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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
11

Three Pension Cost Methods under Varying Assumptions

Grizzle, Linda S. 13 June 2005 (has links) (PDF)
A pension plan administrator promises certain benefits in the future in exchange for labor today. In order to budget for this expense and create more security for the participant, the administrator uses a pension cost method. Each cost method assigns a portion of the future liability to the current year. This is called the normal cost. We calculate the normal cost under three cost methods using different annuity, interest and inflation assumptions. Then we make comparisons between cost methods as well as between assumption changes. The cost methods considered in this paper are the unit credit cost method, projected unit credit cost method, and the entry age cost method. Both the constant dollar and the constant percent versions of the entry age cost method are considered.
12

個人商業年金保險與公立中學教師退休金規劃 / Annuities and the pension plan of the public senior high school teachers

陳志堅 Unknown Date (has links)
台灣和世界一樣,人口持續老化,此外台灣在2011年是世界出生率最低的國家,同時在政府財政不斷赤字下,更使政府對公立教師所辦理的第一層社會保險退休年金、第二層對公教所辦理的退休職業年金,陷入前所未見的財務困難,各種精算報告明顯指出,未來十到二十年間,公教退休基金破產,指日可待,因此公教人員退休金制度等的改革浪潮,風起雲湧。 老年人退休金的主要需求來自於:一、一般日常生活需用的費用;二、因為身體退化關係,可能產生的醫療或長期照顧的費用;三、優渥生活品質額外產生的費用。一般民眾包括老師在計算退休金需求時,大多設想到第一項,最多還會設想到第三項。少有人設想到第二項,因為造成退休金需求低估。本研究在個案研究上,對一、二、三項都有著墨。 本研究探討公立中學教師的退休金規劃中,探討商業年金保險對其幫助。主要分為二類族群,一種是擁有退休撫卹制度舊制與新制混合的待退教師;另一種是純粹擁有新制的教師。首先就退休時所需的生活費用與探討政府能給予的退休年金改革前的狀況與改革後的狀況,加上本身自行理財的資產計算退休不足度。再依不同族群,給予商業年金保險的資產配置比例的建議,並討論其規劃前與規劃後的效益差別,進而闡述商業年金保險可保障長壽風險的不可取代性。 本研究做出以下結論:一、若想要規避長壽風險,那就需要年金保險、二、未來政府公教退休年金改革方向,給付只會更少,不會更多;三、商業年金保險和其他資產可以互補或替代;四、開放公保年金化,對新制教師有利月領退休金,降低長壽風險有利。
13

Da partilha da previdência privada na dissolução do casamento ou da união estável / Distribution of estate related to private pension plans in an dissolution of a marriage or stable union

Lippi, Iris Pedrozo 26 October 2010 (has links)
Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:19:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Iris Pedrozo Lippi.pdf: 1149118 bytes, checksum: 5fac65c575e5b07cbeae0d0ba996a6c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-26 / The right encompassed in distribution of estate related to private pension plans in an inter vivos dissolution of a marriage or stable union is the chosen topic, with the objective of analyzing the nature of the institution, further to the possibility of its being integrated to the family estate on account of the possibility of its having been an acquisition at some cost during the period the couple was living together, as well as its apportionment in order to fit it to the constitutional principles for family court. For such, four core topics shall be analyzed, the first of which will be referent to Civil Rights in the Constitution whose Magna Carta principles shall guide the construction of an interpretational doctrine of the infra-constitutional legislation. The second topic shall deal with the family s socio-economic evolution, going deeper into new property , further to dealing with private pension plans for its core theme. The third topic deals with the legislation s approach to the distribution of assets acquired at some cost by the couples during their marriage or stable unions, further to cases where there would be a possibility of dividing the private pension plan between the couple. The fourth topic shall make an approach on manners of performing the apportionment plus factors that may exert some influence over the calculation of parts in the joint property / O direito à partilha da previdência privada na dissolução inter vivos do casamento e da união estável é o tema escolhido que tem por objetivo analisar a natureza do instituto e a possibilidade de o mesmo integrar o patrimônio familiar, por se tratar de bem adquirido a título oneroso na constância da convivência entre os cônjuges ou companheiros, bem como a realização da sua divisão observando os elementos de cada caso, para que se concretize nos moldes dos princípios constitucionais do direito de família. Para tanto, serão analisados quatro temas centrais, o primeiro deles relativo à Constitucionalização do Direito Civil, cujos princípios da carta magna nortearão a construção doutrinária interpretativa da legislação infra-constitucional. O segundo tema trata da evolução sócio-econômica da família, abordando de forma mais aprofundada a nova propriedade , tendo como tema central a previdência privada. O terceiro tema se refere à abordagem da legislação sobre a partilha de bens adquiridos a título oneroso entre os cônjuges ou conviventes durante o casamento e a união estável, bem como os casos em que haveria a possibilidade legal da partilha da previdência privada entre o casal. No quarto tema abordaremos a forma de se realizar a partilha e os fatores que poderão influenciar no cálculo da meação
14

