The Case for Alternative Investments in Target Date Funds

The creation of the target date fund (TDF) sought to make available a professionally managed solution for individuals saving for retirement through their employer’s defined contribution (DC)/ 401(k) plan. In the U.S., DC assets represent 61% of total retirement assets¹并且预计该百分比将继续上升。但是，尽管对投资期权和参与者行为有所改善，但平均而言，DC计划继续看到滞后所定义的福利（DB）计划。看看最近的两个研究，这个赤字很清楚：

• 公司DB plans outperformed DC plans by an average of 70 bps, net of fees, per year between 1990 and 2012.²
  
• 截至2016年的10年，DB计划与直流计划的年化净返回相比，年化净收率为5.9％ - 净回报差约为50 BPS。³

One possible reason for that gap is that DC plans do not currently have access to the same “toolkit” of investments that is available to DB plans. This is evident when looking at allocations to private markets. Access to those markets for DC plan participants is the focus of this special report.

BlackRock believes that, as long-term investors, DC plan participants who are invested in target date funds should have access to both public and private markets. However, access may not be the only obstacle for DC plan participants wishing to invest in private markets. The structure of the 401(k) market, which demands daily liquidity, also could create challenges. How to level the playing field so DC plan participants have the opportunity to benefit from the growth of private markets is the subject of this lively conversation with BlackRock’sNick Nefouse，退休解决方案负责人和LifePath®的全球头部; andPam Chan, Chief Investment Officer and Global Head of Alternative Solutions.

传统上，DC计划无法以与DB计划的方式相同的方式访问私人市场。对私人市场投资的直流计划有哪些主要潜在利益？

Nick Nefouse:Although private markets are growing significantly faster than public markets, young DC plan participants who have up to a 45-year investment horizon have not had much opportunity for exposure to private markets and the related potential for benefit over that time horizon. For older investors, private markets may still be return enhancing, but they’re more likely to be looking for a way to mitigate risk. For example, in this low-interest-rate environment a portfolio may benefit from exposure to different types of assets, such as infrastructure pipelines, or maybe even green energy – investments whose primary contribution to the portfolio is diversification rather than return enhancement. In short, wherever an investor is in their lifecycle, private market investments can add to the toolbox within a target date fund.

Pam Chan:私人市场继续以加速的速度增长，因此随着时间的推移，他们可能会涉及DC计划参与者的错过返回生成机会，并提供多样化福利。退休储蓄是关于为长途运输而退款。私人市场旨在成为多年的持有，并允许长期的价值创作，而不是达到液体市场的日常波动。换句话说，私人市场可以匹配退休储蓄的时间较长时间，同时表现出相对恢复力，获得了更加静音的标志性波动性，从情绪中更大的绝缘层，避免强迫销售。

Over the course of time looking across private market asset classes, return premium has been somewhere between 200 to 500 basis points so that could make a very meaningful difference compounded over many years.⁴客户展望私人市场的原因之一是因为今天的固定收入与他们的绝对回报目标相比。尤其值得注意的最后一点：今天公共和私人市场估值之间的传播有意义。当我们看到一直在私人市场亚博赞助欧冠投入的机构投资者显着增加他们的拨款时，它在私人市场投资可以在DC投资组合中发挥的可能重要作用。

您提到私人市场可以在投资组合中扮演私人市场，这是一个很好的SEGUE成本为DC投资组合增加私人市场投资。挑战是什么？

Nefouse：直流投资组合的成本将上升，没有两种方式。但是有一些杠杆我们可以用来帮助他们保持合理。首先，在替代方案中缩放问题。与Blackrock的大小和范围合作，可以在访问权限，机会采购和制度规模成本优势方面提供优势。私人市场发行人意识到直流计划投资的潜在规模和相对稳定性，这可能会对发行人提供的成本承担。

第二，更重要的是，对投资者潜在的净净利润。在目标日期基金中包括私人市场替代方案的福利可能是回报加强或多样化和风险缓解 - 或也许两者都是如此。我们必须仔细看待后续福利，如果返回的风险或大幅增加没有大幅度降低，可能没有任何价值主张，我们可能只是增加不必要的复杂性。

陈：You go into private markets seeking return enhancement and risk diversification through asset-specific outperformance and deal-level attributes. You’re not buying an index. The investor is paying for the human effort and edge in sourcing, underwriting, and managing the asset through to disposition or repayment, as the case may be – each private market deal needs to be manufactured and actively managed. To that end, private market investments need to make sense on a net return basis.

