Average funding ratios for U.S. defined-benefit pension plans are low enough to set off triggers for mandatory contribution increases and have led to a greater emphasis on risk-reduction strategies among US plan sponsors. Authors <b>Abdullah Z. Sheikh</b>, and his colleague, <b>Jianxiong Sun</b>, both of <b>J.P. Morgan Asset Management</b>, offer pension fund managers and trustees a “common sense solution” rather than a “magical formula,” in their article for the Spring 2013 issue of <b><i>The Journal of Portfolio Management</i></b>, The Blind Side: Managing Downside Risk in Corporate Defined Benefit Plans. This <b><i>Practical Applications</i></b> report explores two main facets of the authors’ approach: The impact of non-normality of asset returns on a defined-benefit pension plan’s liabilities and the development of a multidimensional risk management framework for managing contribution risk. “There are a lot of plans that are at the forefront of adopting some of the more well-thought-out solutions. At a basic level, the strategy we’re recommending is very intuitive,” says co-author Sheikh. <b>TOPICS:</b>Pension funds, financial crises and financial market history, VAR and use of alternative risk measures of trading risk