Latest news with #Boyden
Business Wire
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Retirement Plan Participants Think They'll Need $1.3 Million
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To retire comfortably, Americans currently participating in a workplace retirement plan (e.g. 401k, 403b, or 457 plan) say they will need $1.28 million saved, according to the Schroders 2025 US Retirement Survey. Despite this seven-figure savings target, one-in-four plan participants (26%) expect to have less than $250,000 saved by retirement, nearly half (48%) say they will have less than $500,000, and just 30% believe they will reach the $1 million milestone before retiring. Faced with this sizable savings shortfall, 81% of plan participants are at least slightly concerned with outliving their assets in retirement. Among those participating in a workplace retirement plan, 69% report the plan is their single most important retirement asset. Despite this significance, only 20% say they use their plan's auto-escalation feature, which automatically increases their contribution percentage at set intervals. Notably, 19% say they have decreased the percentage of their income that they contribute to the plan, with 61% of them doing so in the past two years. Further, 17% of plan participants report they have borrowed money from their plan. The most frequently cited reasons for taking loans from a workplace retirement plan were to: Pay for unforeseen family or personal emergencies (29%) Bring down credit card or other debt (25%) Keep up with the increasing cost of living (22%) Purchase a home (15%) Pay for medical care (14%) 'It's difficult to focus on saving for retirement amid a seemingly endless supply of competing financial goals and obligations,' said Deb Boyden, Head of US Defined Contribution at Schroders. 'However, saving enough money for a comfortable retirement doesn't happen by chance. If you don't stay on track with saving in your workplace retirement plan, it's unlikely you'll be able to retire on your own terms.' Comfort of Cash Comes With An Opportunity Cost While nearly one-third of plan participants (31%) admit they don't know how their retirement assets are allocated, among those that do know, allocations across all retirement investments (including workplace plans, IRAs, or other retirement accounts) suggest that loss aversion may be shaping their decision-making. Following is a breakdown of how their retirement investments are allocated: When asked about the reasons for allocating retirement savings to cash, the certainty of the asset class is the most frequently cited explanation: Safety – I am afraid of losing too much money if the stock market goes down (53%) To diversify my investments (47%) Because I'm not sure how best to invest my cash holdings (23%) 'For most plan participants, saving for retirement is the quintessential long-term goal,' said Boyden. 'If you're five or more years away from retiring, a modest amount of cash could help you take advantage of tactical investment opportunities, but holding one-quarter of your portfolio in cash comes with a steep opportunity cost. Shifting these savings into investments that are designed to deliver better returns than cash while minimizing market downturns can help you accumulate wealth more efficiently and narrow any savings gaps.' Plan Participants Concerned About Impact of Financial Stress Most plan participants (65%) say they worry about money too much and over half (56%) are concerned that financial stress will negatively affect their health. On average, 53% of participants spend at least an hour a day worrying about money. Notably, 59% wish they received more guidance from their employer on how to invest their retirement plan assets. About the Survey The Schroders 2025 US Retirement Survey was conducted by 8 Acre Perspective among 1,500 US investors nationwide ages 29-79, including 602 currently participating in a workplace retirement plan, from March 25 to April 17 in 2025. For more information visit the Schroders 2025 U.S. Retirement Survey Note to Editors To view the latest press releases from Schroders visit: Schroders plc Schroders is a global investment manager which provides active asset management, wealth management and investment solutions, with £778.7 billion (€941.8 billion; $975.3 billion) of assets under management at 31 December 2024. As a UK listed FTSE100 company, Schroders has a market capitalisation of circa £6 billion and over 6,000 employees across 38 locations. Established in 1804, Schroders remains true to its roots as a family-founded business. The Schroder family continues to be a significant shareholder, holding approximately 44% of the issued share capital. Schroders' success can be attributed to its diversified business model, spanning different asset classes, client types and geographies. The company offers innovative products and solutions through four core business divisions: Public Markets, Solutions, Wealth Management, and Schroders Capital, which focuses on private markets, including private equity, renewable infrastructure investing, private debt & credit alternatives, and real estate. Schroders aims to provide excellent investment performance to clients through active management. This means directing capital towards resilient businesses with sustainable business models, consistently with the investment goals of its clients. Schroders serves a diverse client base that includes pension schemes, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, high net worth individuals, family offices, as well as end clients through partnerships with distributors, financial advisers, and online platforms.
