TY - JOUR T1 - Practical Applications of The Blind Side: <em>Managing Downside Risk in Corporate Defined-Benefit Plans</em> JF - Practical Applications SP - 1 LP - 5 DO - 10.3905/pa.2014.2.1.043 VL - 2 IS - 1 AU - Abdullah Z. Sheikh AU - Jianxiong Sun A2 - Bollen, Jennifer Y1 - 2014/07/31 UR - https://pm-research.com/content/2/1/1.3.abstract N2 - Practical Applications of The Blind Side: Managing Downside Risk in Corporate Defined-Benefit Plans Abdullah Z. Sheikh Jianxiong Sun Average funding ratios for U.S. defined-benefit pension plans are low enough to set off triggers for mandatory contribution increases and have led to a greater emphasis on risk-reduction strategies among US plan sponsors.Authors Abdullah Z. Sheikh , and his colleague, Jianxiong Sun, both of J.P. Morgan Asset Management , offer pension fund managers and trustees a “common sense solution” rather than a “magical formula,” in their article for the Spring 2013 issue of The Journal of Portfolio Management , The Blind Side: Managing Downside Risk in Corporate Defined Benefit Plans. This Practical Applications report explores two main facets of the authors’ approach: The impact of non-normality of asset returns on a defined-benefit pension plan’s liabilities and the development of a multidimensional risk management framework for managing contribution risk.“There are a lot of plans that are at the forefront of adopting some of the more well-thought-out solutions. At a basic level, the strategy we’re recommending is very intuitive,” says co-author Sheikh.TOPICS: Pension funds, financial crises and financial market history, VAR and use of alternative risk measures of trading risk ER -