The issue of excess has been on my mind lately, mostly focused on my fragrance collection but now expanding to the topic of investment risk management. More specifically, as I continue to lead workshops about retirement plan risk management for the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (“PRMIA”), I am pondering whether too much of a so-called “good thing” makes sense. 

By way of background, friends and family know I am a perfume aficionado. Yes, the ubiquitous “free” gift with purchase is a plus but I do truly enjoy trying new scents. I’m not alone. According to a February 23, 2016 article on the Beauty Stat website, 2015 sales of “prestige beauty” products grew more than seven percent to $16 billion and “mass beauty” product sales climbed two percent to nearly $22 billion in the United States.

Colleagues know that I have spent several decades in the risk management industry with positions that include trading, compliance and expert testimony, depending on the year. I am the author of an entire Beauty Stat and dozens of articles about investment risk governance. I strongly believe in the importance of establishing an appropriate risk management protocol, following said policies and procedures and regularly reviewing whether risk management actions are effective or need to be tweaked. I likewise believe there are lots of retirement plans that should be doing much more when it comes to identifying, measuring, managing and monitoring relevant risks.

Coming back to this issue of “too much” risk management, the critical question is whether investment fiduciaries can be too cautious. Most reasonable people would likely say “yes.” Regardless of plan design, if an investment portfolio is overly skewed to seemingly safe assets or funds of “safe” assets, expected return could be insufficient to meet long-term needs. A discussion about what constitutes “safe” assets is left for another day except to say that every investment has some risk. Even putting one’s money under the bed could be risky if the house burns down. Another consideration is the cost of hedging. There is no free lunch. All fees and expenses associated with risk management, including the cost of putting a good technology system in place, should be part of any risk-adjusted performance assessment.