Forbes
30-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Finding The Right Leader For Your Company's AI Strategy
While medium-sized businesses are pessimistic about the economy, they're confident in themselves. J.P. Morgan's 2025 Business Leaders Outlook Pulse Survey found that even though optimism for the national economy fell by more than half in the last six months—with just under a third feeling positive about the big picture—85% project steady to increased company performance through the end of the year. More than half of business leaders—58%—said they feel optimistic about their company performance. And while that's a substantial drop from the 75% who felt upbeat in a December survey, it's still a significant number, especially as 32% of business leaders either expect a recession this year or think we're already experiencing one. A significant number of business leaders—44%—said they've held off on their plans for the year. Almost three-quarters say that decision is the result of policy uncertainty. And companies cite uncertain economic conditions as their top challenge, followed by tariffs. However, businesses aren't stopping at all, with 14% accelerating their plans for 2025, seeing how things go in the uncertain economy. Depending on how things pan out, this year may truly be one of the more challenging times to prove business resilience. Policy and tariffs aside, technology advances and the rise of AI are also moving the business world. Who at your company should take the lead? Chad Hesters, CEO of executive search firm Boyden, has helped several companies figure that out and spoke with me about the process. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter. We're taking a summer break and will not be publishing Forbes CEO next week. We'll be back on Monday, July 14. This is the published version of Forbes' CEO newsletter, which offers the latest news for today's and tomorrow's business leaders and decision makers. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox every week. President Donald Trump holds up a chart at the "Liberation Day" trade announcement in markets finally fully recovered last week from their early April 'Liberation Day' drop, when President Donald Trump announced his slate of sweeping tariffs on other nations. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit their first highs in four months this week, setting a record level for both indexes on Friday. Leading analysts aren't optimistic that the highs will keep coming, though. JPMorganChase top global strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas forecast the S&P will end the year 2% lower than Friday, citing the 'lagged effects of new policies (i.e., tariffs, immigration, DOGE).' Stocks have been able to rebound because, for the most part, the tariff threat has only been just that. While Trump has announced dates by which different tariffs would go into effect, those deadlines have often been moved forward or paused to allow for negotiations. And negotiations have been ongoing, sometimes to benefit the United States. After Trump abruptly ended negotiations on Friday with Canada over that country's new digital service tax—a 3% charge on foreign tech companies for revenue generated from Canadian users—the Canadian government decided over the weekend to rescind the tax. Stocks were slightly up after markets opened Monday morning. But tariffs—and how suddenly they may go into effect—loom large. Trump said on Friday that he holds the cards on whenever tariffs start. Many were set to begin on July 9, and Trump said he could extend it—or expedite the deadline, which he said was his preference. Tariffs and the economic uncertainty haven't impacted prices too deeply just yet, though May's inflation inched up more than expected last month, reaching 2.7%, according to the core personal consumption expenditures index—excluding food and energy categories. Some analysts expect a continued rise in inflation as Trump's tariffs actually go into effect and raise consumer prices. The increase is above the Federal Reserve's preferred 2% rate, so last month's numbers may show further proof that the Fed acted appropriately when it didn't lower interest rates—but Trump has been itching to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell because of his unwillingness to drop them on command. While Trump has said he will let Powell serve to the end of his term next May—even though he constantly berates him—the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump may name Powell's successor this fall, allowing a 'shadow' Fed chair to operate and share their preferred policy choices—something analysts have said would definitively undermine Powell. NOTABLE NEWS School supplies are on display at a Target in New York City. Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Although the 145% tariffs on China only lasted for about a month, analysts fear they will be most acutely felt at back-to-school time. A study released from PwC last week found that nearly three-fourths of U.S. families expect to spend the same amount or more on back-to-school shopping this year, writes Forbes senior contributor Joan Verdon. But this doesn't mean they intend to buy more—they're prepared for what they need to buy to be more expensive. Families are planning money-saving strategies: About two in five plan on only buying items on sale, while the same proportion is likely to shop earlier. Nearly a quarter will purchase more store-branded products, while 18% are looking to shop secondhand. Consumer confidence continues to be down, dropping by 5.4 points this month alone, according to the latest figures from the Conference Board. The Conference Board reports that June's retreat in consumer confidence, currently at 93, declined across all age and political groups. It also was shared by most income groups. The largest decline was among Republicans. BIG MOVES Anna Wintour at the Tony Awards earlier this month. John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images A legendary business leader announced last week that she is stepping down from a position she's held for nearly four decades. