Forgot your password?

Please enter the email address you used when registering.

Invalid email
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while validating your email address. Please try again.

Email sent

Please check your email for password reset instructions.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

In order to change your password, we need to verify your identity. We have sent an authorization code to the email address on file.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

Enter the 6-digit code sent to your email

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please create a new password

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.
  • Must be at least 9 characters long
  • Must have at least one capital letter
  • Must have a number
  • Must have a special character
  • Cannot contain any characters that repeat more than twice
  • New passwords fields must match

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Password successfully reset.

Two-step verification

In order to change your phone number, we need to verify your identity. We’ll send an authorization code to your email on file

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please enter you new phone number

Invalid number
Invalid country code
Number is too short
Number is too long
Invalid number
Invalid number
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while registering your account. Please try again.

Your account phone number has been changed successfully

Invalid login

Enter your password to login.

Invalid email
Invalid email
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.
Forgot password?

Two-step verification

To verify your identity, we need to send an authorization code to the email address on file.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

Enter the 6-digit code sent to your email

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.
Resend the email

Confirmed.
Welcome back.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please enter a valid phone number.

We need a phone number to keep your account secure. We'll send you a code to validate your phone number right now.

Invalid number
Invalid country code
Number is too short
Number is too long
Invalid number
Invalid number

Forgot your password?

Please enter the email address you used when registering.

Invalid email
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while validating your email address. Please try again.

Email sent

Please check your email for password reset instructions.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

In order to change your password, we need to verify your identity. We have sent an authorization code to the email address on file.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

Enter the 6-digit code sent to your email

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please create a new password

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.
  • Must be at least 9 characters long
  • Must have at least one capital letter
  • Must have a number
  • Must have a special character
  • Cannot contain any characters that repeat more than twice
  • New passwords fields must match

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Password successfully reset.

Two-step verification

In order to change your phone number, we need to verify your identity. We’ll send an authorization code to your email on file

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please enter you new phone number

Invalid number
Invalid country code
Number is too short
Number is too long
Invalid number
Invalid number
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while registering your account. Please try again.

Your account phone number has been changed successfully

Enter your email address

Invalid email
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while validating your email address. Please try again.
Already have a dashboard?

We need a little more information.

First name is required
Invalid format, avoid special characters or numbers
Last name is required
Invalid format, avoid special characters or numbers
Firm is required
Invalid format, avoid special characters or numbers
Role is required
Invalid number
Invalid country code
Number is too short
Number is too long
Invalid number
Invalid number
Passwords do not match
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while registering your account. Please try again.

Confirm your email address

We have sent an email to {0}. Click the link in the email to finish setting up your dashboard

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Forgot your password?

Please enter the email address you used when registering.

Invalid email
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while validating your email address. Please try again.

Email sent

Please check your email for password reset instructions.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

In order to change your password, we need to verify your identity. We have sent an authorization code to the email address on file.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Two-step verification

Enter the 6-digit code sent to your email

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please create a new password

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.
  • Must be at least 9 characters long
  • Must have at least one capital letter
  • Must have a number
  • Must have a special character
  • Cannot contain any characters that repeat more than twice
  • New passwords fields must match

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Password successfully reset.

Two-step verification

In order to change your phone number, we need to verify your identity. We’ll send an authorization code to your email on file

An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.

Please enter you new phone number

Invalid number
Invalid country code
Number is too short
Number is too long
Invalid number
Invalid number
An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login Your account has been temporarily locked because of too many failed login attempts. Please try again later. The code entered has expired. Please request a new code to continue. The code entered is not valid. Please request a new code to continue. Email address format is not valid. Your account has not been verified. Please check your email for instructions on how to verify your credentials. Your account has been disabled. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Invalid login This account has reached its limit for daily password resets. Please try again in 24 hours. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. That password was recently used. Please enter a new one. Password is not strong enough. Password cannot contain any forbidden words. Password is a commonly used password. Password cannot contain common words. Password cannot contain repeating characters. Password cannot contain sequence of characters. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. The account information you provided does not match our records. This account is not authorized to perform the request you've initiated. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. Password does not meet password strength requirements. Please try again. An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again later. An error occurred while registering your account. Please try again.

