Nevin's Data "Points"

As a kid, I remember sitting in church listening to a sermon about what I have since come to know as the “parable of the talents,” found in the book of Matthew in the New Testament. Now, for those of you who slept through those sermons, the story (1) is about a man who is going out of town and gives three of his servants different amounts of money to hold for him while he is gone. The first is given five “talents” (2) , and on his master’s return, he proudly gives him back the five he was left with—and another five! The second servant, who was left with two, returns those to the returning master—and two more besides. Both of these servants are commended and given more responsibility. However, the third servant, who was only entrusted with one talent, tells his returning master that, knowing his master was the demanding type, he opted instead to bury his talent, so that he could return it safely—which he does. For his conservatism, this poor guy is called wicked and lazy, has the ...

It may have lacked the hoopla of a midnight Harry Potter release, but in retirement industry circles, last week’s publication of the Department of Labor’s final regulations on qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) was nearly as eagerly anticipated. And, like the speculation as to which Potter character would survive the latest saga, the early betting had been that stable value would not make the QDIA cut—and, in large part, that turned out to be the case. Instead, stable-value (or more precisely, capital preservation) vehicle proponents had to content themselves with a sanction as a short-term repository for contributions (up to 120 days—long enough to accommodate the 90-day period that defaulted participants have to opt out), and the assurances from the DoL that they were sure that those vehicles would find a home alongside other options in the time-focused asset-allocation products that were accorded QDIA status (ironically, IMHO, in that regard, capital preservation veh...