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who is often associated with the fashion industry itself, is stepping back from the U.S. magazine's editorial operations, though the timeline for her exit is unclear. She will not be leaving Condé Nast, the company that publishes Vogue , and will remain its global chief content officer, as well as the editorial director of the global editions of Vogue . Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch told the Wall Street Journal that Wintour has been working three jobs at the company since 2020, and it makes sense to step back from one of them. Wintour has been editor of Vogue since 1988, and has been credited with igniting the magazine's appeal. She's also co-chaired the Met Gala since 1995, making it an extravagant fashion event. Her iconic persona is known far beyond the fashion world—even allegedly inspiring the infamously overbearing boss in the book and movie The Devil Wears Prada —and replacing an executive who is so well-known will be a difficult task. Forbes senior contributor Toni Fitzgerald handicaps some potential successors, but none has Wintour's name recognition outside of the publishing industry. TOMORROW'S TRENDS Who Should Be In Charge Of Your Company's AI? Boyden CEO Chad Hesters. Copyright 2023, Gittings As you bring AI into your company, one of the looming questions is who should oversee it. Do you need a chief AI officer? Is it a job for the CIO or CTO? Should the CEO's office be handling it? Chad Hesters, CEO of executive search firm Boyden, has worked with many leaders who are grabbling with the same questions. I spoke with him about how CEOs can find the right answer for their company. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. AI is something that every business is using, and many have plans to get much deeper into it. At this point, which C-suite department tends to be handling AI in companies? Hesters: At the first phase when AI showed up, everybody said, 'AI is a thing. We must master this thing in order to become world class at whatever we do.' Followed by, 'We need a chief AI officer. We need a chief innovation officer.' We've moved to phase two of that evolution. Companies are realizing what's more important is creating the environment for individuals, departments, functions to evolve, and the mechanisms which allow them to do that. AI right now is a set of tools that we can all use to make us more efficient or produce a better product. The more sophisticated companies, the ones that are at the leading edge, have realized that the key is to let the individual employee have some authority to understand what might be able to help them do their job better. Then design the entire system to take these ideas, feed them into the system and be able to vet [privacy and security], but still allow for that micro-level innovation. It's like crowdsourcing innovation inside a company. Leading companies have gotten over the arrogance that you could have one officer and one function inside a company to drive all of innovation for the company, when really it's that 24-year-old that you just got out of the MBA program who says, 'Hey, I heard about this new tool. Maybe we should look at it.' What you're seeing is the chief technology officer own the process. How do you set up the conditions inside a company that allow for good ideas to percolate and crowdsource? That's the CTO's job. If you have a chief innovation officer, their job is to prioritize what are the areas that we need top-level capital investment to innovate in. That's the top-down approach. You've got a top-down/bottoms-up approach to AI now. The companies that are leading seem to be approaching it from that perspective. C-suite titles and responsibilities are always evolving. Where do you see AI going in terms of corporate responsibility? Do you see more chief AI officers in the future? Will AI get divided into different departments? Will it all come under the CIO? You need leaders that understand that technology and innovation is not a nice-to-have. It's required for survival in today's environment. If they understand that, and are willing to try to adopt those potential efficiency gains in their functional areas and cross-functionally, you need to have the internal processes and capabilities to do it. You've got to have a chief person that knows how to conduct an innovation pipeline appropriately: responsible and safe and still allow a lot of freedom to innovate. They have to design the process, and then they have to have the actual systems in place. Let's look at how much energy AI processes can utilize. Who owns that? If you all of a sudden are sitting on a bunch of data and you want to start crunching it and to use an AI tool, are you going to build your own data center? Are you going to co-opt it? Where do those energy prices go? Do you pass those onto your customers? Do you need it internally? What are you giving up to do that? There's always a knock-on effect. It's not just, 'Look! We've got a new tool.' When you want to roll out that new