退休金個人帳戶下投資決策與所得替代率之探討

陳仁泓 Unknown Date (has links)
本文主要在探討確定提撥退休金計劃下,投資決策對所得替代率之影響,以提供員工退休規劃及政府政策擬定之參考。首先,我們建構退休金累積模型及所得替代率模型,其中所得替代率之計算是以含通貨膨脹率因子的年金方式給付退休金。然後,將影響退休金累積模型的精算因子:累積期間的投資報酬率,依據過去的月資料配適出其母體分配,以模擬員工未來退休時,使用年金方式給付退休金的所得替代率。本文進一步,提供員工在不同投資報酬下應相對提撥多少百分比,以達到適當的所得替代率水準的參考標準,以滿足員工未來退休時的生活所需。我們以民國87年「勞工退休金條例草案」及台灣投資市場的實証資料進行研究,本研究結果如右:當僱主提撥6%月薪資時,(一)若員工可選擇投資標的,女性、男性員工所得替代率分均值分別介於48%~70%、52%~75%,而且選擇高度風險基金之所得替代率平均值皆較低度風險基金高出45 %,但為了使所得替代率小於60%的機率低於10%,女性、男性員工選擇高度風險基金需較低度風險基金分別多提撥3 %、2 %。(二)若退休基金由勞委會統籌管理,以過去實証平均報酬率8%,計算女性、男性員工所得替代率分別為50%、54%,但為達到60%所得替代率,女性、男性員工需分別相對提撥2%、1%。(三)比較「員工可選擇投資標的」與「勞委會統籌分配管理」兩種退休基金管理方式,若員工可選擇投資標的亦有最低保証收益,結果發現員工可選擇投資標的之投資績效及所得替代率皆優於勞委會統籌分配管理。 / The thesis investigates the impacts of the employee’s investment decision making on income replacement rate for defined contribution plan. We first construct the pension accumulation model to compute the final retirement benefit under defined contribution plan. Furthermore, the empirical data of the investment returns from mutual fund market and that from Labor Insurance Bureau are utilized to simulate the possible investment returns distribution for employee before retirement. The replacement rate is then calculated by assuming the employee will use his/her final retirement benefit to buy a single premium annuity with inflation index adjustment from the insurance company. Finally, based on simulation results from different scenarios, we suggest a relative employee contribution rate in order for employee to reach his/her objective replacement rate under different risk aversion levels. Our results show: 1. If the employee can make investment decision by investing in the mutual fund market, in average, female employee can have 48~70% replacement rate, while male employee can have 52~75%. We also find the replacement rate for employee selecting the high-risk mutual fund is 45% higher than those for selecting the low-risk mutual fund. 2. If the employee can not make investment decision and Labor Insurance Bureau allocate the pension asset, female employee can have 50% replacement rate, while male employee can have 54%. 3. Comparing the above two alternatives under the assumption that the employee has minimum guarantee return in both case, we find the first option can generate higher replacement rate for employee.
15

