Seven years ago, financial expert Dr. Susan Mangiero launched the first blog devoted exclusively to the topic of retirement plan governance and investment best practices. This unique website, www.pensionriskmatters.com, continues to serve as a resource for ERISA, public and non-U.S. pension plan trustees, CFOs, board members, actuaries, advisers, attorneys, auditors, consultants, money managers and regulators who want to learn more about pension risk, asset allocation, hedge funds, private equity funds, fees and valuation within a fiduciary framework.

Since the inception of www.pensionriskmatters.com in 2006, the pension crisis has captured the attention of Main Street and Wall Street. Litigation is on the rise, with some lawsuits resulting in multi-million dollar settlements. Liability insurance underwriters and regulators want further transparency about risk-taking and due diligence. Taxpayers worry that $3 trillion of unfunded IOUs will strain municipal budgets, with some cities filing for bankruptcy. Enforcement officials are addressing pay-to-play conflicts. Pension de-risking has the attention of CEOs and CFOs who want to understand how a pension transfer strategy impacts enterprise value, liquidity and M&A flow.

According to Dr. Susan Mangiero, "The retirement crunch is global, gigantic and not going away any time soon. Expect a heightened focus on how benefit plans are being managed and by whom. Investors and workers are influenced by new rules, market complexities and an active plaintiffs' bar. With a radical change in demographics, longer life spans, anemic private savings and concern about safety net programs such as Social Security, pension risk governance and the role of the fiduciary cannot be ignored. We appreciate the feedback from our legal and financial readers and an opportunity to help guide the discussions."

Dr. Susan Mangiero is a CFA charterholder, Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst and certified Financial Risk Manager. She provides independent risk management, due diligence and valuation-related economic analyses, fiduciary training and litigation support services such as expert witness testimony and calculation of damages. Dr. Mangiero is the author of Risk Management for Pensions, Endowments and Foundations and numerous articles and speeches about investment best practices, risk mitigation and asset-liability management.