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US pensions take hit as illiquid assets prove hard to shift
Corporate plans forced to sell alts at discount as insurers baulk at riskier investments
![Pension firms in US Pension firms in US](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_750_463/public/2022-07/Pension-firms-2.jpg.webp?h=ad178257&itok=LhQrBE00)
Companies looking to offload their defined benefit (DB) pension plans by purchasing an annuity from an insurance company may face a messy process if they hold illiquid investments.
Many insurers baulk at the idea of accepting risky investments as payment. As Owais Rana, head of liability driven investing at Principal Global Investors, puts it: “The insurer doesn’t want to buy a lemon.” This means pensions are taking longer to offload assets, and some are being forced to take haircuts before
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