公務人員退休撫卹基金之資產負債管理

彭愛蘋 Unknown Date (has links)
本研究以免疫理論(Immunization Theory)與投資組合理論(Portfolio Theory)來架構退休基金的資產負債管理模型,希望在免除利率風險的情況下,極大化退休基金的投資報酬率。本文以退撫基金86年到88年實際投資的實證資料及其對未來給付支出的預測模擬值,在不同考慮年限與提撥率下,建議其最適投資組合,並計算出資產負債管理的成本。最後,再以84年到88年市場平均資料的實證結果,支持並驗證我們以退撫基金內部資料所做的實證結果。研究發現: 1、資產負債管理的成本相當少,因此退撫基金應該儘早進行資產負債管理。若以資產負債管理前後效率前緣下投資報酬率的差異為資產負債管理的成本,以退撫基金內部資料的研究顯示,資產負債管理的平均成本為0.133﹪;以市場平均資料的研究顯示,資產負債管理的平均成本為0.234﹪。 2、在進行資產負債管理的分析後,退撫基金的薪資提撥率應提高至14.84﹪,才能確保未來的30年內,退撫基金不會因為利率變動而導致基金破產甚至無力清償。 3、要使退撫基金免於利率風險的年限愈長,其投資重心必須從短期票券和債券移到債券與股票或受益憑證上。 / This paper investigates the Asset-Liability Management for pension fund. We utilize Immunization Theory and Portfolio Theory selection model to immunize the surplus of pension funds against interest-rate fluctuations and to maximize expected return of pension fund simultaneously. In addition, we use the public trading data of the investment market in Taiwan from 1995 to1999 and the data from the Taiwan Public Employees Retirement System(TPERS)from1997 to 1999 to demonstrate the implementation of our model. We calculate the optimal asset allocation and the ALM cost under different time horizons and contribution rates. The empirical results from this study show that: 1、 The ALM cost is very small. Therefore, we suggest TPERS should start to implement ALM as soon as possible. Given the investment performance of TPERS, We find the ALM cost is 0.133﹪. Given the performance of the investment market, the ALM cost is 0.234﹪. 2、 The TPERS must increase its contribution rate to 14.84﹪ in order to make sure that the TPERS will not be insolvent as a result of interest-rate fluctuations in 30 years. 3、 To prolong the period over which the TPERS can immunize its surplus against interest-rate fluctuations, a large proportion of the investment asset should be allocate from commercial paper and bond to bond and stock.
16

台灣退休金制度與年金保險之金錢價值與所得替代率探討

張勝忠 Unknown Date (has links)
隨著醫療技術進步及生活水準的提高,使得人類平均壽命延長,人口結構有逐漸高齡化的趨勢,促使人們開始關切未來老年生活的財源。因此,本研究以金錢價值比率及所得替代率,來建構退休金所得規劃模型,探討在台灣各種不同的退休金制度及商業年金保險下,個人所擁有的金錢價值及所得替代率到底為何?利用過去25年的實證資料,採用66年到90年的各項實證資料,以模擬分析的方式,分析退休金制度及商業年金保險之現金流量,求算其金錢價值比率及所得替代率,並與澳洲、加拿大等國家的年金商品金錢價值比率,及退休金所得替代率相比較,分析造成其中差異的因素。   研究結果發現:(1)台灣退休金制度之金錢價值比率遠高於商業年金保險之比率;(2)在商業年金保險中,男性的金錢價值比率比女性的金錢價值比率高;(3)附加費用的多寡,使得即期年金之金錢價值比率高於遞延年金之比率約10%左右;(4)國內外的大多數年金商品金錢價值比率,大約都在90%到98%之間,表示其附加費用率大致相同;(5)在台灣退休金制度中,公務人員擁有較充足的退休金,而勞工退休金卻遠遠的不足;且相較於其他國家的退休金所得替代率,台灣除了公務人員退撫基金較為充足外,勞工退休金及社會福利支出方面是相當不夠的。 / Owing to the improvement of medical technology and living standard, the average life of human is extending and the structure of population is aging. It makes people to worry about the financial soundness of future life. This paper has following two objectives. First, we construct a evaluation model of pension value by using money's worth ratio and replacement rate. Second, we compare the money's worth ratio and replacement rates of different pension plans and annuities between different individuals. We use the empirical data from 1977 to 2001 in Taiwan for this study. We calculate the money's worth ratio and replacement rate of different pension plans and annuities and analyze the cash flow of them by using the simulated method. We also compare the money's worth ratio of annuities and replacement rate of pension plans between Taiwan, and the other countries, such as Australia, and Canada, and analyze the reasons causing these differences.   The empirical results are as follow. First, the money's worth ratio of pension plan is higher than that of the commercial annuity in Taiwan. Second, in commercial annuity, the money's worth ratio of male is higher than that of the female. Third, the money's worth ratio of immediate annuity is higher than that of the deferred annuity about 10% because of the expense loading. Fourth, the money's worth ratio of domestic or overseas annuities is between 90% and 98%. It means the loadings of them are not much difference. Fifth, the public officers have sufficient pension annuity, whereas the laborers have insufficient pension annuity. Finally, from the comparison of replacement rates of between Taiwan and other countries, we find that replacement rate of laborers in both private pension and public pension are insufficient except for the public officers.
17

