SVIA Fall Forum 2024: Full Schedule

5:00pm EDT

Stable Value 101

Monday October 14, 2024 5:00pm - 5:30pm EDT

Open to all new attendees, come join the members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for a welcome discussion where you'll have the opportunity to ask them anything about the stable value industry and membership in SVIA.

Monday October 14, 2024 5:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

9:30am EDT

Opening Remarks

Tuesday October 15, 2024 9:30am - 9:45am EDT

Grand Ballroom

Speakers

Zach Gieske

SVIA

Zach Gieske is the President of the Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA), a non-profit trade association focused on educating retirement plan sponsors, policymakers, and the public about the importance of saving for retirement and the valuable role stable value can play in achieving... Read More →

Lacey Lockward

Prudential Financial

Lacey is vice president and head of Stable Value within Prudential Retirement Strategies, a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).In her role, Lacey leads the cross-functional team responsible for new business, existing business, product development, risk management... Read More →

Tuesday October 15, 2024 9:30am - 9:45am EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

9:45am EDT

Emerging Trends in Stable Value

Tuesday October 15, 2024 9:45am - 10:30am EDT

Grand Ballroom

Explore the latest trends in the stable value industry. This session will cover recent developments, emerging practices, and future directions that are shaping the landscape of stable value investments.
(No presentation slides available).

Moderator

Jessica Cole

Invesco

Jessica Cole is the head of stable value wrap contract management and is a member of the stable value management team at Invesco. Since 2017, Jessica has been responsible for negotiating and implementing wrap contract terms, managing wrap issuer relationships and leading the wrap... Read More →

Speakers

Brad Bennett

Insight

Brad joined Insight in September 2021 following the transition of Mellon Investments’ fixed income strategies to Insight. He has been in the investment industry since 1992 and joined Mellon Investments in 1997. He is a senior portfolio manager for stable value strategies. His primary... Read More →

Paul Curran

Citi

Paul is a Director in the interest rate division of Citi Global Markets, joining the firm in August of 2022. Paul’s focus is overseeing all aspects the stable value wrap product. This includes relationship management, risk underwriting/modeling/pricing, contract negotiation and... Read More →

JoAnne Ferullo

Franklin Templeton

Ms. Ferullo is a Portfolio Manager within Franklin Templeton Fixed Income focusing on Stable Value strategies. She co-leads and is responsible for the oversight, development, and management of Stable Value strategies, including responsibilities for top-down asset allocation decisions... Read More →

William McLaren

Lincoln Financial Group

Bill McLaren is the stable value business leader for the Retirement Plan Services business at Lincoln Financial. In this role, Bill is responsible for leading efforts to identify and further grow stable value opportunities for the business. He is also responsible for stable value... Read More →

Tuesday October 15, 2024 9:45am - 10:30am EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

10:30am EDT

Stable Value in Retirement: Decumulation Strategies

Tuesday October 15, 2024 10:30am - 11:15am EDT

Grand Ballroom

Discover the role of stable value in the decumulation phase of retirement. This session will focus on strategies for using stable value funds to support retirement income, manage risks, and ensure financial security for retirees.

Moderator

Zach Gieske

SVIA

Speakers

Nick Gage

Galliard Capital Management, Inc.

As Head of Stable Value Contract Strategy, Nick oversees the design, implementation, and management of customized stable value investment solutions to meet the unique needs of Galliard’s institutional clients. In this role, he is responsible for ongoing relationship management... Read More →

Preet Prashar

Mercer

Preet Prashar is a Director of Defined Contribution Strategic Research Teams at Mercer and is based out of the Chicago office. Preet is involved in advising Mercer’s DC clients on topics covering target date, retirement income, and stable value. He has covered research for target... Read More →

Austin Roberds

Mercer

Austin Roberds is a senior investment consultant at Mercer with more than eighteen years of experience helping defined contribution plan sponsors with all aspects of their retirement benefit strategies. Austin is co-chair of Mercer’s Stable Value Strategic Research Team. Prior to... Read More →

Lucas Robustelli

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

10.15@1030 Decumulation Strategies pdf

Tuesday October 15, 2024 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

11:30am EDT

Political Forecast: Impacts on Retirement Investments

Tuesday October 15, 2024 11:30am - 12:15pm EDT

Grand Ballroom

Understand the political landscape and its implications for the stable value industry. This session will provide polling data, forecasts, and analysis on how political events may impact retirement plans and investments.
(No presentation slides available.)

