Products March 23, 2010

New Shariah-Compliant Fund Available for Retirement Plans

Hand Benefits & Trust, a BPAS company, has announced that the MIZAN Fund, a Shariah-compliant collective investment fund, is now available upon request through Nationwide.
Reported by

Managed by Lightstone Capital Advisers, the MIZĀN All Equity Moderate Allocation Fund is designed to meet the needs of Muslim investors within their qualified retirement plan, according to an announcement. The fund seeks long term capital appreciation, consistent with Islamic investment principles, by holding a portfolio of U.S. stocks across seven equity styles.        

The fund seeks to outperform the Russell 3000 Index over a three to five-year time period.      

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More information on the MIZAN Fund is available at www.MIZANFunds.com. Clients using the Nationwide platform can request the fund by contacting their plan services provider.

Deals & People March 23, 2010

BofA Merrill Hires Director to Expand Consultant Services

Bank of America (BofA) Merrill Lynch announced senior leadership appointments and new resources aimed to increase the firm’s reach with institutional consultants.
Reported by

Hank Zoller has been appointed director of the Office of Consultant Relations. In addition to his existing senior client relationship management responsibilities, Zoller will now lead a team responsible for the growth and expansion of services delivered to consultants, according to BofA Merrill Lynch.     

Joining the newly formed Office of Consultant Relations team under Zoller is senior consultant relations manager, Chris Somers, who is now responsible for managing consultant relationships and new business in the Western U.S. Somers most recently served as a senior business development executive for the Bank of America retirement business in the Pacific Northwest, prior to the company’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch in January 2009.      

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The company said it will soon appoint a consultant relations manager responsible for the Eastern U.S. In the meantime, additional sales, service, marketing and other support roles have recently been aligned to this strategic growth area.      

In the coming months, the Office of Consultant Relations will introduce a monthly e-newsletter, designed specifically for the consultant community, which will offer business insights, product and service enhancement news, client case studies, and technology and innovation updates. In addition, BofA Merrill said the company will soon launch an enhanced Retirement & Benefit Plan Services Web site, with plans to add a specialized portal and online tools for the consultant community later this year.

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