Columbia Adaptive Retirement Series Celebrates Three-Year Milestone

Columbia Threadneedle Investments today announced that the Columbia Adaptive Retirement Series, a suite of nine risk-balanced target date funds, has reached its three-year anniversary.

Built to adapt to changing market conditions, the Columbia Adaptive Retirement Series is a flexible and forward-looking retirement investment solution. By applying a time-tested risk-allocation approach, the series targets a better balance of risk from across global asset classes based on an identified market state (neutral, bullish, highly bullish or capital preservation) as determined by Columbia Threadneedle’s Global Asset Allocation Team.

Josh Kutin, Columbia Threadneedle’s Head of Asset Allocation, North America, and senior portfolio manager for the Columbia Adaptive Retirement Series, said: “Target date series that diversify based on risk, not by asset class, take emotion out of the equation. By dialing up exposure to risk in favorable environments and dialing it back when market indicators call for caution, the Columbia Adaptive Retirement Series aims to deliver a more consistent experience to keep plan participants invested — even in volatile markets such as we experienced in 2020.”

Kutin continued, “Drawdowns are always a challenge for any portfolio, but they are especially critical for those investors close to retirement, as they don’t have much time to recoup losses. Additionally, research has shown that investors often make emotional investment decisions and sell investments during periods of market declines. Our process seeks to help participants remain invested throughout a market cycle.”

The Columbia Adaptive Retirement Series invests in a broad array of global asset classes and risk sources including equities, fixed-income and inflation-hedging assets. The series also incorporates dynamic flexibility throughout the glide path, allowing for meaningful changes to risk exposures as market conditions change.

“We believe the instant diversification that Target Date funds provide has been a great benefit for DC plan participants,” said Dan Steele, Head of Defined Contribution Investment Only for Columbia Threadneedle. “However, we also believe that the diversification that traditional Target Date funds offer can be improved upon. Our risk-allocated solution takes Target Date diversification to the next level and is uniquely positioned to provide strong risk-adjusted performance and less volatility through different market cycles. Our goal is to pursue a smoother ride and better participant outcomes.”