Current asset management techniques focus on asset accumulation without addressing assured income during decumulation or retirement years.  Target date funds, for example, design predictable asset allocation “glide paths.” Where an investor lands at the target date, both in terms of asset value and income produced in retirement, is unpredictable in advance.  Simple decumulation formulas, such as the “4% withdrawal rule,” can quickly exhaust assets in major market declines and offer no guidance on asset accumulation.

Annuities address the problem of assured income, but at the cost of inflexibility, high management and distribution fees, and potential credit risk.  

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