The Markets April 27, 2016

Charles Schwab Stops Purchases of Load Mutual Funds

The company said the move was not triggered by the DOL’s new fiduciary rule.
Reported by

As of May 2, Charles Schwab clients will no longer be able to purchase Class A Load mutual funds.

The company said clients can still transfer in, custody, sell and elect dividend reinvestment for these shares. 

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“The move away from load funds has been a secular trend over the last decade or more and Schwab has never been a significant player in this space,” the company said in a statement to PLANADVISER. Contrary to news reports that suggest otherwise, Schwab said its decision wasn’t triggered by the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new fiduciary rule. “It’s a housekeeping move for a low-volume business that no longer makes sense for us to administer given the breadth of our core mutual fund offer and the reality that many firms now make their funds available directly to retail clients on a load-waived basis.”

The company also noted, “Load funds have never been part of our core offer—over the past two years we’ve accommodated about 750 of these purchase trades, a tiny fraction of our mutual fund business overall.”
Products April 27, 2016

Research Library Compiles Asset International Data

Asset International, publisher of PLANADVISER and PLANSPONSOR, has launched a new research library compiling data and analysis from across its global media and analytics businesses.
Reported by

Asset International (AI) has announced the launch of its new and improved Research Library.

It now features reports from not only AI’s U.S. media brands, such as PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER, but also research from its Canadian counterparts at Investor Economics, and from its UK-based Global Custodian group.

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Research topics include U.S. defined contribution plans and providers, Canadian asset managers/exchange-traded funds (ETFs)/Group Retirement, and there are reports about segments of the global securities services market (e.g., fund administration, prime brokerage, agent banks, and domestic custody).

AI plans to continue to improve the library’s functionality as well as to update the product list as each new report becomes available.

The Research Library is at https://www.assetinternational.com/researchlibrary.aspx.

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