Fewer than Two Weeks Remain for Innovation Awards Nominations

Nominations for CIO’s eighth annual Industry Innovation Awards will close in fewer than two weeks. The awards seek to highlight the most innovative CIOs of 2017.

Nominations are open to industry professionals and will close on Friday, August 4. All finalists will be announced in early September.

The Innovation Awards ceremony will take place December 7 at the New York Public Library.
The most innovative CIOs of the year will be chosen by CIO’s editorial staff and advisory board, which includes Jagdeep Bachher of the University of California Office of the President, Tim Barrett of Texas Tech University System, Robert Hunkeler of International Paper, Jacque Millard of Intermountain Healthcare, Mark Schmid of the University of Chicago and Robert “Vince” Smith, CIO and deputy state investment officer of the New Mexico State Investment Council.

This year’s asset owner categories include (2016 winners in parentheses):

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Foundation (University of Arizona Foundation, Craig Barker)

Endowment (Texas Tech University System, Tim Barrett)

Corporate Defined Benefit Pension Plan Below $5 Billion (Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Jamey Sharpe)

Corporate Defined Benefit Pension Plan Above $5 Billion (International Paper, Robert Hunkeler)

Public Defined Benefit Plan Below $15 Billion (MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System, Larry Krummen)

Public Defined Benefit Plan Between $15 Billion and $100 Billion (Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, Jim Grossman)

Public Defined Benefit Plan Above $100 Billion (State of Wisconsin Investment Board, David Villa)

Sovereign Wealth Fund (new category)

Healthcare Organization (Intermountain Healthcare, Jacque Millard)

Defined Contribution Plan (American Airlines, Ken Menezes)

Next Generation (UPS, Greg Spick)

Consulting (Aksia, Jim Vos)

Asset management categories include (2016 winners in parentheses; italics indicate altered category):

Fixed Income (BlackRock)

Equities (including alternative equity beta) (Parametric)

Multi-Asset (including risk-balanced strategies) (Risk Premium Investment Management Company)

Private Equity (Blackstone)

Hedge Funds (Marshall Wace)

Real Assets (Pantheon)

Defined Contribution Strategies (NISA Investment Advisors)

Investment Outsourcing (Goldman Sachs Asset Management)

Corporate Investment Strategies (Nuveen)

Corporate Liability Strategies (Prudential)

Transition Management (Macquarie)

Data & Technology (Solovis)

**New 2017 Category: ESG Investing

Let us know who inspires you in this industry, and why. The nomination form can be found here: https://www.research.net/r/2017IIANominations.

Tags: CIO, Innovation Awards, Robert Vince Smith

The US Treasury Department has approved the United Furniture Workers Pension Fund’s application for a benefits reduction, making it only the second pension fund to be approved for benefits cuts under the Klein-Miller Multiemployer Pension Relief Act of 2014 (MPRA).

The plan’s trustees’ proposal includes reducing benefits to 110% of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guarantee, excluding disabled retirees, or those who will be older than 80 as of Sept. 30, 2017. The percentage reductions range from 0% to 62%, and of the fund’s 9,896 participants, 7,078 would see no reduction. For the other 2,818, the average reduction would be 12.7%.

“There is no question that a rapid increase in US furniture imports has been the primary competitive factor facing the contributing employers, and by extension, the pension fund,” said the fund in its application.

In February, the Treasury Department approved an application for benefits by the Ironworkers Local 17 Union of Cleveland, making it the first pension to be approved for benefits reductions under the MPRA.

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Under the MPRA, severely troubled pension plans can apply to suspend vested benefits provided that certain criteria are met.

“My husband and I both worked under the UFW Union for several years and we ourselves paid into our pension fund with no help from our employer,” wrote an unnamed pension participant in the comments section of the application. “This union tried once before to quit on us while on strike, and after some deliberating and a lot of upset employees, they decided to forgo that decision. Now, they want to reduce our measly pension amounts. I just do not feel that this is in the best interest for us. It seems like it was mismanaged on the part of the United Furniture Workers Pension Fund A.”

However, other participants supported the plan to reduce benefits.

“While it is upsetting for anyone to get their benefits reduced, this is the best thing that can happen to the pension fund,” said one participant. “If this does not pass and the Fund becomes insolvent, the people on Disability Pension and anyone 80+ years old will not be protected. Out of 9,000+ participants, over 7,000 are not getting any reductions. If this does not pass, the number of people that will get reductions will increase tremendously.”

In order for the approval of benefits reductions to take effect, it must be voted on by participants and beneficiaries of the pension plan. The MPRA requires that the Treasury, in consultation with the Department of Labor and the PBGC administer the vote.

Tags: Klein-Miller Multiemployer Pension Relief Act of 2014, MPRA, PBGC, United States Department of Labor (DOL)