One of the biggest challenges retirement plan sponsors face is how to effectively communicate with participants and keep their attention. And in today’s virtual world, it’s more challenging than ever. In this episode of Plan Talk, Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto outlines several ideas for interacting with participants to help them stay engaged with their retirement plans.

Janus Henderson Radio Podcast

Plan Talk: How to Engage and Motivate Retirement Plan Participants

Like the prospect of cleaning up a messy room, taking those first steps toward financial independence can feel overwhelming. In fact, 53% of millennials are not sure where to start when it comes to making financial decisions. Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto shares three simple ideas to help younger people clean up their financial rooms through budgeting, controlling spending and making a written plan.

Plan Talk: The Hardest Part About Getting Your Finances in Order: Where to Start?

Join Adam Hetts, Global Head of Portfolio Construction and Strategy, as he speaks with Co-Heads of Strategic Fixed Income Jenna Barnard and John Pattullo about whether there is substance to the reflation trade. Key Takeaways: The consensus trade expects inflation, but much of this may already be priced in, creating potential opportunities in medium-term bond yields if inflation proves transitory. An excess of private savings before COVID-19 required governments to spend to balance private-sector saving. In some ways, today’s fiscal stimulus is an extension of the response to the deleveraging environment that lingered after the Global Financial Crisis. For reflation to be convincing, we need to see evidence that households and businesses are changing their behavior toward taking on more debt – yet credit demand remains soft and markets seem to be ignoring weaker data in China. Important Information: Credit Spread is the difference in yield between securities with similar maturity but different credit quality. Widening spreads generally indicate deteriorating creditworthiness of corporate borrowers, and narrowing indicate improving. Duration measures a bond price’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a bond’s duration, the higher its sensitivity to changes in interest rates and vice versa. 10-Year Treasury Yield is the interest rate on U.S. Treasury bonds that will mature 10 years from the date of purchase. Volatility measures risk using the dispersion of returns for a given investment. Inflation: a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. Basis point (bp) equals 1/100 of a percentage point. 1 bp = 0.01%, 100 bps = 1%. Quantitative Easing (QE) is a government monetary policy occasionally used to increase the money supply by buying government securities or other securities from the market. Reflation:  expansion in the level of output of an economy by government stimulus, using either fiscal or monetary policy. The views presented are as of the date published. Nothing in this document is intended to or should be construed as advice. This document is not a recommendation to sell or purchase any investment and does not form part of any contract for the sale or purchase of any investment. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing is subject to risk, loss of principal and fluctuation in value.  Not all products or services are available in all jurisdictions. This material or information contained in it may be restricted by law, and may not be reproduced or referred to without express written permission or used in any jurisdiction or circumstance in which its use would be unlawful. Janus Henderson is not responsible for any unlawful distribution to third parties, in whole or in part. The contents have not been approved or endorsed by any regulatory agency.  Janus Henderson Investors is the name under which investment products and services are provided in (a) Europe by Janus Capital International Limited (reg no. 3594615), Henderson Global Investors Limited (reg. no. 906355), Henderson Investment Funds Limited (reg. no. 2678531), Henderson Equity Partners Limited (reg. no.2606646), (each registered in England and Wales at 201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AE and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) and Henderson Management S.A. (reg no. B22848 at 2 Rue de Bitbourg, L-1273, Luxembourg and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) (b) the U.S. by SEC registered investment advisers that are subsidiaries of Janus Henderson Group plc, (c) Canada through Janus Capital Management LLC only to institutional investors in certain jurisdictions, (d) Singapore and South Korea by Janus Henderson Investors (Singapore) Limited, (e) Hong Kong by Janus Henderson Investors Hong Kong Limited. This material has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission , (f) Taiwan R.O.C. independently operated by Janus...

Global Perspectives: Reflation: Is This the Real Thing or Just Fantasy?

