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Agenda Day 2 April 19, 2005
The Looming Pension Fund Crisis
8:00 am
Registration Breakfast & Networking
8:30 am
How Severe is The Looming Pension Fund Crisis
How underfunded are corporate pension funds? How
deficient is the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation?
How does measuring underfunding in terms of ongoing
pension obligations versus terminating pension obligations change the picture?
Are other industries threatening to dump massive pension
liabilities on the PBGC to the extent that the steel and airlines industries have?
Speaker: Vincent K. Snowbarger, Deputy Executive Director,
Pension Benenfit Guaranty Corporation
9:00 am
The Insiders Perspective
Learn first-hand what leading CFOs, CIOs and
Treasurers believe are the biggest concerns regarding adequate funding of pension plans. Determine if these
financial professionals are most concerned about rising health care costs, returns on investment, legal liabilities,
compliance, investment management expenses and much more.
Panelists: Stuart Shears, VP & Treasurer, Hercules Inc.
Michael Musuraca, Designated Trustee, New York, City Empoyees Retirement System
Aliya Wong, Director of Pension Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Andrea Robertson, Senior VP & Treasurer, Mastercard
9:45 am
Is the Remedy Worse than the Status Quo?
How will proposed pension reforms impact pension
solvency?
What will the impact be for:
Indexing premiums to reflect the growth of worker wages? Requiring underfunded plans to pay
riskbased premiums? Where should the permanent interest rate be set to calculate employers pension
funding promises? Should the PBGC take equity stakes in the companies it rescues?
Speaker: Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Senior Pension Fellow,
American Academy of Actuaries
10:30 am
Coffee and Networking Break
10:45 am
Pension Crisis: The Financial Story
Why do we have a pension crisis in the first place? The
answer lies not in laws and regulations, but in the financial risk decisions made by plan sponsors. Any solution
to the funding crisis must start with a solid fundamental understanding of pension financing. In this session well
explore the asset-liability management problem:
Pension liabilities how are they calculated, and why
have they grown so much?
How should the character of our liabilities affect plan
asset allocation?
How much funding risk should the ultimate risk-takers
(shareholders/taxpayers) be asked to bear?
What can plan sponsors do to gain control of their
pension funding risk?
Do hedge funds and other alternative asset classes
have a role to play in an asset-liability portfolio?
Speaker: Keith Hocter, CFA - Investment Consultant,
Bellwether Consulting
11:15 am
Legal Liabilities
What are the legal liabilities associated with employers
offering cash balance plans?
What is the likelihood of giving worker pension plans
higher priority during bankruptcy proceedings?
What is the outlook for lawsuits filed by beneficiaries
for mismanagement?
For neglecting fiduciary duties?
Speakers: Lonie
Hassel, Principal, Groom Law Group
12:00 pm
Luncheon
1:15 pm
Corporate Governance
What are the principles and structure of a sound fiduciary
governance system?
What are the obstacles to the installation of such a
system and how does one get around them?
What is the stance of pension plans regarding
Sarbanes-Oxley-like legislation?
What is the SECs concern about internal controls?
Actuarial assumptions? Relationships with investment firms?
What exactly will be expected of pension funds in
terms of disclosing possible underfunding with beneficiaries?
Speaker: Wayne Miller, Chief Executive Officer, Denali
Fiduciary Management
2:00 pm
Pensions and Derivatives: Fiduciary Implications
Derivative instruments offer pension funds a chance to reduce risk, transform cash flows, synthesize asset exposure, or enhance yield. A huge and growing market size confirms their popularity. Yet not all funds are believers even though some experts suggest that fiduciaries have an obligation to use derivatives to hedge. Moreover, a pension plan may have an indirect exposure to derivatives in the form of asset-backed securities or monies allocated to funds that employ futures, options or swaps. In this session, well discuss some important governance considerations regarding derivative instrument use. Topics include:
* How do derivatives differ from traditional securities?
* What is the hidden risk associated with use of futures, options, and swaps?
* Is there a fiduciary duty to hedge?
* How does derivative strategy choice affect a funds risk-return profile?
* What are the elements of an effective risk control system?
Speaker: Susan M. Mangiero, Ph.D., CFA, AVA, FRM Managing Member, BVA, LLC and Founder, Pension Governance, LLC
2:45 pm
Coffee and Networking Break
3:00 pm
Risk Management Issues
Key underwriting issues in risk assessing liability under Fiduciary Liability Insurance Programs
Insurance products available to protect directors
and senior officers from governmental audit and litigation
Speaker:
Rhonda Prussack, Vice President & Product Manager, Fiduciary Liability, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA
3:45 pm
An International Perspective on the Pension Fund Crisis
How do pension contributions as a percent of payroll
differ around the world?
How severe of a problem do demographics pose to
pension funding in other developed nations?
How are other nations contending with their pension
deficits? By raising retirement ages? By hiking worker contributions? By reducing benefits? By championing
medical reform? By allowing more immigration?
What are the models for success?
Speaker: Giles Orton, Partner and Chairman of the Pension
Group, Eversheds, LLP
4:15 pm
Wall Streets Perspective
Determining the legitimacy of actuarial assumptions for
pension fund accounting
The impact of actuarial assumptions on pension fund contributions,
corporate cash flow and operating earnings
Will requirements for greater disclosure in terms of
transparency and accountability of pension fund solvency trigger investor defections?
Impact of elimination of "contribution holidays" on cash flow
Will corporate income streams be smoother as a result
of companies making more generous contributions to pension plans during good economic times?
Panelists: Mark
Beilke, Director of Employee Benefits
Research, Milliman Inc. & Chairman of the
Committee on Pension Accounting, American Academy of Actuaries
David Bianco, Senior Accounting Analyst, UBS
Glenn Reynolds, CEO, CreditSights, Inc
5:00 pm
Adjournment and Cocktail Reception
* agenda
subject to change
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