Pension Plan Solutions
Pension investment solutions must span the full spectrum—from strategic planning to high-quality implementation. Better portfolios are achievable, and best practices have evolved. We bring practical knowledge, deep experience, and firm-wide resources to help our clients reach their long-term objectives.
By the Numbers
A legacy of performance, partnership, and trust
$26.3B
Pension plan assets under management
Reflects our ability to deliver tailored investment strategies and robust risk management across a diverse range of plan types and objectives.
39 years
Longest-tenured client
A testament to the trust, consistency, and results we deliver.
85%
Clients with the firm 5+ years
Underscores the strength of our long-term partnerships and our ability to adapt to clients’ evolving needs.
Source: Allspring. As of December 31, 2024.
Evolving best practices
Within the overall pension plan investment strategy, one of the most important aspects is the LDI or liability hedging portfolio. This is generally where most of our engagement with clients has been for the past several years as more and more emphasis is placed on de-risking.
We have been at the forefront of shaping and evolving best practices across the industry, often leading the conversations about important LDI topics, including liability dual-duration, prudent use of capital efficiency, and diversifiers in credit portfolios.
Innovative thinking: Your diversifying LDI manager
Allspring’s quest is to keep elevating investing, and we continue to innovate and offer fresh ideas for a maturing market.
Many LDI investors are looking for ways to diversify their LDI portfolios—especially the credit element. We believe there are improvements to be found by considering nontraditional ways of investing in credit. We think of these in terms of credit diversifiers and credit alternatives.
Allspring brings strong alpha, diversification, and innovation to LDI portfolios
“It is an interesting time for corporate pension plans. Revitalized funded ratios give lots of room to implement next-generation LDI and return-seeking strategies. The prevailing market conditions offer a lot of opportunity.”
Andy Hunt, CFA
Head of Pension Strategy, Global Client Strategy
Holistic and forward-thinking
Portfolio construction applied to pension plans seeks to:
Hedge liability risk
Eliminate undesired and unrewarded risks.
Free the leverage constraint
Construct the portfolio as desired, net of liability hedges.
Diversify differently
Balance risks to growth, rates, and inflation for a smoother ride through economic cycles.
Diversify further
Consider liquid alternatives with low correlations to the markets (and each other).
Manage explicit downside risks
Focus on reducing risk of draw-downs that could imperil funded status.
Remain cost-effective
Potentially improve risk-adjusted returns through active management, such as tactical asset allocation.
Helping pension plan clients invest to achieve and exceed their goals
“Improved (surplus) risk management can be achieved without sacrificing good long-term returns. The upshot is improved investment efficiency. Modern risk management and portfolio construction technologies really can help.”
Jonathan Hobbs, CFA
Head of U.S. Solutions, Global Client Strategy
Featured insights
As the U.K. government and corporate defined benefit (DB) industry discuss how to address growing surpluses among some plans, we ask whether the same could happen in the U.S., rebooting the nation’s corporate DB plans.
To manage downside risk in multi-asset portfolios, investors must balance consistency, reactivity, and cost. We introduce a robust framework to navigate the evolving risk landscape and protect portfolios over time.
We look forward to helping you with your investment needs