Att välja eller att inte välja premiepensionsfonder : En kvantitativ studie gällande de val som görs inom premiepensionen / To Choose or Not to Choose : A quantitative study regarding the choices made within the Premium Pension

Karlsson, Johanna, Mellblom, Hanna January 2018 (has links)
Bakgrund: Var dag ställs människor inför val som har högre eller mindre utsträckning påverkan på dess framtid. En av de vanligaste ekonomiska beslutssituationer människor ställs inför är beslut gällande pensionen. Det svenska pensionssystemet är komplext och särskilt inom premiepensionen ställs individen inför en mängd valmöjligheter. Där kan individen välja egna premiepensionsfonder eller välja att inte göra ett aktivt val och därmed ha kvar förvalsalternativet AP7 Såfa. Samtidigt som kraven är höga på individens beslutsfattande visar beteendeekonomisk forskning att individens förmåga att fatta rationella beslut inte är på den nivå som traditionella ekonomiska teorier utgår ifrån. Den stora mängd valmöjligheter som finns inom premiepensionen förefaller skapa problem och leder till att åtskilliga individer väljer att inte göra något aktivt val. Tidigare forskning visar att ett flertal demografiska faktorer samt individens finansiella förmåga och kännedom om finansiella marknaden påverkar individens beslut gällande pensionen, samt att det finns ett behov av vidare forskning på vad som påverkar individer gällande pensionssparandet. Denna studie ämnar bygga vidare på de tidigare studier som gjorts för att kartlägga vilka egenskaper som leder till att en individ fattar aktiva beslut inom premiepensionssparandet samt koppla de beslut de gör till beteendeekonomiska teorier för att få en djupare förståelse för individens agerande gällande premiepensionsvalet. Med studiens resultat hoppas vi kunna bidra med ökad förståelse för vad som påverkar de val som görs gällande premiepensionen. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka samband mellan en individs egenskaper och om denne gör ett aktivt val gällande premiepensionemn, samt undersöka bakomliggande beteendeekonomiska biases gällande individens val inom premiepensionen. Detta med avsikt att genom en kvantitativ metod skapa ökad förståelse kring varför individer fattar de beslut de gör kring premiepensionssparandet. Genomförande: Denna kvantitativa studie antar en iterativ ansats där studien präglas av en tvärsnittsdesign och data har samlats in genom ett snöbollsurval med hjälp av enkäter. Sammantaget ingår 172 individer i denna studie. Slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att hur länge en individ har befunnit sig i arbetslivet, inkomstnivån samt om individen investerar i aktier på fritiden har en positiv påverkan på sannolikheten att denne har valt egna fonder till premiepensionen. Resultatet skiljer sig mot vad viss tidigare forskning visat. Studien identifierade även ett antal beteendeekonomiska biases som påverkar individen inom premiepensionsvalet. Resultatet tyder på att de individer som har gjort ett aktivt premiepensionsval påverkas av mentala genvägar när det kommer till att välja premiepensionsfonder. Vidare indikerar resultatet på IV att de som inte gör ett aktivt val påverkas av beteendeekonomiska biases som leder till inaktivitet. / Background: Every day people have to make choices that have a greater or lesser impact on their future. One of the most common financial decision-making situations people face is the decision regarding the pension. The Swedish Pension System is complex and, in particular, within the Premium Pension the individual is faced with a variety of choices. There individuals can choose their own Premium Pension funds or choose not to make an active choice and thus retain the AP7 Såfa. While the demands are high on the individual’s decision-making, behavioral finance research shows that the individual’s ability to make rational decisions is not at the level of traditional economic theories. The wide range of options available within the Premium Pension seems to create problems and leads to the fact that several individuals choose not to make any active choice. Previous research shows that a number of demographic factors, as well as the individual's financial literacy and financial market awareness, influence the individual's decision regarding the pension. Previous research also shows that there is a need for further research on what affects individuals in terms of pension savings. This study aims to build on previous studies to map which characteristics affect an individual to make active decisions in the Premium Pension and to link the decisions they make to behavioral finance theories to gain a deeper understanding of the individual's actions regarding the Premium Pension choice. With the result of the study, we hope to contribute with better understanding of what influences the choices made within the Premium Pension. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between an individual's characteristics and if they make an active choice regarding premium pension funds, as well as investigate underlying behavioral finance bias that affect an individual’s choice within the Premium Pension. With the intention, through a quantitative method, to create a better understanding of why individuals make the decisions they make regarding the Premium Pension. Completion/methodology: This quantitative study assumes an iterative approach where the study is characterized by a cross-sectional design and the data has been collected through snowball sampling using surveys. Altogether, 172 people are included in this study. Conclusion: The result of the study shows that how long an individual has been working, the income, and if the individual invests in shares has a positive impact on the probability that the individual has chosen own funds for the premium pension. This differs from what some previous research has shown. The study also identified a number of behavioral biases that affect the individual in the Premium Pension Plan. The result indicates that those individuals who have made active Premium Pension choices are affected by shortcuts when it comes to choosing Premium Pension funds. Furthermore, the result indicates that those who do not make an active choice are affected by behavioral biases that lead to inactivity.
18