私人市场替代品在自然界中是异质的。在DC计划中设想了哪些类型的替代资产？

Nefouse：我认为这是正确使用术语私人市场instead of private equity. We’re looking at accessing private markets, and that could be in credit, real estate, infrastructure, private equity – the market is deep and diverse. We’ve been analyzing private market alternatives with Pam’s team through a lifetime asset allocation lens, and as rule of thumb for young investors, we’re looking for growth assets that will outperform public equities. Later in life, as we mentioned earlier, it becomes more of a risk mitigation story. What’s made this conversation even more interesting since March is that with interest rates where they are, it’s a struggle to find risk mitigating assets in the U.S. public markets outside of U.S. treasuries.

但是让我们给出一些背景。这不仅仅是“让我们在一些私募股权上螺栓，为22岁。”我们必须了解风险和返回概况以及整个投资组合的交叉资产相关性如何调整在不同的公共市场资产的多样化池中包括私人市场曝光的独特情节。

陈：深入了解成长资产的一部分刚刚描述了年轻投资者的一部分，我将从现金流程配置文件广泛描述它。这是关于投资者正在寻求有意义的资本升值的地方。在私人市场投资中，投资者在私营公司，房地产财产或基础设施项目中的股权上寻求颠倒。还有许多其他方法可以将增长元素与一些收入混合在一起。例如，在机会主义的信贷内，一些总回报旨在来自收入，但也可以有一个股权部分附在交易的结构上，为投资提供一些潜在的股权。

Also, to underscore one of the elements of the whole portfolio approach Nick described: once you put it in the ground, it is in for a multi-year period. But at some point, that money will hopefully come back, and if it does, the investor can figure out where to put those incremental cash flows. Private markets are less dynamic than the public markets because investors can’t change their investment overnight, but an investment plan shouldn’t be static. One element on the private market side that less people talk about is the ability to evolve the portfolio over time as distributions come back. The investor just has to be very intentional and deliberate about it.

repr的结构性问题是什么ent challenges to having private market investments in target date funds?

Nefouse：有两个不同的领域，最担心我。首先，私营资产的投资性质，其吸引资金并充分投资，潜在地及时落后于投资和/或导致资本投资早年的负面回报。其次，目标日期基金水平的流动性需要。在绘图返回概况上，它真的是关于教育，直流计划和参与者意识到可能需要时间来看待与私营资产相关的回报福利。在流动性问题上，401（k）计划的投资通常会提供日常流动性，这与私人市场的替代品完全造成不匹配，这些替代品可能根本不是液体或可能需要折扣销售。虽然这一资产负债不匹配不能完全解决，但最终将成为一种情况，部分包括在目标日期基金中优化液体和非水资源资产的优化。这可能是最敏锐的挑战 - 在一段持续的流出时期，目标日期基金不能越来越多，因为公共证券出售以资金赎回。我们认为，由于资产经理和私人市场发行人的一些创造力和创新，这些都将证明是可解决的问题。

陈：如果我们能够“将”j曲线时期“公式化”，那可能沿途。公平地区是关于寻找介绍私营市场资产的一些属性的液体资产，我们将随着时间的推移而添加到投资组合。这可能是市场因素曝光或收入概况的函数，等等。带式化的关键是确保它保留资本。在J-Cureve的早期，资本呼叫将是笨拙的，投资者不想成为一个地方没有足够流动性的地方资助资本呼叫。如果设计良好，公平可能比持有现金更好，这是今天很多人所做的。我们正在谈论部分地填补差距，并非一路填补 - 因为，如果您可以完全填充它，则在第一次实例中不需要私人市场。

尼克，如何总结包括直流计划中的替代品的挑战？如何使用右侧替代方案管理员帮助DC计划克服这些挑战？

Nefouse：结构，访问，成本和教育。我们刚涵盖了许多结构挑战，他们是各方需要创新的重要障碍。关于访问，一种看的方式是，顶级管理人员往往会随着时间的推移倾向于留下顶级管理人员，并访问这些经理是目标。私人资产交易可能是私人谈判，而不是广泛提供，因此与看待良好交易流程的经理采购能力，可以设置术语很重要。在第三点，成本：一位非常好的经理，带有良好回报的轨道记录并不为您提供折扣。帕姆谈到了较早的议长额外的成本溢价，而且溢价通常对最高经理相当稳定，他们经常获得支付基础费用，也是根据资产返回的绩效费用。费用复杂性是针对直流计划的挑战，需要以可预测的，定期的方式分配所有参与者的成本。最后，教育。教育真的是解释规划赞助商的差别 - 公共市场与私人市场之间的差异，因此他们可以反过来教育参与者。

