Products June 21, 2010

Alabama-Based RK Opening Florida Branch

Employee Fiduciary Corporation, a 401(k) recordkeeper and third-party administrator, is opening a branch office in St. Petersburg, Florida, this month.
Reported by

The Mobile, Alabama-based company provides daily recordkeeping and retirement plan administration services to businesses and non-profit organizations nationwide. Greg Carpenter, CEO of Employee Fiduciary, said in the announcement the firm can save participants money by charging flat fees and by recapturing mutual fund revenue-sharing payments to the plan.  

“Opening a new office allows us greater flexibility for future growth. Employees are attracted to a company that presents the opportunities for growth and advancement,” said Carpenter. “Our new St. Petersburg office allows us to expand our servicing presence and helps us meet our hiring goals.”  

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More information about the company is at http://www.employeefiduciary.com.

Products June 21, 2010

DWS Investments International Value Fund Changes Adviser, Strategy, Branding

The DWS International Value Opportunities Fund will be rebranded, and the fund’s directors and shareholders have approved a new fund sub-adviser.
Reported by

According to the announcement, DWS Investments, the US retail unit of Deutsche Bank’s global Asset Management division, said that the Board of Directors and shareholders of the DWS International Value Opportunities Fund have approved a resolution appointing Dreman Value Management L.L.C. (“DVM”) as the fund’s sub-advisor. 

Moreover, the DWS International Value Opportunities Fund will be rebranded the DWS Dreman International Value Fund and will be managed by Cliff Hoover, Dreman’s co-chief investment officer and noted fund manager.

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Hoover joined Dreman Value Management as co-chief investment officer in 2006 with over 20 years investments experience. Prior to joining Dreman, Hoover served as lead portfolio manager on Allianz NFJ International Value Fund (ticker: AFJAX) since its inception in January 2003.  Since then he has served as lead portfolio manager on Dreman Value Management’s international value and all-cap products. He started an institutional composite international value composite in October 2007 and has been lead portfolio manager on Dreman Contrarian International Value Fund (ticker: DRIVX) since its inception in 2008.

The new DWS Dreman International Value Fund will reflect three significant changes to its investment strategy, according to a press release:

  • a change of benchmark from the MSCI EAFE Index to the Russell Global ex-US Value Index,
  • permitted exposure to emerging markets now increases from 20% to 50%, and
  • the use of ADRs to obtain greater foreign exposure will increase.

Overall changes to the DWS Dreman International Value Fund’s investment strategy and portfolio management team, “reflect DWS’ dedication to providing clients with first class managers, be it through our internal centers of excellence or by hiring proven sub-advisors such as Dreman Value Management,” said Ingo Gefeke, Global Head of Distribution and Product Management at DWS Investments.

Hoover’s approach to international value portfolio management will include the same strict buy and sell discipline, as well as focus on risk mitigation utilized by the DWS Dreman Small Cap Value and DWS Dreman Mid Cap Value funds, according to the firm.

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