@article {Blanchett25, author = {David Blanchett and Paul D. Kaplan}, title = {Beyond the Glide Path: The Drivers of Target-Date Fund Returns}, volume = {5}, number = {4}, pages = {25--39}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.3905/jor.2018.1.038}, publisher = {Institutional Investor Journals Umbrella}, abstract = {The authors explore the relative importance of the three primary drivers of target-date fund (TDF) performance: equity (or market) exposures (which, across a series{\textquoteright} vintages, combine to form a glide path), style exposures (intrastock and intrabond allocations), and other investment selection decisions (e.g., manager selection and the active/passive decision, as well as any other residual risk exposures). They find that overall equity exposure drives only about 25\% of the variation in returns across TDFs versus approximately 30\% for style and 45\% for selection, on average. Consequently, the analysis of the riskiness of a given TDF must be based on more than the overall weight given to equites.TOPICS: Retirement, analysis of individual factors/risk premia, risk management}, issn = {2326-6899}, URL = {https://jor.pm-research.com/content/5/4/25}, eprint = {https://jor.pm-research.com/content/5/4/25.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Retirement} }