Principal Funds Announces Expansion of Investment Only Strategy

Principal Funds is ramping up its investment only (IO) strategy aimed at third-party platforms.

The IO initiative supports financial professionals with products and services from Principal Funds available through third-party administrators (TPAs), registered investment advisers (RIAs), recordkeepers and other investment and trading platforms, according to a press announcement. Principal Funds will offer the same complete investment platform and share class flexibility to the IO client base that it currently provides to full-service retirement clients.

The Principal LifeTime Funds and Strategic Asset Management portfolios will serve as a foundation for the IO strategy, complemented by a full range of investment options including a mix of asset classes, investment styles, and portfolio structures. The Principal also offers a due diligence program, value added tools to help advisers build their business, and a multi-manager investment approach, the announcement said.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

To lead the effort, Principal Funds hired Mark Marwede as managing director of IO solutions. Marwede will head a dedicated IO team responsible for securing relationships with a variety of firms and financial intermediaries to drive increased sales. Marwede was most recently a senior vice president at Fidelity Investments, where he managed institutional clients, positioning sub-advised, retail, and adviser funds within pension and annuity programs.

“With the recent addition of Principal Funds providing expanded retail fund distribution, the integration of these efforts and greater emphasis on the investment only and RIA channels is a natural extension of our strategy,’ said Tim Minard, senior vice president of distribution, Retirement and Investor Services at the Principal Financial Group.

More information can be found at www.principal.com.

First Trust Advisors Issues Two New ETFs

The American Stock Exchange (Amex) has launched trading in two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) issued by First Trust Advisors L.P. - the First Trust FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Fund (FFR) and the First Trust Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index Fund (FDD).

FFR aims to track the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index, which is designed to reflect the stock performance of companies engaged in specific aspects of the North American, European and Asian real estate markets, according to an announcement. The Fund invests at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index or in American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, or European Depositary Receipts representing securities in the Index.

FDD aims to track the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index, a dividend weighted index of 30 stocks selected from the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index, and trades high-dividend yielding companies across 18 European countries. The Fund invests at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index or in American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, or European Depositary Receipts representing securities in the Index.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

“The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Fund is the first-of-its- kind fund offering investors with a way to own real estate securities from North America, Europe, and Asia. The Trust Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index Fund provides investors with exposure to some of the most attractive dividend paying European stocks,” said Dan Waldron, SVP and Head of ETFs at First Trust, in the announcement.

The specialist for the two new ETFs is Kellogg Capital Group, LLC.

«