tool, that new way of doing business, you've got to bring all the other functional leaders into the room to look at the 360-approach to what it's going to do. The energy aspect of this is fascinating when you think about sustainability and how we tie it in. How do you ensure that the AI tools you're using are not over-indexing some kind of bias that at a minimum is going to help you make poor decisions, but in a really scary world, create biases and risk and liabilities for your company? It's almost foolish to assume you could appoint one person and call them the chief AI officer and it's all going to be fine. It's really got to be a management team mindset, and everybody's got to be at the table. Then you've got to be willing to look externally as well. You've got to bring other stakeholders. What advice would you give to a CEO that is struggling with where to put AI leadership right now? Don't think about AI first. Think about what are the critical competencies that your organization has to have to achieve your strategy? That's the answer to where we make investments in AI and innovation. You could outsource a lot of the secondary requirements and services your company has, but a CEO should be investing in the critical functions and capabilities it needs to achieve the strategy. When you're looking where that extra dollar of investment goes, it should go to the tools and capabilities that allow you to achieve that strategy. It's very easy to get distracted today. There's so many cool products and AI tools out there that you could chase around, and at the end of the year have lots of new products that don't really do much for your strategy. That's the opposite of what a CEO should be doing. In the past six to eight months, we've looked at 40 different AI tools that could help us with our key critical functions. We're staying focused on that. Only four or five made it through our innovation funnel, but that's four or five different tools we've got that are really helping us execute for our clients the tasks that they've hired us to do. And we can do it with a much higher degree of quality and faster. COMINGS + GOINGS Generic pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharma appointed Richard Ascroft as CEO of its North America operations, effective June 16. Ascroft joins the firm from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and succeeds Abhay Gandhi in the role. appointed as CEO of its North America operations, effective June 16. Ascroft joins the firm from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and succeeds Abhay Gandhi in the role. Integrated health care provider CareMore Health selected Sam Wald as its new chief executive officer. Wald previously worked in leadership at WelbeHealth and Optum. selected as its new chief executive officer. Wald previously worked in leadership at WelbeHealth and Optum. Work management platform Asana named Dan Rogers as its next CEO, effective July 21. Rogers most recently worked in the same role at LaunchDarkly, and he will succeed Asana co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who will remain board chair. Send us C-suite transition news at forbescsuite@ STRATEGIES + ADVICE Every small company has its eyes on scaling up, but even the most successful startups need to pace themselves. Rapid growth doesn't look as good from the viewpoint of employees who are suddenly finding everything about their jobs changing. Here are some ways leaders can tap the brakes to make sure a company doesn't grow at a speed too quick for comfort. Will AI displace workers and eliminate jobs, or will it transform companies to be more lucrative with different kinds of workers? Nothing is certain at this point, but leaders need to be thoughtful about how they're using the technology as the working world figures it out. QUIZ Warren Buffett, who has pledged to give away most of his wealth, gave the largest amount in nearly 20 years to charities over the weekend. How much did Buffett donate? A. $800 million B. $1.7 billion C. $3.9 billion D. $6 billion See if you got it right here.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In tax and tariff unknowns, experts see opportunity for advisors
Even after the biggest May jump in 35 years for the S&P 500, investors' understandable confusion about the future of tax and tariff policies and inflation is driving a lot of anxiety. The S&P's value ended up 6% last month, alongside a 4% gain in the Dow and 10% surge in the Nasdaq index — a stark reversal from the steep losses surrounding President Donald Trump's announcement of substantial tariffs, which he later paused for 90 days. Financial advisors' expectations for the economy, as reported in Financial Planning's Financial Advisor Confidence Outlook survey, turned slightly less negative after an all-time low score in April. Beyond questions of how potential tariffs might affect inflation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is drawing scrutiny as the major tax and spending legislation heads from the House to the Senate. Concerns include who stands to benefit and who will lose out, and the bill's ramifications to the federal budget deficits and the national debt. Many high net worth and ultrahigh net worth clients who work with David Lesperance, the founder of immigration tax and law advisory firm Lesperance & Associates, are already seeking to get "all the pieces in place and all the planning done" with an eye toward "maximizing optionality to be able to deal with the unpredictable," he said. "They just don't know, so the key is to be prepared for any contingency and to