Annual net intake into long-term funds was $402 billion in 2014, according to Strategic Insight, an Asset International company. Equities captured nearly $300 billion of net intake in 2014, down from the prior year’s inflows of $450 billion.
Aggregate net flows to long-term stock and bond funds in December were flat, as $16.4 billion of net inflows to Equity products were offset by $16.7 billion of net redemptions from Bond funds. Net intake to Equity products totaled $16.4 billion in December, led by a $25.8 billion inflow to U.S. Equity.
Among U.S. Equity funds, demand continued to prevail for exchange-traded products which attracted a net $43.7 billion in December, lifting 2014 net intake to $134 billion.
Taxable Bond fund outflows totaled $21.3 billion in December, however the funds ended 2014 with $79.9 billion of net intake on the year.
Weighted average fund returns were negative in December for both U.S. Equity and International Equity funds, at -0.2% and -3.1%, respectively. Taxable Bond fund average returns were also slightly lower at -0.6%, while Tax-Free offerings returned 0.6% on the month. U.S. Equity led broad asset class average fund returns on the year at 10.1%.
Money Market fund net deposits totaled $86.4 billion in December.
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PLANADVISER Announces 2015 Advisers’ Choice Award Winners
PLANADVISER announced today the winners of the second
annual Advisers’ Choice Awards, to be handed out at its annual PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER
Awards for Excellence dinner. The event will be held on March 31 at Pier 60 of
the Chelsea Piers in New York City.
Nine firms will be honored for their high-ranking
performance in four of distinct categories, taken from the eighth annual
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey. Over 600 retirement plan advisers
participated in the survey and supplied their picks for their preferred fund
families, investment firms and defined contribution (DC) providers, as well as
the mutual funds they most often recommended to their defined contribution plan
clients.
The firms receiving Advisers’ Choice Awards at the dinner
include:
The survey results were profiled in the November–December
2014 issue of PLANADVISER magazine. The results are also available online here.
“The
Advisers’ Choice Awards were a great addition to our awards program last year,
and we are thrilled to continue this recognition again this year. Advisers’
opinions are a critical component of investment and plan provider service, and
we want to make sure these opinions are heard,” said Alison Cooke Mintzer, editor
in chief of PLANADVISERandPLANSPONSOR.
Details of this year’s selections are as follows:
Top Fund Families Preferred by Plan Advisers
Rank
Vanguard
1
American Funds
2
T. Rowe Price
3
J.P. Morgan
4
Fidelity Investments
5
Top-Rated Investment Firms
Category
J.P. Morgan
Adviser support/value-added services
Fidelity Investments
Participant education materials
Fidelity Investments
Plan participant support
Fidelity Investments
Plan sponsor education materials
Vanguard
Investment value for price
Vanguard
Reputation
Fidelity Investments
Supporting materials
J.P. Morgan
Wholesalers
American Funds
Fund fact sheets
J.P. Morgan
Quarterly evaluation materials
Fidelity Investments
Plan sponsor support
Top-Rated DC Providers
Category
Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
Best overall service, micro plans
Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
Best overall service, small plans
Fidelity Investments
Best overall service, midsize plans
Fidelity Investments
Best overall service, large plans
Fidelity Investments
Best overall service, mega plans
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
Adviser sales/marketing support
Principal Financial Group
Adviser support, post-sale
Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
Fee structure for advisers
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
Participant education materials
Fidelity Investments
Plan sponsor education materials
Transamerica Retirement Services
Plan sponsor support
Fidelity Investments
Supporting materials
Fidelity Investments
Plan participant support
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
Value-added adviser services
Fidelity Investments
Reputation
Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
Best wholesalers
Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
Best value for price
Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
Overall perception
Fidelity Investments
Overall perception
Transamerica Retirement Services
Overall perception
Vanguard
Overall perception
American Funds Distributors
Overall perception
Most Recommended Mutual Funds
Rank
Vanguard 500 Index
1
American Funds Euro Pacific Growth
2
T. Rowe Price Target Date Funds
3
J.P. Morgan SmartRetirement Target-Date Funds
4
Vanguard Target Retirement
5
About the PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards for Excellence
The PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards for Excellence is the
annual networking event to celebrate the accomplishments of the best of the
best in the retirement plan industry. Each year, the nation’s leading
retirement plan sponsors and advisers, as well as the industry’s top product,
investment and service providers, are honored at this exclusive gathering,
hosted at the beautiful Pier 60 in the Chelsea Pier complex, overlooking the
Hudson River. This year’s event will take place on March 31. For more information
about the dinner and a list of the winners, visit: www.plansponsor.com/event/PSPAAwards2015.
To learn more about sponsorship
or securing a table at the dinner, contact: Mike Garity at 617-943-9661 or mgarity@assetinternational.com.
About PLANADVISER
Through its magazine, website, events and email newsletter, PLANADVISER, an
Asset International brand, provides comprehensive industry news, regulatory and
investment information, research and training to financial advisers who
specialize in the sales, design and administration of institutional qualified
and nonqualified retirement plans and executive compensation plans, including
401(k), defined benefit and deferred compensation plans. For more information,
visit: www.planadviser.com.
About Asset International
Asset International is a privately-held provider of information and technology
to global pension funds, asset managers, financial advisers, banking service
providers and other financial institutions in the private and public sectors.
Its industry-leading brands include Strategic Insight, SIMFUND, PLANSPONSOR,
PLANADVISER, CIO, Global Custodian, The Trade and Plan for Life. The company
was acquired in July 2014 by GenStar Capital and has offices in New York; Boston;
San Francisco; Toronto; Vancouver; Hong Kong; London; Melbourne, Australia; and
Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, visit: www.assetinternational.com.