Browsing by Author "Farrell, James"

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    Asset management in public DB and non-DB Pension Plans.
    (Cambridge University Press, 2016-10) Farrell, James; Shoag, Daniel
    State and local pension plans are increasingly moving from the traditional defined benefit (DB) model to non-DB models that generally allow for participant-directed investment. This shift has important implications for the management of the more than US$3 trillion in assets held to finance public employee retirement benefits. To investigate these implications, we introduce new data from a nationwide survey of public DB and non-DB plans and a unique data set on thousands of individual investors in the state of Florida's defined contribution (DC) plan. Using these sources, we explore how participant involvement in the public sector affects the distribution of asset class allocations, management fees, investment outcomes, and portfolio rebalancing at both the individual and aggregate levels. We found that there is little difference between the DB and non-DB plans in terms of asset mix, returns, and fees, except that DB plan have greater access and allocations to alternative investments. We also found that while the average individual DC plan participant allocated their asset similarly to the DB plan, black females and older white males, on average, invested on opposite tails of the risk spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]   Copyright of Journal of Pension Economics & Finance is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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    Peer effects among teachers: A study of retirement investments
    (Springer, 2019-09-15) Farrell, James
    Using a unique matched-panel dataset that combines detailed demographic information from the Florida Department of Education’s annual survey of school districts with investment information from the Florida State Board of Administration for 2002–2009, this paper looks for the presence of peer effects among Florida Defined Contribution plan participants at the school level. Overall, the regression results suggest a small, but significant peer effect on asset allocations and activity level. A 1 standard deviation change in initial peer equity yielded a 0.04 standard deviation change in equity reallocation. This is in comparison to a 1 standard deviation change in the individual’s own initial equity allocation, which would yield a 0.16 standard deviation change in equity allocation. For activity level, a 5.2% change in peer activity level increased the likelihood of a participant being active by 1.8%. The findings are reinforced by similar analysis using false peer groups. These findings suggest the presence of a social multiplier for coworker investment decisions.
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    Revisting the 15-year mortgage as an investment
    (Financial Planning Association, 2018-09) Farrell, James
    The article offers information on trade-off between prepaying the mortgage and making investments in housing. Topics discussed include the factors determining the choice of loans such as affordability, expected length of time in home and interest rates; preference of homebuyers to finance their home purchase with a 30-year mortgage; and the advise given to clients by financial planners on managing the leverage on a home o generate investible assets.