006

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Brian Weller

August 2014
Article

What Makes Annuitization More Appealing?

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Stephen P. Zeldes

We conduct and analyze two large surveys of hypothetical annuitization choices. We find that allowing individuals to annuitize a fraction of their wealth increases annuitization relative to a situation where annuitization is an "all or nothing" decision. Very few... View Details

Keywords: Annuity; Pension; Retirement Income; Framing; Annuities; Retirement

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June 2022
Case

PFA Pensions: The Climate Plus Product

By: Daniel Green, Victoria Ivashina and Alys Ferragamo

The case explores whether alternative investments play a unique role in achieving low carbon dioxide emissions at the portfolio level. This case is set in April of 2020 and follows Kasper Ahrndt Lorenzen, Chief Investment Officer, and Peter Tind Larsen, Head of... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Carbon Footprint; Alternative Assets; Alternative Investment Vehicles; Pension Fund Investing; Private Equity; Renewable Energy; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Denmark

Educators