Neil has applied his experience in research and analysis to the world of finance and has become widely known for his objective work in the contemporary study of defined contribution plan technology. He is frequently quoted in:
The Wall Street Journal
Barron’s
Businessweek
Bloomberg News
Investors Business Daily
CNBC
PLANSPONSOR Magazine
PLANADVISER Magazine
Workforce Magazine
ETF Trends
ETF Guide
AdvisorOne
MutualFundReform
BenefitsPro
He also writes for ETF Guide, where his articles are syndicated through NASDAQ News, Yahoo! Finance and other major web-based finance news sources. Additionally, he is a regularly featured guest on radio shows such as The Index Investing Show and the Financial Impact Radio Factor. Supervisors: Adrienne Rosen / Jean Morrin Address: 37 Wellington Square
Oxford, England OX1 2JA
The 401k Manifesto calls for a revolution in the retirement industry, the core of which is an ent... more The 401k Manifesto calls for a revolution in the retirement industry, the core of which is an entirely new structure designed around exclusively offering Exchange Traded Funds as investment options. This presents the only truly viable way to enact the type of technological change participants urgently need to build higher average retirement balances on a macro scale.
This study was conducted over a 3 year period to determine whether or not the frequency of portfo... more This study was conducted over a 3 year period to determine whether or not the frequency of portfolio rebalancing in defined contribution plans had an effect on risk mitigation. A professionally constructed model portfolio designed to exist on the efficient frontier was used and It was hypothesized that that the higher the frequency of rebalancing the greater the degree of risk mitigation.
As methods of rebalancing have two primary components, cash flow management (plan contributions) and rebalance frequency; the traditional methods studied use plan contributions as being passively invested based on an originally designed asset allocation, followed by rebalancing (highest to lowest) at either quarterly, semi-annual or annual intervals.
These three methods were compared to a fourth method, that of the Self Aligning Portfolios™ methodology (U.S. Pat. 8,060,428) developed by Invest n Retire® (INR); which uses cash flows at each payroll period to bring a portfolio either wholly or partially back into balance followed by a quarterly rebalance as necessary. This method served as the highest frequency rebalancing method considered.
The data strongly supported the hypothesis, that the higher the rebalancing frequency, the higher the degree of risk mitigation (evidenced through higher returns and fewer losses when compared to traditional passive cash flow management and reduced rebalancing frequencies).
Furthermore, at the conclusion of the study, the Self Aligning Portfolios™ had generated larger asset positions than comparative methods; the result of utilizing cash flows at each contribution period to purchase more shares of underweighted positions and either few or no shares in over weighted positions.
Despite the popularity of index funds and their accompanying perception of being low cost, small ... more Despite the popularity of index funds and their accompanying perception of being low cost, small plans are paying quite a premium for this investment type. This study supports the use of index investments in defined contribution plans, but finds that nearly 88% of such plans in the United States are overpaying by using Mutual Funds instead of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Given the substantial number of plans which fall into this category (88% of plans have less than $200 million in assets), the increasing popularity of index investing and new fiduciary regulations that require companies to ensure the reasonableness of investment expenses; the practical decision to replace index mutual funds with ETFs will likely serve as the “breakout” point for ETFs in retirement plans.
This study will show that for plans with less than $200 million in assets, ETFs should be used for index investing rather than mutual funds.
The 401k Manifesto calls for a revolution in the retirement industry, the core of which is an ent... more The 401k Manifesto calls for a revolution in the retirement industry, the core of which is an entirely new structure designed around exclusively offering Exchange Traded Funds as investment options. This presents the only truly viable way to enact the type of technological change participants urgently need to build higher average retirement balances on a macro scale.
This study was conducted over a 3 year period to determine whether or not the frequency of portfo... more This study was conducted over a 3 year period to determine whether or not the frequency of portfolio rebalancing in defined contribution plans had an effect on risk mitigation. A professionally constructed model portfolio designed to exist on the efficient frontier was used and It was hypothesized that that the higher the frequency of rebalancing the greater the degree of risk mitigation.
As methods of rebalancing have two primary components, cash flow management (plan contributions) and rebalance frequency; the traditional methods studied use plan contributions as being passively invested based on an originally designed asset allocation, followed by rebalancing (highest to lowest) at either quarterly, semi-annual or annual intervals.