Your account phone number has been changed successfully

The impact of soaring inflation on defined benefit pension plans

Inflation is bad news generally, but it can be particularly devastating for DB plans. How bad, exactly? We quantify just how much varying inflation outlooks can affect different types of pension plans and the solutions available to help mitigate the damage.

Key takeaways

  • DB plans are particularly susceptible to inflation regardless of whether or not they offer benefits directly linked to the CPI.
  • While the impact can vary depending on how long inflation lasts, expected inflation levels and plan structure, almost all plans are now facing growing liabilities as a result of inflation.
  • There are a number of asset classes and investment strategies available to investors that can help mitigate the risk of longer-term inflation.

With inflation rates across the world hitting peaks not seen in decades, many investors are questioning where the economy goes from here. In the first two months of the year, U.S. consumer price increases accelerated to their highest level in 40 years, posting 7.5% and 7.9%, respectively, in year-over-year changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) before rising to 8.5% in March 2022. The current heated state of the economy has pushed the U.S. Federal Reserve to end the near-zero interest-rate environment by raising interest rates for the first time since 2018. Fueled by additional risk factors, such as regional geopolitical conflicts, many investors are increasingly anticipating higher inflation and more interest-rate hikes. 

On the rise: U.S. inflation at a multidecade high
Chart plots CPI and CPI ex-food and energy from 1990 to 2021.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of April 2022. CPI refers to the Consumer Price Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Even small increases in inflation can have outsize consequences for defined benefit (DB) plans: Unlike defined contribution (DC) plans, which place the burden of risk and costs on the plan member, a corporate DB plan will leave sponsors on the hook for any costs generated by rising inflation, and those costs could be prohibitive, particularly for index-linked plans. Although DB plans are becoming increasingly rare, they still account for the majority of assets in many countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Retirement assets in the United States are largely held in DC arrangements, but U.S. DB plans still account for some $3.3 trillion in assets.

Different strokes: the DC/DB asset split across markets
Graphic shows the split between DC and DB plans across six major pension markets. Australia has the highest percentage of DC plans, at 86%, while Japan has the lowest, at 5%.

Source: Manulife Investment Management, Thinking Ahead Institute, as of December 2021. DC refers to defined contribution. DB refers to defined benefit.

Unsurprisingly, many plan sponsors are now asking whether they should adjust their investment policy to account for rising inflation and, if so, what changes might be effective. In this paper, we share our research into just how sensitive DB plan liabilities are to inflation increases—index linked or otherwise—and the asset classes that can help mitigate those risks.

How sensitive are DB plan liabilities to inflation?

A rise in inflation can have a number of consequences for DB plans, depending on both the structure of individual plans and how long high inflation lasts. Naturally, a plan that automatically links benefits to the CPI will be faced with greater costs than those without indexation. Similarly, a plan made up of mostly retired members will fare better than one with a younger membership. 

Danger signs: key inflation risks for DB plans
Graphic shows the key inflation risks for DB plans, including the CPI, salary levels, and duration.

For illustrative purposes only.

That’s not to suggest that plans without indexation benefits will escape unscathed, however: Any DB plan that bases its members’ benefits on their final average salary will likely see liabilities grow thanks to future salary increases that typically accompany high inflation. The cost will have to be incurred eventually.

In order to gauge just how significant these costs could be, we ran a series of calculations using two distinct plans:

1 Retiree plan—Comprises only retired plan members

2 Active plan—Comprises only active (i.e., working) plan members

First, let’s take a look at what a transitory increase in inflation (inflation increases but returns to normal within 12 months) might mean for our plans. Quantifying the impact on pension plan liabilities in this instance is fairly straightforward, as actuarial assumptions for inflation should remain unchanged (for our calculations, we’ve set this at 2%).

