PIMCO Releases 2nd Annual Global Defined Contribution Survey for Multinational Corporations

NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 23, 2017) - Most global companies view retirement benefit plans as a valuable tool to help employees retire successfully and an essential offering when trying to retain and attract top talent, according to the 2^nd Annual Global DC Survey for Multinational Corporations released by PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm. 

Of the 26 firms surveyed, more than 60% ranked helping employees meet their retirement investment needs as the primary objective in offering defined contribution plans. Moreover, about half of the companies -- which represent $230 billion of defined contribution assets worldwide -- said they are likely to adopt more globally automatic enrollment and contribution-rate increases over the next few years. Meanwhile about a third is likely to roll out institutional investment strategies more globally such as white label/multimanager core and custom target-date/lifestyle strategies.

"Multinational corporations are seeking help as they roll out and evolve their DC plans around the globe," said Stacy Schaus, DC Practice Leader. "We created this survey to offer insight into global DC decision-making, governance and investments."

PIMCO's survey found companies are attempting to surmount the challenges in a number of ways.

• Over half of those surveyed make DC plan decisions locally with global or regional oversight or parameters; these include decisions about investment and plan design, and selection of investment and administration providers. Fewer than one in five reported that decision-making is centralized to global leadership.
• About two-thirds of the companies said they are at least somewhat likely to move toward global relationships in investment management, insurance and consulting.
• Organizations said improved governance, lower costs and idea generation are the most valuable benefits of globalized retirement efforts.
• To improve global oversight, more than four in ten organizations said they have gathered local plan details, written a global retirement plan philosophy, and established a global leadership team.

In terms of investment strategies preferred, the survey also found that a majority believes active management is important or very important for non-U.S. bonds, emerging market equities, non-U.S. equities (developed markets), U.S. bonds, target-date strategies, U.S. small cap equities and balanced strategies.

About the Survey 

PIMCO created the Global DC Survey for Multinational Corporations in response to requests from global firms looking for a deeper understanding of how peers address the challenges associated with having similar, but not identical, pension obligations in multiple countries. The survey captures data, trends and opinions from 26 multinational plan sponsors, which serve over 1.2 million DC participants and more than $230 billion in DC assets. For survey highlights or other PIMCO DC publications, please contact us at 888.845.5012 or email us at pimcodcpractice@pimco.com 

About PIMCO

PIMCO is a leading global investment management firm, with 12 offices in 11 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1971, PIMCO offers a wide range of innovative solutions to help millions of investors worldwide meet their needs. Our goal is to provide attractive returns while maintaining a strong culture of risk management and long-term discipline. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.