Adam Hetts, Global Head of Portfolio Construction and Strategy, talks with Head of U.S. Fixed Income Greg Wilensky about the challenges – and unique opportunities – associated with building bond portfolios in a world with historically low interest rates. Key Takeaways: While the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was once a good starting point for building diversified bond portfolios, it has increasingly become only that. Greg explains how the index’s inefficiencies can be exploited, enabling an active manager to potentially add value through higher returns, lower volatility, or both. Despite the steepening U.S. Treasury yield curve, Greg views a sharp increase in rates or inflation as unlikely. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest in stimulating the economy and investors’ demand for yield – coupled with U.S. rates being among the most attractive developed world government bonds – should moderate the rise. Bond investors will need to balance the risks required to generate additional returns against sacrificing too much of the diversity they expect from bonds. Greg and Adam discuss how fundamental research and quantitative analysis may assist in both navigating the changing environment for bonds and building more optimal portfolios. About the host: Adam Hetts, leads the Portfolio Construction and Strategy (PCS) Team at Janus Henderson and, with his holistic view of markets, products and client needs, is a regular thought leadership contributor and speaker at industry events. The Janus Henderson PCS Team is available to advisors for customized model portfolio consultations. The team and its proprietary portfolio analysis capabilities provide support based on a whole-of-market view, focused on your needs and goals. We would be delighted to discuss in more detail the services the PCS Team can offer. Please visit the https://www.janushenderson.com/en-us/advisor/portfolio-construction-and-strategy/ (PCS section) of our website or speak to your usual Janus Henderson representative.

Global Perspectives: Building Robust Bond Portfolios In a Low-Rate World

Global Head of Portfolio Construction and Strategy Adam Hetts talks to Seth Meyer and Tom Ross, portfolio managers on the high-yield bond strategies, about how with credit spreads gradually tightening, returns will likely become less about market direction (beta) and more about identifying individual opportunities (alpha). Key Takeaways Credit spreads have taken a round trip, having widened dramatically at the start of the coronavirus crisis but have since narrowed significantly. A recovery should squeeze spreads tighter, but investors will need to rely more on identifying opportunities through good credit analysis and security selection. Effective vaccines should allow economies to reopen and earnings and cash flows to recover. This should accelerate as 2021 progresses, allowing balance sheets to begin to improve. Companies in the energy sector may have to run with more conservative balance sheets not just because the oil price may remain low, but also because the costs of financing are likely to rise as more environmental, social and governance (ESG)-led investors refuse to lend to these companies. Inflation is a potential concern. While modest inflation is often good for corporate revenues, the very low yields on government bonds means inflation may cause volatility in the underlying government bond market that could feed into volatility among corporate bonds.

High Yield: Passing the Baton from Beta to Alpha

Global Perspectives: High Yield: Passing the Baton from Beta to Alpha

In this year’s final episode of Plan Talk, Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto recaps notable updates, trends and legal cases from the past year in the defined contribution space. And as always, he shares a playlist of his favorite new songs from 2020. Ben’s Top Songs of 2020 “All That Ever Mattered” – HAIM “I Live at Night” – I Break Horses “Inspirit” – Julianna Barwick “Ingydar” – Adrianna Lenker “Something I Do” – Sweet Whirl “Ghost of Soulja Slim” – Jay Electronica “A few words for the firing squad” – Run the Jewels “Can I Believe You” – Fleet Foxes “Highway” – St. Panther “Lost in Yesterday” – Tame Impala “Born Confused” – Porridge Radio “Michigan Hammers” – Protomartyr

Plan Talk: Best of 2020

Jenna Barnard and John Pattullo, Co-Heads of Strategic Fixed Income, join Adam Hetts, Global Head of Portfolio Construction and Strategy, to discuss all things corporate bonds. Topics include philosophy, making the right calls during the COVID-19 crisis, chances for an aggressive recovery, the prospects of higher interest rates and whether 2021 offers a sweet spot for credit investing.

Global Perspectives: Are We in a Sweet Spot for Credit Investing

Many American workers fear that the Social Security trust could be depleted in the not-so-distant future, which may lead some individuals to collect their benefits early – a decision that can significantly reduce their earned benefit. In this episode of Plan Talk, Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto explains research-based techniques that can be used to help ensure people more fully consider their options and make better decisions regarding when to claim this important earned benefit.

Plan Talk: How to Use Client Motivations to Encourage Better Social Security Decisions

In the latest episode of Plan Talk, Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto and Fixed Income Product Specialist Jessica Leoncini discuss current plan menu designs and investment trends in defined contribution (DC) plans. Referencing the findings from a survey Janus Henderson recently conducted with the Plan Sponsor Council of America, they explain how the lack of adequate fixed income options in many defined contribution plans could affect participants’ ability to retire comfortably – particularly with global interest rates at historic lows.

Plan Talk: Assessing Fixed Income Options in Retirement Plan Lineups

The Janus Henderson Radio Podcast is designed to help financial professionals with a wide range of topics to deepen their expertise, build their practice and strengthen client relationships.