Determinantes da procura por investimento em previdência privada: uma estimativa Logit

Osman, Kleber 06 February 2018 (has links)
Submitted by Kleber Osman (kleber.osman@icloud.com) on 2018-03-02T01:11:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Kleber Osman.pdf: 857853 bytes, checksum: 51c38d1dfdb2e92c87e2269bcc638896 (MD5) / Rejected by Thais Oliveira (thais.oliveira@fgv.br), reason: Prezado Kleber, boa noite! Para que possamos aprovar seu trabalho, será necessário que faça somente uma alteração: - Na capa, o nome "GETULIO" não tem acento. Por gentileza alterar e submeter novamente. Obrigada! on 2018-03-06T00:00:13Z (GMT) / Submitted by Kleber Osman (kleber.osman@icloud.com) on 2018-03-06T02:15:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Kleber Osman.pdf: 861905 bytes, checksum: 3478b1be8a0bd0efd15781f0c21be7cd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Thais Oliveira (thais.oliveira@fgv.br) on 2018-03-06T19:29:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Kleber Osman.pdf: 861905 bytes, checksum: 3478b1be8a0bd0efd15781f0c21be7cd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-07T13:05:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Kleber Osman.pdf: 861905 bytes, checksum: 3478b1be8a0bd0efd15781f0c21be7cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-06 / A crise previdenciária vivenciada no decorrer dos últimos anos mostrou que seus impactos não se restringem ao desequilíbrio das contas públicas devido ao aumento dessas despesas obrigatórias, mas também efeitos sociais e econômicos negativos podem atingir toda a economia brasileira. Diante disso, esforços se direcionaram na tentativa de encontrar uma alternativa que permita desonerar as contas públicas para evitar uma crise na economia local, assim como garantir que os aposentados mantenham a mesma renda frente ao salário recebido anteriormente à aposentadoria. Neste sentido, este estudo investiga o perfil dos investidores em previdência privada, visando detectar as principais características que os diferenciam. A análise do perfil dos indivíduos que contribuem para planos de previdência privada permite que políticas de incentivo a este produto sejam melhores desenhadas e, possibilita à iniciativa privada o seu direcionamento ao público-alvo de forma mais eficiente – uma vez reveladas as variáveis socioeconômicas de maior relevância. O método utilizado na indicação desses fatores baseia-se na estimação LOGIT, que tem como objetivo principal auferir quais são as variáveis com maiores ganhos marginais que afetam a probabilidade do indivíduo participar de plano de previdência privada. E, com base nos resultados, constatou-se que as variáveis 'educação' e 'renda' são preponderantes para a inscrição do indivíduo em plano de previdência privada. / The social security crisis experienced in recent years has shown that its impacts are not restricted to the imbalance of public accounts due to the increase in these compulsory expenses, but also negative social and economic effects can affect the entire Brazilian economy. In the face of this, efforts were directed towards finding an alternative that would allow public accounts to be discharged to avoid a crisis in the local economy, as well as ensuring that retirees maintain the same income against the salary received prior to retirement. In this sense, this study investigates the profile of private pension investors in order to detect the main characteristics that differentiate them. The analysis of the profile of individuals contributing to private pension plans allows policies to encourage this product to be better designed and allows the private sector to target the target public more efficiently - once the socioeconomic variables of greater relevance. The method used to indicate these factors is based on the LOGIT estimation, whose main objective is to determine which are the variables with the greatest marginal gains that affect the probability of the individual participating in a private pension plan. And, based on the results, it was verified that the variables 'education' and 'income' are preponderant for the inscription of the individual in private pension plan.
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Análisis de la determinación de los aportes en el Sistema Privado de Pensiones peruano: una aplicación de anualidades y perpetuidades / Analysis of the Determination of Contributions in the Peruvian Private Pension System: An Application of Annuities and Perpetuities

