LeafHouse, iJoin and ARS Launch Managed Account With Lifetime Income TDF

Automated, personalized advice will include State Street income builder target-date funds to incorporate lifetime income options.

LeafHouse, iJoin, and Advantage Retirement Solutions have teamed up to offer a new managed account that features State Street’s target-date funds with a lifetime income component.

The Automated Personalized Portfolio managed account is designed to provide participants with personalized advice, along with a retirement income option in the form of the State Street GTC Retirement Income Builder Series TDFs, according to the announcement. The income builder combines State Street Global Advisors’ asset management with ARS’s lifetime income product; Global Trust Co. is the fiduciary and trustee of the series.

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In the announcement, the firms cited Franklin Templeton research finding that 78% of workers are interested in a more personalized 401(k) option and 85% believe lifetime income should be an option in their retirement plan.

“When 85% of your customer base is demanding something, you better consider providing it,” said Todd Kading, LeafHouse’s CEO, in a statement.

The automated, personalized portfolio will be created through LeafHouse’s FlexFiduciary product and reallocateIT portfolio management technology, combined with iJoin’s participant experience, according to the announcement. Meanwhile, the State Street GTC Retirement Income Builder Series is included with the goal of providing growth potential, retirement risk mitigation and a personalized lifetime income strategy built into the glide path.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP is also providing investment solutions to users to complement the core investment.

“This consortium of industry-leading product innovators was established to help drive better participant outcomes through participant-centric innovation,” said Dave Paulsen, chief distribution officer for ARS, in a statement. “We are committed to offering participants personalized saving vehicles that also seek to deliver lifetime income, aiming to provide the tools they are asking for to help achieve their financial goals in retirement.”

Senvest Charged $6.5M by SEC for Off-Channel Communications

Senior employees at Senvest were charged for using personal devices with auto-delete features to discuss matters covered by the securities laws.

The Securities and Exchange Commission imposed a $6.5 million penalty on Senvest Management LLC, an advisory firm, for recordkeeping violations related to off-channel communications. The firm will also be required to retain a compliance consultant.

New York-based Senvest acknowledged the violations of federal securities laws and the factual findings of the SEC’s order. The SEC found that from January 2019 through December 2021, Senvest employees, including senior officers charged with training and supervising others, used personal devices to discuss Senvest’s advisory business.

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The SEC also found that Senvest failed to save the off-channel communications, violating both the securities laws and the firm’s own policies. According to the SEC, “three senior employees engaged in off-channel communications on personal devices that were set to automatically delete messages after 30 days.” The SEC was able to prove that many of these deleted messages were related to Senvest’s business by matching the conversations with messages from the devices of other employees.

The SEC added that by “failing to maintain and preserve required records relating to its business, Senvest likely deprived the Commission of these off-channel communications in response to the Commission’s requests and subpoenas.”

As part of remediation, Senvest acquired business phones for its employees that automatically archive their communications.

The SEC’s order also requires Senvest to retain a compliance consultant approved by the SEC. The consultant will conduct a 120-day review of Senvest’s communications policies and procedures, training and employee surveillance. The consultant will also conduct a one-year review of Senvest to be sure that Senvest has properly implemented those policies such that they remain compliant.

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