Don Ezra

Praise For The Retirement Plan Solution "Short, clear, complete, and always interesting. Best book on DC plans and what we should do-now." —Charles D. Ellis, author, Winning the Loser's Game "At a time when the world is in turmoil, along with retirement expectations, the authors have hit a home run. After reading this book, I have a plan. Read it for your path to retirement security." —Dallas Salisbury, President and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute "The Retirement Plan Solution offers a refreshing and provocative perspective on how to assess retirement needs, save to meet these needs, and manage the retirement payout process. In this time of financial turmoil, employees, plan sponsors, and financial advisors will find this highly practical resource volume both useful and humorous." —Olivia S. Mitchell, Director, Pension Research Council, Wharton School "The Retirement Plan Solution is a map to the future of 401(k) retirement plans. But it is not just a theoretical view of what could be. Instead, the authors describe the needs and trends that are already here, and then describe the changes that are developing to meet those needs. It is about the tomorrow that is happening today." —Fred Reish, Managing Director, Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen "The respected authors have created a readable, timely, and very helpful book on all aspects of retirement planning. The suggestions are practical, the information is concise, and the book is highly recommended for anyone that is interested in sound financial planning." —Moshe A. Milevsky, PhD, Finance Professor, York University, Toronto, Canada "This is a must-read for people working in the retirement industry, as well as those who simply care about how to improve their chance of reaching a financially secure retirement. In a clear and simple fashion, the authors deliver one of the best books to date on inefficiencies in the current DC plan and potential improvements." —Peng Chen, President, Ibbotson Associates

"This is a landmark book on pension fund management. All those with a stake in building pension wealth will profit from this commonsense and clearly readable guide to improved pension fund performance." —Burton G. Malkiel author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street and Chemical Bank Chairman's Professor of Economics, Princeton University. "This is not just another book of theory about how pension funds should be managed, or about how one expert thinks an appropriate asset allocation should be determined. . . . There is keen analysis by Messrs. Ambachtsheer and Ezra, both of whom are veteran pension consultants noted for thinking outside the box." —Michael J. Clowes, Editorial Director Pensions & Investments. "Keith Ambachtsheer and Don Ezra, two leading consultants, have written the most comprehensive handbook ever published on pension fund management. It's must reading for all those in a fiduciary role." —W. Allen Reed, President General Motors Investment Management Corp. "Don Ezra and Keith Ambachtsheer are two of the best thinkers in the world of pension fund management. All who care about retirement assets will learn valuable lessons from their new book." —Charles D. Ellis, Managing Partner Greenwich Associates. ". . . powerful, authoritative, and provocative critique of a subject that concerns all of us . . ." —Peter L. Bernstein, President Peter L. Bernstein, Inc. author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk. No longer obscure investment vehicles, pension funds have stepped out of the shadows and into the global spotlight. More and more, they are being seen as special financial institutions that need to create value for their millions of members and employers around the world. With assets close to $12 trillion—$7 trillion in the United States alone—pension funds are dominant players in financial markets and in corporate governance. Yet they continue to be misunderstood and are often poorly managed. As advisors to many of the world's premier pension funds, Keith P. Ambachtsheer and D. Don Ezra have an international reputation as experts in the field. Now, their combined talents and experience yield a timely and thorough book on effective pension fund management. Pension Fund Excellence presents a guiding paradigm for articulating a fund's mission and for what needs to be done to accomplish it. Along the way, the authors provide new insights on fundamental issues. What key elements integrate pension fund governance, management, and operations? What decision structure does an excellent pension fund organization use? What do the best decision-makers know about fiduciary responsibilities, pension economics, and the markets for financial capital and investment management services? What policies do they adopt? How do they measure results and tie results to compensation? How should small funds face their special challenges? Their advice is made practical through real-world case studies that focus on the best practices employed by the world's premier pension funds. Their clear focus is on creating value for stakeholders. Finally, Pension Fund Excellence looks beyond today, offering the authors' incisive views on three critical pension issues for the twenty-first century: the rise of defined contribution plans, fixing "broke" national social security schemes, and the growing economic power of pension funds. Written by two leading authorities, Pension Fund Excellence contains the most up-to-date, insightful, practical information and advice available on this now hot topic. It is must reading for anyone seeking effective, proven management principles and techniques to create value for pension fund stakeholders.