For example, if a plan indexes retirees’ annual benefits to the CPI, the increase to the plan’s liabilities as a result of rising inflation would be calculated as follows:

Realized inflation – Expected inflation assumptions used by the actuary
= Liability increase (%)

So if we assume a world of 7% realized (though transitory) inflation in which actuarial inflation assumptions are 2%, the liability increase for both the active and retiree plans would be calculated as follows:

7% – 2% = 5%

But the formula changes if the plan does not offer indexation. In this case, we need only consider the impact of the active participants, as salaries are affected by inflationary pressures. For the purposes of this analysis, we’ve assumed that the salaries of active members will increase broadly in line with any CPI increase. So here we use the same formula as above, but we include an additional factor: the proportion of plan liabilities that stems from active participants—we call this the proportion of active liabilities, or PAL.¹ For a plan that doesn’t offer indexation, our formula now becomes:


(Realized inflation – Expected inflation assumptions used by the actuary) x PAL = Liability increase (%)

Where PAL =
Market value of active participants’ liabilities / Total market value of plan liabilities

In our cases, the retiree plan has no active members and its PAL is 0, while the PAL of the active plan is 1, as all of its members are active.

As we would assume, our index-linked pension plans bear the brunt of rising inflation, with liabilities rising by 5% for both active and retiree plans. If our plans did not offer automatic indexation, the retiree plan would see no increase in its liabilities (since its PAL is 0), while the active plan would see a rise of 5% (since its PAL is 1).

Transitory inflation

With indexation

Without indexation

Retiree plan

5%

0%

Active plan

5%

5%

The new normal? Estimated impact of longer-term inflation

But what about a world of persistently high inflation? Such a scenario would naturally have a far greater impact on our DB plans’ liabilities, largely due to the increase in the actuarial assumptions used to establish the present value of future benefit payments.² We therefore need to incorporate a factor called liability inflation duration (LID), which is a measure of the sensitivity of the plan’s liabilities to changing inflation rates.³ The higher the figure, the greater its sensitivity to changing inflation rates.

In our examples, with indexation, the retiree plan LID is 9.3 and the active plan LID is 25.7. Without indexation, the retiree plan LID is 0.0 (i.e., its plan isn’t affected by changing inflation as it has no active members and no requirement to index retiree members’ payments to inflation), while the active plan LID is 14.6.

In the case of persistently high inflation, we can now calculate the liability increase with this formula:

Change in inflation assumptions x LID =
Liability increase (%)

For our calculations, we assume a long-term persistent inflation of 2.5% (i.e., a 0.5% increase). As an example, the liability increase for the active plan with indexation is therefore:

0.5% x 25.70 = 12.85%

Persistent inflation

 

 

With indexation

 

 

Without indexation

 

 

Retiree plan 

 

 

4.65%

 

 

0.00%

 

 

Active plan

 

 

12.85% 

 

 

7.30%

 

 

If we include costs incurred by current (or transitory) inflation figures together with our calculations based on a persistent inflationary environment, we can see just how severe things might look for DB plans. The retiree plan would see a 9.65% increase in liabilities if it were index linked; the active plan with indexation would bear the largest impact: a 17.85% increase in its liability. 

Combined transitory and persistent inflation

 

 

With indexation

 

 

Without indexation

 

 

Retiree plan 

 

 

9.65%

 

0.00%

 

 

Active plan 

 

 

17.85% 

 

 

12.30%

 

 

Of course, most plans aren’t composed of either 100% retired or 100% active members; generally, they have a mix of both. In this case, how do our formulas change? Fortunately, the calculations are fairly simple: We just need to multiply the liability increase by the plan’s PAL. 

Feeling the burn: how sensitive are DB plan liabilities to rising inflation?
Chart shows the predicted increase in total liabilities for a DB plan with benefits linked to the CPI on the left and without benefits linked to the CPI on the right.