be able to execute quicker than the legislature, which is generally possible." READ MORE: Trump's tax bill offers wins — and a major loss — for advisors In the case of Lesperance's ultrawealthy clients, that means taking steps as drastic as seeking residency outside of the country and offshore citizenship in anticipation of a recession next year and the political pendulum swinging back toward Democrats, who might adopt taxes on unrealized gains or that target billionaires or millionaires. Other investors may be acting toward much more immediate needs or even from a sense of panic. Out of 373 retirees polled between March 25 and April 17 as part of the Schroders 2025 US Retirement Survey, 92% said they are worried that inflation will reduce the value of their assets, 62% admitted they have no idea how long their savings will last and almost half said their expenses in retirement are higher than they expected, said Deb Boyden, the firm's head of U.S. defined contribution. For many retirees, the "stress of uncertainty is an everyday battle" rather than "just economic theory," Boyden said in an email. "While advisors and clients can't control Washington, they can control how they respond," Boyden continued. "Sticking to a financial plan, staying invested through market cycles, and resisting the urge to make emotional decisions are all variables within their control. Periods of heightened uncertainty present an opportunity for advisors to deepen relationships by communicating with clients more frequently to help them reassess goals, understand allocations and feel more confident in their strategy. Our data shows that many retirees are without a plan or professional guidance — this void is an opportunity for advisors." READ MORE: SALT, tips and auto loans: A guide to the House GOP tax bill Those retirees and other investors are struggling to find answers that aren't even clear to some of the top experts trying to figure out the form and implications of taxes and tariffs in the future. Ongoing court cases have placed the basic legality of some of the administration's tariffs under multiple levels of judicial review, and that could affect the fiscal price of the tax and spending legislation. The bill is facing substantial criticism over, among other things, its price tag adding $3 trillion to the national debt over a decade, just after a downgrade to the U.S. government's credit rating by Moody's Investors Service. But the bill garnered enough support to pass the House by one vote and the backing of influential groups like the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is financing an advertising campaign that calls on lawmakers to vote for "securing permanent tax relief for America's families, workers and entrepreneurs." However, in an indication of the complexity of the current political environment, the Chamber also refers to the prospect of tariffs as a "new tax on summer fun." The outlook has grown so blurry that David Kelly, the chief global strategist of JPMorgan Asset Management, compared investors' task of figuring out next steps to the challenge of five argumentative siblings putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle. "Despite political tensions, ongoing policy changes and heightened inflation and recession concerns, 2025 so far has generated positive returns for investors, with the S&P 500 and the bond markets registering small gains and international stocks posting much larger increases," Kelly said in a June 2 note. "This is no time for complacency, however. The outlook for the economy is for just slow GDP growth, smaller job gains and temporarily higher inflation. This should translate into sticky interest rates, decelerating earnings growth and a falling dollar. At the start of the year, given valuations and portfolio concentration, it made sense for investors to rebalance away from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks and towards more defensive U.S. stocks, international equities and alternatives. Five months into the year, while the macro jigsaw remains complicated, the same advice seems warranted." READ MORE: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiration: A guide for financial advisors As for the tax and spending bill, President Trump's Republican allies in the Senate have discussed a possible goal of passing the massive legislation by July 4. But voting the legislation through the Senate could prove difficult, according to Jonathan Traub, a managing principal and the leader of the Tax Policy Group at consulting and professional services firm Deloitte Tax. "For both policy and procedural reasons, we can expect changes to the current legislation," Traub said in a statement after the House passage of the bill last month. "It will remain a tremendous challenge for Republican leaders to keep near unanimity among their members given the push and pull on so many major components of the bill." Provisions of the bill as wide-ranging as the level of tax brackets and states' ability to regulate artificial intelligence and as narrow as a new levy on international remittances and shifts in the rules for expenses eligible to be paid through 529 savings plans will receive close scrutiny in a Senate debate that could extend far beyond Independence Day. Advisors and their clients may need to plan for multiple different outcomes in the interim. "There's a whole bunch of opportunity, but in order to do that you need to get a whole bunch of planning in place," Lesperance said. "It's very interesting on the planning side, but people are scrambling, and they're making educated bets."