These three methods were compared to a fourth method, that of the Self Aligning Portfolios™ methodology (U.S. Pat. 8,060,428) developed by Invest n Retire® (INR); which uses cash flows at each payroll period to bring a portfolio either wholly or partially back into balance followed by a quarterly rebalance as necessary. This method served as the highest frequency rebalancing method considered.
The data strongly supported the hypothesis, that the higher the rebalancing frequency, the higher the degree of risk mitigation (evidenced through higher returns and fewer losses when compared to traditional passive cash flow management and reduced rebalancing frequencies).
Furthermore, at the conclusion of the study, the Self Aligning Portfolios™ had generated larger asset positions than comparative methods; the result of utilizing cash flows at each contribution period to purchase more shares of underweighted positions and either few or no shares in over weighted positions.
Despite the popularity of index funds and their accompanying perception of being low cost, small ... more Despite the popularity of index funds and their accompanying perception of being low cost, small plans are paying quite a premium for this investment type. This study supports the use of index investments in defined contribution plans, but finds that nearly 88% of such plans in the United States are overpaying by using Mutual Funds instead of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Given the substantial number of plans which fall into this category (88% of plans have less than $200 million in assets), the increasing popularity of index investing and new fiduciary regulations that require companies to ensure the reasonableness of investment expenses; the practical decision to replace index mutual funds with ETFs will likely serve as the “breakout” point for ETFs in retirement plans.
This study will show that for plans with less than $200 million in assets, ETFs should be used for index investing rather than mutual funds.
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As methods of rebalancing have two primary components, cash flow management (plan contributions) and rebalance frequency; the traditional methods studied use plan contributions as being passively invested based on an originally designed asset allocation, followed by rebalancing (highest to lowest) at either quarterly, semi-annual or annual intervals.
These three methods were compared to a fourth method, that of the Self Aligning Portfolios™ methodology (U.S. Pat. 8,060,428) developed by Invest n Retire® (INR); which uses cash flows at each payroll period to bring a portfolio either wholly or partially back into balance followed by a quarterly rebalance as necessary. This method served as the highest frequency rebalancing method considered.
The data strongly supported the hypothesis, that the higher the rebalancing frequency, the higher the degree of risk mitigation (evidenced through higher returns and fewer losses when compared to traditional passive cash flow management and reduced rebalancing frequencies).
Furthermore, at the conclusion of the study, the Self Aligning Portfolios™ had generated larger asset positions than comparative methods; the result of utilizing cash flows at each contribution period to purchase more shares of underweighted positions and either few or no shares in over weighted positions.
Given the substantial number of plans which fall into this category (88% of plans have less than $200 million in assets), the increasing popularity of index investing and new fiduciary regulations that require companies to ensure the reasonableness of investment expenses; the practical decision to replace index mutual funds with ETFs will likely serve as the “breakout” point for ETFs in retirement plans.
This study will show that for plans with less than $200 million in assets, ETFs should be used for index investing rather than mutual funds.
As methods of rebalancing have two primary components, cash flow management (plan contributions) and rebalance frequency; the traditional methods studied use plan contributions as being passively invested based on an originally designed asset allocation, followed by rebalancing (highest to lowest) at either quarterly, semi-annual or annual intervals.
These three methods were compared to a fourth method, that of the Self Aligning Portfolios™ methodology (U.S. Pat. 8,060,428) developed by Invest n Retire® (INR); which uses cash flows at each payroll period to bring a portfolio either wholly or partially back into balance followed by a quarterly rebalance as necessary. This method served as the highest frequency rebalancing method considered.
The data strongly supported the hypothesis, that the higher the rebalancing frequency, the higher the degree of risk mitigation (evidenced through higher returns and fewer losses when compared to traditional passive cash flow management and reduced rebalancing frequencies).
Furthermore, at the conclusion of the study, the Self Aligning Portfolios™ had generated larger asset positions than comparative methods; the result of utilizing cash flows at each contribution period to purchase more shares of underweighted positions and either few or no shares in over weighted positions.
Given the substantial number of plans which fall into this category (88% of plans have less than $200 million in assets), the increasing popularity of index investing and new fiduciary regulations that require companies to ensure the reasonableness of investment expenses; the practical decision to replace index mutual funds with ETFs will likely serve as the “breakout” point for ETFs in retirement plans.
This study will show that for plans with less than $200 million in assets, ETFs should be used for index investing rather than mutual funds.