Pension Plans vs. Mutual Funds: Is the Client Victim or Culprit?

Abstract

This article compares the investment performance of corporate pension plans to that of mutual funds, revealing that pension plans have done quite poorly relative to mutual funds on a risk adjusted basis. Since the same money managers may manage both pools of money, this is odd. The authors conclude that clients' adjustments in asset allocation and other inconstant policies are prime causes for the relatively poor performance of pension plans.