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CFO evolution puts spotlight on data, tech skills
This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Today's CFOs are serving as 'cross functional' leaders in an age where businesses are asking for more data analysis and quicker scenario planning to keep pace with rapid change — a shift that's having a ripple effect throughout the whole of the finance function, said Chad Hesters, CEO of executive search firm Boyden. As finance chiefs are being brought 'into a lot more strategic decision-making, risk management, digital transformation' or other activities, the rest of the finance function has seen their own roles evolve to ensure they can offer the necessary support to strategically-minded CFOs, Hesters said in an interview. With financial leaders being asked to provide their CEOs, boards and fellow C-suite members with key insights for decision-making, that 'means that their teams, F&PA, controller systems, they have to be proficient in data analytics, automation tools and financial forecasting and scenario planning,' Hesters said. CFOs have seen their list of responsibilities grow over the past few years; in a 2024 survey by Egon Zehnder, 82% of finance chiefs said they had taken on new responsibilities such as mergers and acquisitions and corporate development. Finance chiefs are also still responsible for the traditional financial processes businesses need to operate successfully, however — and without the support of other financial leaders, they can quickly find themselves overwhelmed. 'I think, CFOs, as a result…they probably feel a little bit overloaded,' Hesters said. 'If they have a good team, they can maintain a good work life balance.' To meet these broadening expectations, the finance function is evolving as well, Hesters said, including the traditional roles of the controller, the head of financial planning & analysis, and the chief accounting officer. Only one-fifth of CFOs said their work-life balance was 'poor,' Egon Zehnder's survey found, with 51% classifying it as 'okay' and 29% classing it as 'good.' With CFOs becoming 'cross-functional leaders,' areas that were previously siloed — such as the accounting and finance functions — are now becoming more collaborative, for example, with the CFO acting as a nexus point. 'Gone are the days when the controller's organization can sit and just close the books…and the treasurer can just manage cash flow,' Hesters said. 'But again, that means that CFOs, by default, have to have a good understanding and connect all the dots in those areas and deal with a rate of change that can be dizzying.' Hesters has served as CEO for the Tarrytown, New York-based Boyden since February 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to joining Boyden, he held a variety of roles for fellow executive search and advisory firm Korn Ferry, and started his career as an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy. Previous experience also includes stints at Heidrick & Struggles, Hunt Oil Company, and Shell. Over the course of his career, Hesters has seen several trends influence the evolution of the CFO's role, he said. The first 'wave of change' he saw in his career was the aftermath of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which created 'this new external pressure, both coming and going into the CFO function' as businesses aimed to reduce operation risks and comply with new requirements, he said. 'That wave generated the need for CFOs and their controllers in particular, to have better systems, control processes and accounting systems that could validate the requirements they had to report on,' he said. The second major 'wave' is still ongoing, Hesters said — the finance function is currently right in the middle of changes being driven by emerging technologies like automation and artificial intelligence, which are impacting how they approach both day-to-day and strategic processes. The amount of data the finance function is being asked to collect and assess is growing exponentially, changing not just how the finance team needs to execute certain functions, but the skills they need to do so. 'What's happening is you're finding CFOs putting a price on agility, on their team's ability to be agile and be continuous learners,' Hesters said. Failing to have access to enough data in the present world is a bygone issue, he said — now, they need to be able to control and to act upon that data flow. That's 'requiring people to have different skill sets, a different view of the world, a different understanding of technology integration,' he said.