Source: Manulife Investment Management, June 2022. Bps refers to basis points. CPI refers to the Consumer Price Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Recall that the PAL for the active plan was 1 and 0 for the retiree plan. But if a plan had, say, 70% active members and 30% retiree members (and if we assume that this plan’s PAL is the same ratio), then we multiply the liability increase by 0.7; for example, the active plan with indexation saw a liability increase of 17.85%, but if that plan instead had a PAL of 70%, the liability increases by 12.5% (i.e., 17.85% x 0.7) instead.

Our findings might make for uncomfortable reading, but it’s important to note that although CPI-linked plans clearly fare worse in an inflationary environment, those not offering indexation could still incur liability increases of over 12% in some circumstances. In light of these stark figures, it’s understandable that many plan sponsors will be asking if there’s anything they can do to minimize the impact on their future funded ratio.

Looking ahead: investment strategies for an inflationary environment

Ideally, investors could offset the effects of higher inflation by investing in asset classes that can deliver higher returns. But due to the correlation between different asset classes, relying on riskier assets alone without a corresponding change in overall risk profile may not be enough to compensate for the increase in inflation.

For example, people often talk about the relationship between inflation and bond yields, but this correlation is moderate at best. Over the past 40 years, we’ve seen a correlation of about 0.48 between headline CPI and U.S. 30-year bond rates, with the relationship weakening as we move closer to the short end of the yield curve. The relationship breaks down further if we consider riskier assets such as stocks. In the same 40-year timeframe, the correlation with the CPI has been barely noticeable for broad U.S. equities (–0.14), U.S. growth stocks (0.17), and U.S. value stocks (0.25). It does begin to look a little better for commodities (about 0.30), but not necessarily enough for us to consider them to be a perfect inflation hedging tool over the long run.  

Correlation between the U.S. CPI and ...
Graphic shows correlation between U.S. CPI and various assets, including large cap stocks and commodities.

Source: Manulife Investment Management, Macrobond, as of February 7, 2022. Correlation coefficients are based on monthly returns over 40 years. U.S. large-cap stocks are represented by the S&P 500 Index, U.S. large-cap growth stocks by the S&P 500 Growth Index, U.S. large-cap value stocks by the S&P 500 Value Index, and commodities by the CRB Raw Industrials Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

So what are the alternatives? In this type of environment, inflation-protected securities such as U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) tend to spring to mind. They may sound like the perfect solution for investors but, unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The yield offered on inflation-protected securities is usually lower than most fixed-income bonds without an inflation adjustment. Perhaps most important, just because inflation is high and rising, it doesn’t mean that inflation-protected securities will automatically make money. The U.S. CPI climbed 7.0% over 2021, while the TIPS index returned just 5.5%.⁴ As a result, a prudent strategy could be to discard the mark to market of these assets and instead aim to match their liability inflation with expected payments, holding them until maturity in order to provide an adequate inflation hedge.

No guarantees: just because inflation is high, it doesn't mean inflation-protected securities will deliver a good return
Chart compares 2021 10-year Treasury yield, 2021 10-year U.S. real yield, and 2021 U.S. CPI. Over the course of 2021, the CPI was significantly higher.

Source: Bloomberg, January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021. CPI refers to Consumer Price Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

An approach that could be effective for some investors is the addition of synthetic exposure to inflation only; for example, in Canada this can be achieved by combining a long exposure to TIPS or real return bonds with a short position on Treasuries or Government of Canada bonds, respectively. In the United States and some other markets, the same objective can be achieved through the use of an inflation overlay. It’s important to note that investors would need to match the LID for these types of trade. This synthetic exposure would provide inflation protection similar to a long only position to index-linked securities, but with reduced capital requirements. The unused capital could then be redeployed into higher-yielding securities such as corporate bonds or even equities. 

Let’s consider a final salary pension plan, for example, fully indexed to the CPI, and targeting an asset allocation of 60% in equity and 40% in fixed income. A traditional option for the plan could be to replace its fixed-income allocation with exposure to inflation-linked bonds; alternatively, it could add a synthetic exposure by adding a 40% inflation overlay. In both cases, we should see a similar reduction in the volatility of the funded status, but by using the synthetic option, the plan has also freed up capital to invest in higher-yielding assets, which could result in higher returns over the long run.

