Hot Off the Presses

Art by Melissa Crowton

iJoin Solutions, a developer of mobile enrollment and analytics solutions for the financial services industry, has partnered with Alliance Benefit Group (ABG) to deliver advisory tools and solutions within the ABG network. The effort is meant to enhance and streamline the enrollment experience for plan participants, while supporting financial advisers with powerful and accessible analytics tools.

The Pension Risk Navigator from Buck Consultants provides an advanced approach to live pension-risk monitoring, helping pension fund officials to better seize market opportunities and reduce uncompensated risk. Similar services generally offer monthly or quarterly updates, Buck Consultants says, making this offering a different option for plan sponsors seeking deeper insight into their pension assets and liabilities.

For educators who like to learn in the same way they teach, AXA U.S. has launched the 403(b) Learning Lab, a retirement savings tool designed and developed specifically for K–12 employees. Borrowing from the small-step approach employed in a teacher’s lesson plan, the site takes users through the basics of retirement saving: “Dissect Your Options,” “Master the Fundamentals” and “Do the Math” explain how 403(b) plans augment a pension; “Enroll Now” lets visitors sign up for a plan or seek financial counsel. The jargon-free, easily digestible—“snackable”—portions of content and cartoon-inspired design also reflect teacher feedback.

NextCapital upgraded its 401(k) digital advice platform to offer participants more personalization and simplicity. The enhanced platform, which now includes portfolio tracking, account aggregation and a simplified user interface, allows plan participants to centralize and manage their entire financial picture, all around their 401(k).          

Financial Engines is making its investment adviser representatives available to more customers. Now, all 401(k) participants with direct access to the company may pick up the phone and talk with one of its advisers at no additional charge—whether they use Financial Engines’ investment advisory services or not. Previously, access to the company’s advisers was a feature only for those enrolled in its managed account program.

Work force communications provider GuideSpark launched a financial wellness product. The solution enables companies to provide tailored financial wellness education to their employees through a comprehensive financial assessment, personalized action plans, informational videos and direct integration to actionable, employer-provided programs and tools. With GuideSpark’s personalized mobile and video solution, the aim is to inspire employees to take action and gain control of their financial futures.

Merrill Lynch introduced two iPad applications (apps) that help further illustrate the important risks individuals may face in retirement. The first, “Longevity Discovery,” explores the implications of longer life expectancy; the second assists with “Inflation Discovery.”

Lincoln Financial Group introduced a retirement education and communication program, “Let’s Go!” Available for retirement plan sponsors to use with participants, the program includes a comprehensive suite of materials and a dedicated website with interactive features including a retirement planner, contribution calculator and other resources to encourage saving.          

Navera Inc., a provider of cloud-based benefits engagement solutions, introduced a retirement plan module that provides employees with a personally relevant experience to help them make smart financial decisions regarding their 40l(k) or 403(b) plan options.

Fidelity Clearing & Custody partnered with Envestnet Retirement Solutions to offer Envestnet’s new workstation. Available through Fidelity’s WealthCentral and Streetscape platforms, the workstation will supply advisory firms with access to retirement plan data and service providers.

Enhanced Retirement Solutions, a retirement plan consulting firm, will now offer third-party administration (TPA) services. These will include plan design, documentation, compliance support and administration.

Retiremap premiered “Financial Wellness Insights,” a monthly research series that will focus on a range of financial wellness themes. The series is designed to help advisers demonstrate thought leadership, and the reports can be white-labeled with an adviser’s brand, at no charge, to present to clients and prospects.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management added CreditSights, an independent provider of global fixed-income research, to its online portal of research and strategy content for its financial advisers.

AB, formerly known as AllianceBernstein, launched a fiduciary service that “will assume fiduciary responsibility for annuity selection in connection with its Lifetime Income Strategy service.” As the party responsible for annuity selection, AB will perform these duties as an investment manager under Section 3(38) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Capital Institutional Services, known as CAPIS, formed a strategic partnership with Invest ’n Retire LLC, through which the firms will offer institutional clients access to CAPIS’ 24-hour global agency trading desk and custody services.

Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, added four third-party model providers to its retirement plan network, a platform that provides advisers with tools, solutions and technology to service their retirement plan business. The model providers are 3D Asset Management, Efficient Market Advisors, Morningstar Investment Services Inc. and Wilshire Associates Inc.

The new LTC Source from Genworth offers educational training, sales and marketing information for financial professionals of all experience levels looking to offer long-term care (LTC) planning as part of their practice. The centerpiece of the LTC Source website is the Solution Selector tool, which helps financial professionals quickly determine possible long-term care funding solutions by answering a few simple questions about their client’s needs.

BPV Capital Management partnered with AJO and SEI Trust Co. to introduce the BPV Large Cap Value Collective Investment Trust (CIT).

T. Rowe Price launched Retirement I Funds, a series of target-date funds (TDFs) for retirement plans and other institutional investors. The 13 new Retirement I Funds have identical investment strategies to those of the firm’s flagship Retirement Fund series, but are differentiated by lower shareholder servicing costs. The funds’ glide paths, underlying funds and targeted asset allocation are the same.

Index Fund Advisors (IFA) created a series of target-date funds (TDFs) and risk-based funds aimed at meeting the needs of Catholic investors who want to maintain investment portfolios in line with their religious values. The funds will be available for purchase on January 1, 2016, and originate from IFA’s Investing for Catholics (IFC) division.

BlackRock introduced the BlackRock Impact U.S. Equity Fund, a mutual fund that aims to invest in measurable social and environmental outcomes while seeking to generate competitive financial returns.

Fidelity Investments premiered the firm’s first multi-asset income fund, designed to meet the growing demand among American investors for income. The Fidelity Advisor Multi-Asset Income Fund is available only through financial advisers, in share classes A, C, T and I.