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DC Services
Dimensional provides a wide array of investment solutions for defined contribution plans, including asset class and target risk strategies. We manage over $22 billion in defined contribution assets.
We believe investment options in defined contribution plans should be broadly diversified, carry low fees, and follow a long-term investment orientation consistent with retirement plan investing. Dimensional is particularly well positioned to serve a defined contribution market focused on helping participants invest in appropriately managed asset allocation portfolios.
We believe investment options in defined contribution plans should be broadly diversified, carry low fees, and follow a long-term investment orientation consistent with retirement plan investing. Dimensional is particularly well positioned to serve a defined contribution market focused on helping participants invest in appropriately managed asset allocation portfolios.
Thought Leadership
Peng Chen - Determining Optimal Withdrawal Strategies
By
Peng Chen
Peng Chen discusses his recent paper on optimal withdrawal strategies. The paper, which received the 2012 Academic Thought Leadership Award from the Retirement Management Journal, evaluates common withdrawal, or spending, strategies based on a new measurement--the withdrawal efficiency rate.
Panel Discussion hosted by Tim Kohn - Next Generation Retirement Solutions
Tim Kohn, head of Defined Contribution at Dimensional, talks to three industry experts—David Booth, Bill Bradley, and Nobel laureate Robert C. Merton—about Dimensional's unique research-driven approach to next generation retirement solutions.
Robert C. Merton - Next Generation Retirement Planning
Dimensional Resident Scientist Robert C. Merton, the DC conference's keynote speaker, outlines how and why Dimensional's Managed DC solution represents a revolutionary advance in the DC market.
Bill Bradley - Key Issues Facing America's Retirees and How We Can Improve Outcomes
Former US senator and best-selling author Bill Bradley talks about the challenges facing Americans planning for retirement and underscores how Dimensional's Managed DC can play a helpful role.
Zvi Bodie - Default Investing: How Glidepaths Can Lead to a Crash Landing
Boston University professor and DC expert Zvi Bodie explains what's wrong with the current generation of target-date funds.
David Wray - The Evolving Employer-Employee Retirement Partnership
David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America, discusses the increasing health of the DC system, especially after the stress test of 2008, and the importance of new ideas being introduced to the industry.
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In the News
Dimensional Fund Advisors Announces Increased Presence in Defined Contribution Arena
Date:
April 2013
2013-04-16
Dimensional Fund Advisors announced that it continues to increase its presence in the defined contribution arena through dedicated resources and strong relationships with plan sponsors and financial advisors. On December 31, 2012, Dimensional reported over $20 billion in DC assets.
Target an Inflation-Proof Stream of Income for Retirement
Morningstar
Date:
August 2011
2011-08-10
A video in which Nobel laureate Robert Merton discusses why investors should worry about income, not total wealth, when assessing their retirement needs.
Why Annuities Often Make Sense
Morningstar
Date:
August 2011
2011-08-10
A video in which Nobel laureate Robert Merton explains why annuities will be a key component of most people's retirement strategy by allowing retirees to pull extra income out of a nest egg.
Investors Need to Focus on Meaningful Decisions
Morningstar
Date:
August 2011
2011-08-10
A video in which Nobel laureate Robert Merton talks about why investors should worry about big-picture items, such as how long they want to work, and leave the details to professionals.
DC Plan Innovation
Pensions & Investments
Date:
July 2011
2011-07-15
A video in which David Booth discusses defined contribution plan innovations with P&I editorial page editor Barry Burr.
DC Plan Shortcomings
Pensions & Investments
Date:
July 2011
2011-07-15
A video in which Senator Bill Bradley discusses the shortcomings of defined contribution plans.
The 401(k) Today
Morningstar
Date:
July 2011
2011-07-15
A video in which David Wray discusses the latest trends in the 401(k) marketplace.
What's New Under the Hood of 401(k) Plans?
Morningstar
Date:
July 2011
2011-07-15
A video in which David Wray addresses "open architecture" in 401(k) plans.
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White Papers
Optimal Withdrawal Strategies
By
Peng Chen, David Blanchett, and Maciej Kowara
This article introduces a framework to determine the relative efficiency of different withdrawal strategies. It finds that the primary method employed by many practitioners, where a constant real dollar amount is withdrawn from the portfolio until it "fails," is often the least efficient approach to maximizing lifetime income for a retiree.
What's Inside Your DC Plan? Understanding Alternatives for Short-Term Fixed Income
By
Ronnie Shah
Date:
January 2013
2013-01- 1
This paper examines different investment alternatives for short-term fixed income available to DC plan participants. More traditional offerings, including money market and stable value funds, are static investment options with respect to the maturity of the portfolio. A variable maturity approach that uses information from the yield curve may be appropriate for a plan participant who can tolerate more risk and seeks greater yield.
Rational Pensions for Irrational People: Behavioral Science Lessons for the Netherlands
By
Zvi Bodie and Henriette Prast
This paper examines some of the main behavioral patterns that determine personal saving, investment, and retirement decisions, and considers ways to move them in a socially desirable direction. Empirical evidence from other countries is considered in light of proposed changes to the system in the Netherlands.
How to Improve the Experience of Defined Contribution Participants
By
Tim Kohn and Warren Cormier
DC participants may be able to create a better retirement by taking advantage of a new set of products focused on an appropriate income replacement rate and strategies based on "income outcomes" as opposed to "lump sum outcomes."
Rebalancing and Returns
By
Marlena Lee
Maintaining an asset allocation suitable to every investor's specific risk profile requires periodic rebalancing. Marlena Lee analyzes the benefits and limitations of several rebalancing strategies.
Efficient frontier constructed with historical data can be misleading
By James L. Davis
Jim Davis illustrates the dangers of treating historical efficient frontiers as a reliable characterization of the risk/return tradeoff that is currently available to investors.
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Resources
Annual Defined Contribution Conference
Leading Thinkers. Leading Edge Solutions. Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at the Chicago Booth Gleacher Center Keynote speaker: Robert C. Merton Distinguished Professor of Finance, MIT Sloan School of Management Gleacher Center, Room 100, 450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, Illinois...
DC Dimensions
A semiannual magazine written for DC professionals by DC professionals helping you stay in front of the changes affecting our industry.
Contact Us
Tim Kohn
Head of DC
(512) 306-4936
tim.kohn@dimensional.com
Aaron Borders
(512) 306-7433
aaron.borders@dimensional.com
Todd Erskine, CFA
(512) 306-7643
todd.erskine@dimensional.com
John B. Lessley
(310) 917-1443
john.lessley@dimensional.com
If you are an investment advisor, please contact:
Katie Nulty
(310) 917-1453
katie.nulty@dimensional.com
Visit the Dimensional Managed DC page for information about a personalized, risk-managed pension solution.
Head of DC
(512) 306-4936
tim.kohn@dimensional.com
Aaron Borders
(512) 306-7433
aaron.borders@dimensional.com
Todd Erskine, CFA
(512) 306-7643
todd.erskine@dimensional.com
John B. Lessley
(310) 917-1443
john.lessley@dimensional.com
If you are an investment advisor, please contact:
Katie Nulty
(310) 917-1453
katie.nulty@dimensional.com
Visit the Dimensional Managed DC page for information about a personalized, risk-managed pension solution.