Moderator

Michael Sipper

New York Life

Michael is a Director in New York Life Investment's Stable Value Investment Group (SVI). Michael joined the SVI team in 2011 and has both Capital Markets and Technology experience. He was previously employed at Prudential Investment Management in the Fixed Income Group as a Business... Read More →

Speakers

Charlie Schreiber

Mindset

A policy strategist with expertise in financial services, regulatory oversight, and congressional investigations, Charlie helps clients navigate a variety of government relations matters. Charlie’s outstanding work on the Financial Services Committee is well known on Capitol Hill... Read More →

Heather Slavkin

Mindset

With more than 15 years’ experience working on economic policy in Washington, Heather is known as a leading expert on financial regulation with a focus on capital markets. She is always eager to learn from people with different perspectives and find ways for unlikely allies to work... Read More →

Tuesday October 15, 2024 11:30am - 12:15pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

12:30pm EDT

Luncheon

Tuesday October 15, 2024 12:30pm - 2:00pm EDT

Colonnade

The Future of Retirement Finance
In the last 40 years, many countries around the world changed how their citizens saved and invested. Individuals could no longer entirely rely on the government or the employer for income in retirement. This coincided with a long, persistent decline in interest rates which made saving for retirement risker and pensions more expensive and difficult to manage.
Now the first generation with significant defined contribution assets are starting to retire. There are many short-comings in our current retirement system that will become more apparent in a high inflation and rising rate environment. This environment will pose challenges for both individual savers and defined benefit pension managers and put strain on the current retirement system. How can we do better for people and manage this new source of risk?

Speakers

Allison Schrager

Allison Schrager is an economist, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, contributing editor at City Journal, and co-founder of LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC, a risk advisory firm. She is the author of An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand... Read More →

Tuesday October 15, 2024 12:30pm - 2:00pm EDT
Colonnade

General Session

2:30pm EDT

Retirement Crisis? The Latest Insights Can Help Demystify Fact from Fiction and Offer Solutions for the Road Ahead

Tuesday October 15, 2024 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Grand Ballroom

Lots of recent articles debate whether there truly is a retirement crisis in America. Leveraging our recent annual Retirement Survey & Insights Report, we discuss the divergent trends in retirement savings to show that while some participant’s retirement savings may be fine, especially given the market highs, others may be in crisis mode. Importantly, there are solutions to help savers better prepare for the road ahead. We will discuss findings from our recent annual study highlighting what we believe may be the missing link to improved retirement outcomes. Goldman Sachs Asset Management Survey

Speakers

Chris Ceder

Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Christopher Ceder is a senior retirement strategist in the Asset Management Division focused on developing retirement and financial wellness strategies as well as providing thought-leadership, trends and market updates for advisors and corporate clients. Chris previously managed Goldman... Read More →

10.15@1430 GSAM Retirement Survey pdf

10.15 Retirement Survey & Insights Report 2024 Planning The Missing Link to Retirement Security pdf

Tuesday October 15, 2024 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

3:15pm EDT

Participant Cash Flows: Insights and Strategies

Tuesday October 15, 2024 3:15pm - 4:00pm EDT

Grand Ballroom

Based on the latest research, this session will delve into participant cash flow dynamics within stable value funds, drawing insights from a comprehensive study on the topic. Attendees will explore factors influencing participant behavior, cash flow patterns, and lessons that can be learned from past events.
(No presentation slides available.)

