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Surplus-driven investing

Strategies for a new reality

Surplus-Driven Investing - Strategies for a new reality

November 13, 2025 Liability-driven investment

Many pension plans are in surplus and can now afford a self-managed approach to their desired endgame. We believe that self-management can work as an alternative solution to (the potentially costlier) pension risk transfer, either indefinitely or until the plan matures to the point that a PRT becomes more affordable.

Corporate pension plans are increasingly in surplus

Figure 1: Rising asset values and interest rates have pushed many DB plans into surplus1

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Read our full paper exploring plans’ menu of options. These include the benefits of self-management versus PRT, extracting value from surplus assets for the mutual benefit of participant and sponsor, and re-establishing the risk budget.

We also introduce a framework for investing when in surplus, which we call “surplus driven investing”. It emphasizes security of participant benefits, avoiding reliance on the sponsor, and capturing “affordable” upside.

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