The benefits of real assets

Another investment category that can provide a useful hedge against inflation is real assets. Over the past 20 years in rising inflation regimes, real assets such as real estate and infrastructure have provided a good hedge against inflation, outperforming traditional asset classes such as equities and fixed income.

Let's get real: real assets offered stronger returns when inflation was rising
Chart illustrates how real assets have historically provided stronger returns than traditional asset classes in inflationary environments.

Source: Morningstar Direct, average 12-month rolling annualized returns from June 30, 2001, to June 30, 2021. Returns in U.S. dollars for representative indexes: farmland, NCREIF Farmland Index; U.S. real estate, NCREIF US Real Estate Index; infrastructure equities, S&P Global Infrastructure TR Index; timberland, NCREIF Timberland Index; commodities, S&P GSCI TR Index; U.S. bonds, Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; U.S. equities, S&P 500 Index; direct infrastructure: Burgiss Global Infrastructure Pooled Composite Index. Returns in CAD for representative indexes: Canadian equities, S&P/TSX Composite TR Index; Canadian bonds, FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index. U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rising inflation is defined as periods in which the annual U.S. CPI is greater than 2.5%, and falling inflation is defined as periods in which it's less than 2.5%. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Real estate, for example, is generally considered to be an asset class that can deliver consistent, real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) income in many different rate environments. Since the previous peak of interest rates in the United States in 1981, quarterly real income returns on U.S. real estate investments have averaged about 3.84% on an annualized basis.⁵ Real estate’s propensity to deliver consistent inflation-adjusted returns is in no small part thanks to its ability to help protect against the detrimental effects of inflation.

Similarly, infrastructure assets such as utilities have a clear link to inflation baked in thanks to government regulation, concession agreements, or contracts. Those assets without a direct link often have the pricing power to pass on the impact of inflation to customers.

Easing the pain: how real assets can help reduce the effects of inflation
Graphic highlights the attractive attributes of various real assets in an inflationary environment.

Source: Manulife Investment Management, June 2022. CPI refers to Consumer Price Index.

A well-stocked tool kit

As we’ve shown, inflation—particularly in the long term—can have a significant impact on the liabilities of DB plans, and while that impact will be felt most keenly by plans offering automatic indexation, those without indexation will also bear the cost further down the line due to salary increases.

While there are tools available that are specifically designed to protect against inflation, they come at a cost and with several caveats. In our view, portfolio diversification is key for long-term success. We don’t necessarily believe that there’s a single asset class that can be used as a stand-alone tool to compensate for higher inflation, and the right solution can vary widely depending on the plan sponsor’s risk tolerance. 

 

1 For simplification purposes, we assume the PAL is the same as the percentage of active members in the plan. In practice, they may differ. 2 The formula we’ve used for calculating LID is A ÷ B, where A = Liability value if the expected inflation increases by 1 basis point, minus liability value if the expected inflation falls by 1 basis point; and B = 2 x Liability value when there’s no change in expected inflation. 3 We offer one caveat here: These formulas assume that the plan’s actuary chooses to increase the inflation assumptions in a world of persistently high inflation. If the actuary chooses not to increase inflation assumptions, the change in liability would by definition be zero, although that could mean an increased risk of not meeting plan commitments and of future losses. Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Linked Bond Index. 5 Based on the income returns component of the NCREIF Property Index and U.S. quarter-over-quarter change in core CPI, as of Q2 2021.

A widespread health crisis such as a global pandemic could cause substantial market volatility, exchange-trading suspensions and closures, and affect portfolio performance. For example, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in significant disruptions to global business activity. The impact of a health crisis and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future could affect the global economy in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. A health crisis may exacerbate other preexisting political, social, and economic risks. Any such impact could adversely affect the portfolio’s performance, resulting in losses to your investment.

Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Financial markets are volatile and can fluctuate significantly in response to company, industry, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. These risks are magnified for investments made in emerging markets. Currency risk is the risk that fluctuations in exchange rates may adversely affect the value of a portfolio’s investments.

