Fees Lowered for John Hancock Freedom 529

Effective December 1, the annual program management fee for current and future John Hancock Freedom 529 Savings Plan account holders has been decreased.

According to John Hancock College Savings, the program management fee has been lowered on a weighted average basis by approximately 30%, in addition to reductions in other fees and expenses.

The funds have been reduced in the following ways:

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  • The annual program management fee will decrease to 0.35 percent for A, B, C and C2 share classes and decrease to 0.30 percent for the JH Money Market Portfolio.
  • The annual account maintenance fee has been lowered to $25.
  • Some of the underlying funds and/or fund share classes are also being changed to reduce underlying fund expenses.
  • Overall reductions in the total annual asset-based fees range from between 10 to 59 basis points, depending on the investment option.

Changes have also been made to how the fees are reported, the firm said. Instead of aggregating the annual program management fee, trust fee, and annual distribution and service fee as done in the past, John Hancock said that now each fee is be displayed separately in the Plan Disclosure Document, allowing for easier comparison of fees among share classes.

“When we surpassed $2 billion in assets under management, we became large enough to benefit from greater expense efficiencies,” said Diana Scott, senior vice president and general manager, John Hancock College Savings, in a press release. “As a result we’ve been able to significantly lower fees, making our 529 plan a more competitive product and a greater value for advisers and their clients. This new fee structure, combined with our industry leading multi-managed approach, continues to position us as a key player in the college savings marketplace.”

John Hancock Freedom 529 is a national Section 529 college savings plan offered by the Education Trust of Alaska, managed by T. Rowe Price, and is distributed by John Hancock Distributors LLC, through other broker/dealers that have a selling agreement with John Hancock Distributors LLC.

Retirement Plan Advisers Get New Marketing Tool from AIM

AIM Investments has launched a new marketing program for financial advisers to learn about and develop a business strategy for the 401(k) marketplace.

The new module in the AIM PlanForward program is titled Understanding Retirement Plan Fees and Expenses.

This new module intends to help advisers:

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  • Understand and discuss fees and expenses associated with retirement plans;
  • Assist plan sponsors with evaluating plan fees and expenses;
  • Assist in establishing and providing an objective process to monitor plan fees and expenses;
  • Assist plan sponsors with managing the plan’s investment options with a thorough review as detailed in the investment policy statement;
  • Consistently review expenses for services and the investment options; and
  • Educate sponsors and participants so they can make informed decisions.

The PlanForward program is product neutral and is designed to help financial advisers communicate and demonstrate their value to plan sponsors. This new module follows the first five in the series, which cover other retirement plan topics including: managing fiduciary liability, educating participants, conducting plan reviews, educating newer financial advisers about the retirement market and helping advisers move upmarket.

“The sixth module in our PlanForward series offers multiple tools and resources to help retirement plan financial advisers better understand plan fees and expenses, a compelling attribute given recent regulatory developments,” said Terry Kelly, National Sales Manager-Retirement Division of A I M Distributors, Inc, in a press release.

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