October 18, 2012
--- Financial advisers now have greater flexibility and more choice
when offering clients retirement plan solutions from American Funds. ---
In addition to the American Funds Target Date
Retirement Series, advisers and plan sponsors have the added flexibility to
choose from among a variety of fund families. “Advisers now have flexibility to
offer plan sponsors and participants a broad menu of fund choices without
requiring a minimum number of American Funds beyond the target-date default
options when they convert to an American Funds solution,” said Bill Anderson,
director of retirement plan business at American Funds.
This
option is also available for plans converting from one American Funds solution
to another, Anderson added. Assets in existing plan investments must be
transferred to the American Funds Target Date Retirement Series, which becomes the
plan’s default option. But participants then are free to
transfer their balances from the target-date funds and to direct new
contributions to any fund available in the plan.
American
Funds investment professionals actively manage the Target Date Fund’s
portfolio, moving it from a more growth-oriented strategy to a more
income-oriented focus as the fund gets closer to its target date. The American
Funds retirement plan solutions that offer this approach include Recordkeeper
Direct (multi-fund), PlanPremier and PlanPremier TPA.
“We
think plan participants and sponsors alike will welcome this option because
each participant’s assets are transferred directly into an age-appropriate,
well-diversified fund-of-funds that automatically adjusts the allocation as the
retirement date nears,” Anderson said.
PLANADVISER staff