Hot Off the Presses

Participant and Sponsor Tools

BPAS has launched “A 90-Minute Crash Course on DC Plans,” a free podcast available on its website that addresses key issues surrounding defined contribution (DC) plans. Plan design, compliance testing, compensation definitions, safe harbor designs, required notices, Form 5500, audit issues and automatic enrollment are among topics covered.

Putnam Investments answers participants’ financial concerns with planning and advice services from LearnVest. Participants can access content and information on budgeting, saving behavior and how to establish financial goals beyond retirement savings. A financial management tool aggregates all accounts to give users a holistic view of their assets.

Compliancedashboard has expanded its interactive software to cover an employer’s compliance obligations when sponsoring a 401(k) plan. The tool keeps abreast of changes, generates a notice when a compliance obligation must be completed and offers updated tools and resources to help fulfill requirements.

Prudential Financial Inc. has introduced the Day One target-date funds (TDFs) and accompanying videos. The funds seek to engage plan participants through the company’s suite of qualified default investment alternative (QDIA)-eligible retirement planning products.

Great-West Financial has created a mobile Web application (app) to give retirement plan participants access to account information and to help track retirement readiness. Features include transaction history, investment allocations, rate of return and estimated monthly retirement income projections.

Aon Hewitt has partnered with Risk Compliance Performance Solutions (RCP) to locate plan participants in its defined contribution (DC) and pension administration business. RCP will help Aon clients search for and communicate with participants who have fallen out of contact with former employers, improving compliance with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary responsibilities.    

Portico Wealth Advisors has released a free report to educate plan sponsors about fee disclosure and analysis requirements. The guide lists all service providers required to supply fee disclosures. An accounting of the specific services offered by covered service providers and a determination about each provider’s fiduciary status and fee reasonability are included.  

American United Life Insurance Company has created OnePath Portfolios, an asset-allocation program offered at no cost to plan sponsors. Target-date portfolios managed by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. match plan participants’ risk tolerance and investment time horizon. Three glide path choices—high, medium and low equity—all follow a “through retirement” methodology where the investment mix continues to adjust during retirement until the participant reaches the in-retirement portfolio at age 75.

A streamlined website from BMO Global Asset Management aims to organize the firm’s investment, recordkeeping, trust and custody services. The site incorporates multimedia, feature interviews, education content, client surveys and other features to engage existing and potential clients.

Great-West Financial’s Premier and Custom Key 403(b) offerings serve small and midmarket nonprofits. Options in target-date funds (TDFs) include multifund families and a number of glide paths. Other fund features are variable investments, fund performance reviews and sample investment policy statements (IPSs). More than 200 investment options are included. A re-enrollment strategy into a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) is available.

Adviser Tools

Two reports from Cogent Research help advisers optimize communication materials and distribution strategies, as well as benchmark their practices against competitors. “Advisor Touchpoints” explores best practices and performance of investment product providers in their outreach and communication efforts with advisers. “The Wholesaler Quality Index” aims to assess the effectiveness of internal and external sales teams with competitive benchmarks. This report examines the drivers most correlated with loyalty and momentum.

LIMRA has premiered a four-part training program by social media expert Erik Qualman, author of “Socialnomics.” The program, “Winning Clients via Social Media,” is offered online in a self-paced training format via 30-minute sessions. Topics include how to unlock the power of social media to expand networks, how to improve professional relationships online and how to prospect.

Nationwide has rolled out Retirement Innovator Advantage, a small-plan 401(k) product with a simplified product menu and support, as well as built-in 3(21) fiduciary services from Morningstar Advisers. Investment options include customized and “do it for me” solutions, more than 400 mutual funds—target-date and lifestyle funds—and a range of fixed-investment choices.

Financial Services Institute (FSI) has created a website and social network. The website supports financial adviser members in the services they provide for clients in a changing regulatory environment. FSI Social gives advisers a secure, virtual, social network environment to collaborate and share best practices with peers and FSI executives, the company says.

