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What determines corporate pension fund risk-taking strategy?

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  • An, Heng
  • Huang, Zhaodan
  • Zhang, Ting

Abstract

Corporate sponsors of defined benefit pension plans generally assume low investment risk when they have low funding ratios and high default risk, consistent with the risk management hypothesis. However, for financially distressed sponsors and sponsors that freeze, terminate, or convert defined benefit to defined contribution plans, the risk-shifting incentive (moral hazard) dominates. Pension fund risk-taking is also affected by labor unionization and sponsor incentives to maximize tax benefits, restore financial slack, and justify the accounting choices of pension assumptions. Sponsors shift toward an aggressive risk strategy when their pension plans emerge from underfunding, bankruptcy risk is reduced, or marginal tax rate decreases. Overall, we show that corporate sponsors adopt a dynamic risk-taking strategy in their pension fund investments.

Suggested Citation

  • An, Heng & Huang, Zhaodan & Zhang, Ting, 2013. "What determines corporate pension fund risk-taking strategy?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 597-613.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:37:y:2013:i:2:p:597-613
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2012.09.018
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jorma J. Schäublin, 2022. "Swiss pension funds: funding ratio, discount rate, and asset allocation," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 158(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Almaghrabi, Khadija S., 2023. "Non‐operating risk and cash holdings: Evidence from pension risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    4. Emawtee Bissoondoyal‐Bheenick & Robert Brooks & Hung Xuan Do, 2023. "Risk Analysis of Pension Fund Investment Choices," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 59(3), pages 872-898, September.
    5. Romaniuk, Katarzyna, 2019. "Premiums of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation and risk-taking by pension plans," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 301-307.
    6. Mary McCarthy & Elisabeta Pana & Andrew Weinberger, 2021. "The role of institutional investors in pension risk transfers," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 45(3), pages 451-468, July.
    7. Jansen, Kristy, 2021. "Essays on institutional investors, portfolio choice, and asset prices," Other publications TiSEM fd998408-d282-4e0f-b542-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Mathur, Ike & ap Gwilym, Rhys, 2014. "Integrating corporate ownership and pension fund structures: A general equilibrium approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 553-569.
    9. Platanakis, Emmanouil & Sutcliffe, Charles, 2016. "Pension scheme redesign and wealth redistribution between the members and sponsor: The USS rule change in October 2011," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 14-28.
    10. Wang, Yong & Mao, Connie X., 2015. "Shareholder activism of public pension funds: The political facet," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 138-152.
    11. Mauro Mastrogiacomo & Yue Li & Rik Dillingh, 2022. "The displacement effect of compulsory pension savings on private savings. Evidence from the Netherlands, using pension funds supervisory data," Working Papers 474, DNB.
    12. Romaniuk, Katarzyna, 2021. "Pension insurance schemes and moral hazard: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation should restrict the insured pension plans’ portfolio policy," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 37-43.
    13. Martijn Boermans & Rients Galema, 2017. "Pension funds carbon footprint and investment trade-offs," DNB Working Papers 554, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    14. Broeders, Dirk W.G.A. & van Oord, Arco & Rijsbergen, David R., 2016. "Scale economies in pension fund investments: A dissection of investment costs across asset classes," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 147-171.
    15. Broeders, Dirk W. G. A. & Jansen, Kristy A. E. & Werker, Bas J. M., 2021. "Pension fund's illiquid assets allocation under liquidity and capital requirements," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 102-124, January.
    16. Dirk Broeders & Kristy Jansen & Bas Werker, 2017. "Pension fund's illiquid assets allocation under liquidity and capital constraints," DNB Working Papers 555, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    17. Artem Dyachenko & Patrick Ley & Marc Oliver Rieger & Alexander F. Wagner, 2022. "The asset allocation of defined benefit pension plans: the role of sponsor contributions," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(5), pages 376-389, September.
    18. Berchtold, Demian & Dichter, Oliver & Loderer, Claudio & Waelchli, Urs, 2021. "Pension risk and corporate investment distortion," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Defined benefit pension fund; Pension beta; Funding ratio; Form 5500; Risk shifting; Bankruptcy risk; Pension accounting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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