Over the 2010s, the assets of public pension plans generated significantly higher returns than their assumed, or actuarial, rates of return. In a sample of 69 US public plans with a total of $2.1 trillion of assets, the return outperformance of assets over the assumed returns was over 200 basis...

During the 2010s, the assets of public pension plans generated significantly higher returns than their assumed, or actuarial, rates of return. In a sample of sixty-nine U.S. public plans with a total of $2.1 trillion of assets, the return outperformance of assets over the assumed returns was...

We define defensive factor timing as pro-actively using market signals—measures of aggregate risk tolerance, the effectiveness of diversification, and valuation measures—to reduce exposures to individual factors or a portfolio of factors when outlooks are unattractive. Unlike other market...