Quintana Meza, Aldo 10 April 2018 (has links)
This paper discusses on how to set fixed contributions for a given objective of a private pension plan, by using two traditional financial models such as annuities and perpetuities. The private pension plan has two components: (i) the contributions’ plan on a monthly basis (annuity), and (ii) the pension plan on a monthly basis (perpetuity). The document focuses on the relationship between the size to the contribution and the pension fund returns. The document covers the Peruvian case. / Este artículo discute cómo establecer los aportes fijos para un determinado objetivo de un plan de pensiones privado, mediante el uso de dos modelos financieros tradicionales como las anualidades y perpetuidades. El plan de pensiones privado tiene dos componentes: (i) el plan de aportes sobre una base mensual (anualidad), y (ii) el plan de pensiones sobre una base mensual (perpetuidad). El documento se centra en la relación entre el tamaño de la contribución y los rendimientos de los fondos de pensiones. Ello se concentrará específicamente en el caso peruano.
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Essays on retirement plans and fund commonalities within mutual fund families

Park, Youngkyun January 2008 (has links)
This dissertation studies underfunding in defined benefit (DB) pension plans and firms' contribution behavior, 401(k) plan participant investments in lifecycle funds under plan sponsors' initiative, and fund commonalities within mutual fund families. Responding to the recent decline in DB pension funding, firms have increased pension contributions to their underfunded plans. In the first essay I empirically examine firms' contribution behavior to underfunded DB plans and funding choice for pension contributions. I find that firms reveal different sensitivities of pension contributions to underfunding across aggregate funding levels. Furthermore, at a lower funding level firms have the greater sensitivity of pension contributions to underfunding and significantly utilize the tax deductibility of pension contributions. As for a funding choice to fund pension deficits, firms use debt financing at a low funding level, but utilize internal funding by decreasing capital expenditures at a lower funding level. Firms that use the debt financing are likely to have investment-grade credit ratings or high debt leverage, while firms that use the internal funding are likely to be high-levered ones. Recently lifecycle funds have rapidly grown in self-directed retirement plans. Despite the increasing popularity among plan sponsors and participants, there are few empirical studies on lifecycle funds. In the second essay, I examine the recent lifecycle fund adoption behavior of 401(k) plan participants from 2004 to 2006. I find that the likelihood of participants changing an investment strategy to adopt lifecycle funds is not significantly affected by participant demographic characteristics, but by participant account and plan design features. This study extends our understanding of 401(k) plan participants' investment behavior by finding (1) that the substitution of lifecycle funds for balanced funds, as well as the designation of lifecycle funds as a plan default, strongly affect participants' investments in lifecycle funds and (2) that balanced fund holdings of participants are negatively associated with their lifecycle fund investments. Mutual funds account for a significant portion of household financial assets and retirement assets. An understanding of characteristics of mutual funds is crucial to fund investors--especially those whose retirement nest eggs are in mutual funds. In the final essay, I examine the impacts of fund commonalities within mutual fund families on fund characteristics in terms of return residual correlations and fund operating expenses. As fund commonalities within a fund family, I focus on common stock holdings and common management of funds. I find that common stock holdings and an existence of a common manager of funds are positively related to return residual correlations, but negatively related to fund operating expenses. This finding suggests that when investors select low-cost equity funds within a family, they should be aware that there exists an investment risk that the fund commonalities that lower fund operating expenses may additionally increase return correlations of the funds. / Business Administration

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