Genworth Wealth Management has rolled out Retirement Connections, a turnkey retirement plan with a 3(38) wrapper for independent financial advisers who want to expand into retirement. The plan offers a range of choices—from low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to target-risk turnkey investment solutions—and shares fiduciary responsibility with Genworth Wealth Management under Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 3(38).

“IRAs and the ERISA Fiduciary Rules: Updates and Best Practices for a Changing Regulatory Environment” from Matrix Financial Solutions guides advisers through proposed changes to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary rules. A three-step framework can be used to evaluate the rollover business model, assess rollover opportunities and monitor regulatory developments.

Securian Retirement has unveiled a no-cost fee benchmarking service, developed in conjunction with the 401(k) Averages Book, to help advisers guide clients through side-by-side fee comparisons. Multiple reports for average industry fees, Securian’s proposed fees and fees currently paid can be accessed. Each report provides best-practice questions and strategies to help identify areas of concern for clients beyond fees and total cost.

An iPad application (app) from FRA PlanTools helps advisers access and compare plan costs and fee data. Subscribers receive a single-page, multicategory benchmarking report to assess the reasonableness of fees. The app can support Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 408(b)(2) compliance efforts and establish a procedurally prudent fee assessment process.

Investments

John Hancock Funds has changed its name to John Hancock Investments. The move is designed to reflect the firm’s role as an asset manager with a unique investment model and to highlight a range of investments beyond mutual funds. The new name applies only to the former John Hancock Funds and not to parent company John Hancock Financial.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management has launched its SmartTrust Rising Interest Rates Hedge Trust, Series 1. The two-year trust product invests in a diversified, unmanaged portfolio allocated to securities of asset classes that performed well during previous periods of rising interest rates.

Principal Real Estate Investors has introduced Retirement REdirect, a customizable commercial real estate strategy for defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans, providing them with access to an institutional, fully integrated, commercial real estate management platform with expertise in four quadrants.

TD Asset Management Inc. has added two portfolios and four funds to its menu of retirement products. The two TD retirement portfolios (Conservative and Balanced) aim to help investors’ savings last longer in retirement. The four funds—TD U.S. Low Volatility Fund, TD Emerging Markets Low Volatility Fund, TD U.S. Monthly Income Fund–C$ and TD International Equity Fund—offer investors exposure to market opportunities outside Canada.

Franklin Templeton has rolled out two funds. The Franklin Global Listed Infrastructure Fund provides access to a growing market driven by the global need to build or replace aging infrastructure. The Franklin Global Government Bond Fund will invest in global government bonds with a focus on investment-grade issues.

The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company Inc. has expanded its Guardian Choice and Guardian Advantage fund lineups with several enhancements, increasing the investment options, flexibility and breadth of asset classes.

The Goldman Sachs Multi-Asset Real Return Fund aims to provide access to a dynamic, multi-asset class solution that seeks to help individuals achieve real return over inflation.

Nine of ING U.S. Investment Management’s mutual funds have been made available in R6 share classes, including the ING Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund, ING Large-Cap Growth Fund, ING Large-Cap Value Fund and ING Intermediate Bond Fund. The shares have no front-end sales charge, no 12b-1 fees and no third-party service fees. There are no minimums for investors in retirement plans.

American Independence Financial Services LLC has rolled out the Risk-Managed Allocation Fund, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that seeks long-term growth and is available in Class A, Class C and institutional class shares. The fund is an actively managed, multi-asset class portfolio that uses ETFs to take advantage of market trends globally.

Asset management firm WisdomTree has introduced the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Consumer Growth Fund (EMCG), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a concentration on diversification and valuation accuracy. The fund seeks to exploit demographic-based potential in emerging economies. Features include a diversified basket of earnings-weighted securities, generating at least 60% of revenue from emerging markets and no more than 25% from the U.S., Europe or Japan.