Blackrock可以通过在整个公司上合作，帮助计划所有这些元素的赞助商。在退休业务方面，我们是生命周期投资的专家，并在替代商业方面，我们拥有一个行业领先的平台，具有所需的专业知识和私人市场的知识深度。我们认为多样化和规模在这里重要 - 这不仅仅是对目标日期基金的私募股权分配。我们会鼓励赞助商思考私营市场和公共市场的整个投资组合方法。

陈：投资者与Blackrock的投资者可以从我们拥有的投资策略的广度中受益，液体到非水分。即使是最大的机构投资者甚至有时争取亚博赞助欧冠跨私人市场空间的斗争，因为它可能是复杂和繁琐的。您需要一个在每个私人市场垂直方面拥有专业专业知识的团队，并且具有承保和寻求alpha的专业知识。我们有董事会的专家。让我们面对它 - 一个只投资私募股权的公司总是希望估值倍数多高的私募股权。通过我们的整个投资组合视图，我们可以大大扩展投资者的工具包，以表达私人市场溢价为他们的内容。

In the end, it feels as if a lot of this just comes down to everyone with a 401(k) account having a fair shot at optimizing their preparedness for retirement.

Nefouse：I love covering 401(k) plans. I get to look right at the people in those plans and understand the purpose of what I do every day. And there’s no reason I should have to explain to them why they don’t have access to these investments if people who benefit from DB plans do. It’s democratization, but we need to do it in a way where the experts build the products because of the nuances we’ve touched on here. We have to get the access part right for sure, but also need to innovate to get access to the right things at the right times in an investment lifecycle.

陈：You need boots on the ground to source these transactions. That’s where a scaled platform like ours comes into play. I cannot underscore this enough – finding the right deal and structuring it the right way is still powered by humans. It’s blood, sweat, and tears to get there. Picking up on that, this isn’t like investing in an index or in public markets. That’s why the access is hard, relationships matter, and historically private markets have fed predominantly into the institutional investor space. And capital begets more capital, right? So, the big investors become even bigger, and they benefit from the tailwind as returns are generated. And the lack of access compounds over time for DC plan participants. That’s something to reflect on as we think about equality, and how appropriately structured participation in private markets may help to close some of the current equality gaps.

Learn more about how including private markets in DC plans could benefit future retirees.

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¹Global Pension Assets Study 2020, Thinking Ahead Institute Research, Willis Towers Watson

²Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry, and Caroline V. Crawford, “Investment Returns: Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans,” Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, no.15-21 (December 2015)

³Sandy Halim and Maaike van Bragt, “Defined Contribution Plans Have Come a Long Way!” CEM Benchmarking Inc. (February 2018).

⁴This is based on an analysis using data from Thomson Reuters from 2009 through 2019. It was conducted across 4 asset classes, Buyout, Private Credit, Real Estate, and Infrastructure. Premium was measured over the MSCI World for Buyout, Barclays Global HY for Private Credit, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Index for Real Estate, and DJ Brookfield Global Index for Infrastructure.

披露

此材料仅用于教育目的，不应被解释为研究。所提出的信息不是对全球退休景观的完全分析。由于市场的变化，经济或监管环境或其他原因，此处表达的意见在任何时候都会发生变化。该材料不构成投资，法律，税务或其他建议，并不能依赖投资或其他决定。

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.Asset allocation models and diversification do not promise any level of performance or guarantee against loss of principal. Investment in TDFs is subject to the risks of the underlying funds. The target date is the approximate date when investors plan to start withdrawing their money. The blend of investments in each portfolio is determined by an asset allocation process that seeks to maximize assets based on an investor’s investment time horizon and tolerance for risk. Typically, the strategic asset mix in each portfolio systematically rebalances at varying intervals and becomes more conservative (with less equity exposure) over time as investors move closer to the target date. The principal value of a fund is not guaranteed at any time, including at and after the target date.

The opinions expressed may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by BlackRock, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries (together, “BlackRock”) to be reliable. No representation is made that this information is accurate or complete. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader.

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