Moderator

Michael Katona

The Vanguard Group

Michael Katona, CFA, ASA, is a portfolio manager in Vanguard's Stable Value Management team, managing the stable value assets for defined contribution and 529 plans as well as wrap provider allocations and relationships. Prior to this role, Mike led a team of investment professionals... Read More →

Speakers

Behzad Alimoradian

Valerian Capital Group

Behzad Alimoradian, PhD, leads the risk management team at Valerian Capital, where he serves as a quant specializing in stable value funds. Prior to Valerian, Behzad founded Alpha Quants, a quantitative advisory service for financial institutions in the insurance and investment fund... Read More →

Callen Oster

Nationwide Retirement Plans

Callen leads the actuarial pricing team for two main product areas. First, Nationwide's $40B fixed product book--including Stable Value Wrap, Guaranteed Separate Account, and General Account Fixed Annuities. Second, his team is responsible for pricing Nationwide's $185B recordkeeping... Read More →

Greg Ungerman

Callan

Greg Ungerman, CFA, is a senior vice president and Callan’s defined contribution practice leader. Based in the San Francisco headquarters, Greg is responsible for setting the direction of the firm’s DC business, providing DC support both internally to Callan's consultants and... Read More →

Tuesday October 15, 2024 3:15pm - 4:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

4:00pm EDT

Regulatory Insights: 403(b) Parity, Fiduciary Rule, and More

Tuesday October 15, 2024 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Grand Ballroom

Stay informed about the latest regulatory changes affecting the stable value industry. This session will cover the 403(b) parity issue, recent updates to the Fiduciary Rule, and other topical regulatory insights, providing practical guidance for strategic planning.

Moderator

Carol Danko

Prudential Financial

Carol has nearly 20 years experience navigating Washington, DC through a public policy, advocacy, and communications lens. Carol currents serves on Prudential’s external affairs team working on federal issues related to financial services, retirement, lifetime income, and data privacy... Read More →

Speakers

Kendra Isaacson

Mindset

Kendra is a Principal in the Insurance, Retirement and Healthcare practice at Mindset. Prior to joining Mindset, she served as the Pensions Policy Director and Senior Tax Counsel for the Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor... Read More →

10.15@1600 Regulatory Insights pdf

Tuesday October 15, 2024 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

9:30am EDT

Economic Indicators: Market Outlook and Stable Value

Wednesday October 16, 2024 9:30am - 10:15am EDT

Grand Ballroom

Analyze the current market outlook and its macroeconomic impact on stable value investments. Experts will discuss economic indicators, market trends, and their potential effects on the stability and growth of stable value funds.

Speakers

Claudia Sahm

New Century Advisors

Claudia Sahm is the chief economist at New Century Advisors. She is a highly regarded expert on monetary and fiscal policy with many years of experience advising key decision-makers at the Federal Reserve, White House, and Congress. I developed the Sahm rule, a closely followed... Read More →

MacroSahm 101624 pdf

10.16@930 Economic Outlook Claudia Sahm pdf

Wednesday October 16, 2024 9:30am - 10:15am EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

10:15am EDT

Taking a 5-Dimensional Lens to Retirement Income Needs and Solutions

Wednesday October 16, 2024 10:15am - 11:00am EDT

Grand Ballroom

The retirement income landscape continues to evolve with new product launches continuing to grow. More than ever, plan sponsors are more curious about understanding and adopting retirement income solutions. We will share our perspectives on the retirement income universe and share a 5-dimensional (5-D) framework to explore participant needs and compare tradeoffs across potential options.

Speakers

Christina Kellar

T Rowe Price

Christina Kellar is a multi-asset solutions strategist in the Multi-Asset Division. She is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Christina's investment experience began in 2015 when she joined T. Rowe Price, beginning in the investment... Read More →

Antonio Luna

T Rowe Price

Antonio “Tony” Luna is a portfolio manager and head of the Stable Asset Management team in the Fixed Income Division. He specializes in managing stable value and synthetic investment contract portfolios, and he co-manages the Stable Value Common Trust Fund. Tony is a member of... Read More →

5D Framework SVIA (1) pdf

Wednesday October 16, 2024 10:15am - 11:00am EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session

11:00am EDT

Adjournment

Wednesday October 16, 2024 11:00am - 11:15am EDT

Grand Ballroom

Speakers

Zach Gieske

SVIA

Ben Soltsov

Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Ben is a Vice President and Stable Value Portfolio Manager at GSAM, responsible for construction and management of stable value portfolios. He is tasked with being the Stable Value Strategy Lead for the business, providing oversight for the stable value and wrapped fixed income platform... Read More →

Wednesday October 16, 2024 11:00am - 11:15am EDT
Grand Ballroom

General Session