The information provided does not take into account the suitability, investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any specific person. You should consider the suitability of any type of investment for your circumstances and, if necessary, seek professional advice.

This material is intended for the exclusive use of recipients in jurisdictions who are allowed to receive the material under their applicable law. The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and are subject to change without notice. Our investment teams may hold different views and make different investment decisions. These opinions may not necessarily reflect the views of Manulife Investment Management or its affiliates. The information and/or analysis contained in this material has been compiled or arrived at from sources believed to be reliable, but Manulife Investment Management does not make any representation as to their accuracy, correctness, usefulness, or completeness and does not accept liability for any loss arising from the use of the information and/or analysis contained. The information in this material may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events, targets, management discipline, or other expectations, and is only current as of the date indicated. The information in this document, including statements concerning financial market trends, are based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons. Manulife Investment Management disclaims any responsibility to update such information.

Neither Manulife Investment Management or its affiliates, nor any of their directors, officers or employees shall assume any liability or responsibility for any direct or indirect loss or damage or any other consequence of any person acting or not acting in reliance on the information contained here. All overviews and commentary are intended to be general in nature and for current interest. While helpful, these overviews are no substitute for professional tax, investment or legal advice. Clients should seek professional advice for their particular situation. Neither Manulife, Manulife Investment Management, nor any of their affiliates or representatives is providing tax, investment or legal advice.  This material was prepared solely for informational purposes, does not constitute a recommendation, professional advice, an offer or an invitation by or on behalf of Manulife Investment Management to any person to buy or sell any security or adopt any investment strategy, and is no indication of trading intent in any fund or account managed by Manulife Investment Management. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee returns or eliminate risk in any market environment. Diversification or asset allocation does not guarantee a profit or protect against the risk of loss in any market. Unless otherwise specified, all data is sourced from Manulife Investment Management. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship to partner with clients across our institutional, retail, and retirement businesses globally. Our specialist approach to money management includes the highly differentiated strategies of our fixed-income, specialized equity, multi-asset solutions, and private markets teams—along with access to specialized, unaffiliated asset managers from around the world through our multimanager model.

This material has not been reviewed by, is not registered with any securities or other regulatory authority, and may, where appropriate, be distributed by the following Manulife entities in their respective jurisdictions. Additional information about Manulife Investment Management may be found at manulifeim.com/institutional.

Australia: Manulife Investment Management Timberland and Agriculture (Australasia) Pty Ltd, Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited. Canada: Manulife Investment Management Limited, Manulife Investment Management Distributors Inc., Manulife Investment Management (North America) Limited, Manulife Investment Management Private Markets (Canada) Corp. China: Manulife Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Limited Company. European Economic Area Manulife Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd. which is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland Hong Kong: Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited. Indonesia: PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia. Japan: Manulife Investment Management (Japan) Limited. Malaysia: Manulife Investment Management (M) Berhad  200801033087 (834424-U) Philippines: Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation. Singapore: Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Company Registration No. 200709952G) South Korea: Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited. Switzerland: Manulife IM (Switzerland) LLC. Taiwan: Manulife Investment Management (Taiwan) Co. Ltd. United Kingdom: Manulife Investment Management (Europe) Ltd. which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority United States: John Hancock Investment Management LLC, Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, Manulife Investment Management Private Markets (US) LLC and Manulife Investment Management Timberland and Agriculture Inc. Vietnam: Manulife Investment Fund Management (Vietnam) Company Limited.

Manulife, Manulife Investment Management, Stylized M Design, and Manulife Investment Management & Stylized M Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license.

554222

Emilie Paquet, FSA

Emilie Paquet, FSA, 

Head of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, Multi-Asset Solutions Team

Manulife Investment Management

Read bio
Eric Menzer, CFA, CAIA, AIF

Eric Menzer, CFA, CAIA, AIF , 

Head of Advisory Solutions, Multi-Asset Solutions Team

Manulife Investment Management

Read bio