Investment Product and Service Launches

Art by Jackson Epstein

HighTower Advisers Have Access to Riskalyze Solutions

Riskalyze has entered into an enterprise agreement to deliver risk alignment to HighTower financial advisers at scale.

“We are honored that HighTower has chosen Riskalyze and are excited to partner with their advisers,” says Aaron Klein, CEO at Riskalyze. “Our mission to empower the world to invest fearlessly continues to grow thanks to incredible firms like HighTower who align with our priorities and vision.”

Riskalyze’s continuous investment in integrations and automation played a significant role in HighTower’s decision, according to the firm.

“We have been eager to partner with Riskalyze and provide their offerings to our advisers, to better equip their decision-making, support document alignment, fiduciary duty to clients, and more,” says Jared Schwartz, chief risk officer at HighTower. “We strive to engage and empower both our clients and advisers with the best technology platforms available. Riskalyze’s sophisticated tools allow us to achieve just that.”

HighTower will now have access to Autopilot, Riskalyze’s Trading Automation solution that leads advisers to make fiduciary decisions through technology. Also, advisers will have full access to Risk Assessments, Portfolio Analytics, Retirement Maps, and more features that will further align clients and their portfolios.

“It’s an exciting time for us to partner with HighTower at this point in their business,” says Patrick Hannon, managing director of major accounts at Riskalyze. “Both our companies share a common goal to provide premium service to clients by granting advisers access to exceptional tools and technology, and we look forward to our journey together.”

The enterprise agreement between the two firms is currently in place, and HighTower has already activated Riskalyze users on the platform.

John Hancock Announces Second Round of Reduced Fees

John Hancock Investment Management, a company of Manulife Investment Management, has announced expense reductions on additional funds, representing a combination of direct management fee cuts, contractual expense cap reductions, and new breakpoints primarily sourced through growing economies of scale, providing further value to shareholders.

Expense reductions of up to seven basis points vary by fund and class and provide immediate cost savings to shareholders. The reductions decrease these funds’ fees by an average of 5.25 basis points.

The funds affected are John Hancock Investment Grade Bond Fund, John Hancock Disciplined Value International Fund, John Hancock New Opportunities Fund, and John Hancock Fundamental All Cap Core Fund and were made effective on July 1. Front-end sales charges on Class A shares of both John Hancock Balanced Fund and John Hancock Multimanager Lifestyle Portfolios were also reduced effective on August 1.

This is the second announcement made this year by John Hancock Investment Management regarding expense reductions. These fee reductions for John Hancock Multifactor Sector ETF suite, John Hancock Floating Rate Income Fund, and John Hancock Small Cap Value Fund were made effective on the first of January. They are consistent with John Hancock’s approach to building a multimanager network of specialized asset managers, through a rigorous investment oversight and due diligence process, to offer the best choices to shareholders, the firm says.

“Our shareholders are looking for the best place to invest, and regardless of how an investor implements our funds, comparing funds and fees is a part of the process to build a portfolio that suits an investor’s risk-and-return profile,” says Andrew Arnott, president and CEO of John Hancock Investment Management and head of Wealth and Asset Management at Manulife Investment Management, United States and Europe. “We continue to reduce fees across our offering so investors may find even more value when making their investment decisions.”

Additional information on these expense reductions, including details about the impact on other fund share classes, can be found in the funds’ latest prospectuses.

Voya Financial Releases New TDF Solution

Voya Financial, Inc. announced that its retirement business has added a new target-date fund (TDF) solution.

Designed by flexPATH Strategies Inc., MyCompass Index is now available to all of Voya’s retirement plan customers. The new solution is designed to address retirement needs of individual plan participants.

“As one of the most widely used investment options in defined contribution plans, target-date funds provide a relatively simple way for Americans to save and invest for retirement,” says Charlie Nelson, CEO of Retirement and Employee Benefits at Voya Financial. “However, we recognize that many individuals have diverse financial goals and risk tolerances, which may not be defined by a date alone. MyCompass Index combines the ease of target-date fund selection with the unique needs of plan participants.”

Voya’s MyCompass Index leverages the expertise of flexPATH retirement planning capabilities along with fund management from experts in the marketplace, including Voya’s own stable-value capabilities. In addition to a competitive expense structure and integrated enrollment experience, the solution also offers participants added protection against market volatility and uncertainty. 

The MyCompass Index includes features and benefits such as multiple participant glide paths; fund name transparency; and fiduciary protection.

“We understand that no two individuals are alike when it comes to planning for their future,” says Jeff Cimini, senior vice president, Retirement Product Management at Voya Financial. “The reality is that most plan sponsors and their participants today are looking for investment solutions that are more tailored to their individual needs. We’re excited to offer the new MyCompass Index solution to participants, as it provides a unique saving solution that is truly focused on the individual, helping them to secure the best possible retirement outcome.”