Products August 15, 2012

Russell Rolls Out Two Funds

The Russell Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund and the Russell U.S. Strategic Equity Fund were introduced by Russell Investments. 
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Citing emerging global economic conditions, the firm believes there is an ongoing need to identify and capitalize on market shifts both in terms of evaluating the increasing number of investment strategies available and in assessing the opportunities that can arise in volatile markets, said Phill Rogerson, managing director of consulting and product development for Russell’s U.S. adviser-sold business. “The current market environment provides us with an opening to think differently about managing risks and to seek to be more agile in responding to opportunities,” Rogerson said.

The Russell Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund gives investors gain access to a diverse range of alternative investment strategies and sub-strategies drawing on a range of instruments, markets and asset classes economically tied to U.S., foreign and emerging markets.

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The fund seeks to achieve long-term capital growth with low correlation to, and lower volatility than, global equity markets. It is designed to diversify risks of investing in alternatives, and combines four strategies with a range of risk/return profiles that have historically low correlation to each other, many of which also are not typically available to retail mutual fund investors. These strategies include relative value, event driven, equity hedge and tactical trading.

The Russell Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund’s benchmark is the Barclays U.S. 1-3 Month Treasury Bill Index.

The Russell U.S. Strategic Equity Fund is an open-ended mutual fund employing a multi-asset approach to gain exposure to U.S. large and medium capitalization companies. It seeks to provide long-term capital growth, and will initially feature 10 manager assignments, representing five investment styles—defensive, dynamic, growth, value and market-oriented—and multiple sub-styles.

The portfolio manager has the ability to tactically tilt the fund’s exposure by over- or under-weighting any of the investment styles based on factors such as changes in interest rates, monetary policy, and so on.

The Russell U.S. Strategic Equity Fund’s benchmark is the Russell 1000 Index.

 

Products August 15, 2012

Schwab Adds Value Line Asset Allocation to OneSource Select List

 

The Value Line Asset Allocation Fund (VLAAX) has been added to the Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource Select List.

 

 

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The fund uses a model that compares stock values and interest rates, allocating more to stocks when valuations and rates are low, and less when they are high, according to Stephen Grant, the fund’s manager. “However, our stock selections have impacted performance more than asset allocation. We use a momentum strategy that looks at investor psychology and selects those stocks where investor sentiment is improving,” Grant said.

Investors are interested in a fund that can shift assets back and forth among stocks, bonds and cash to seek better opportunities or manage risk as market conditions warrant, said Tom Sarkany, marketing director for Value Line Funds. Value Line President Mitchell Appel calls the vehicle an aggressive allocation fund.  

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As of June 30, the fund held 73% in stocks, 23% in bonds and 4% in cash. The fund is one of seven asset-allocation funds among Schwab’s 23 third-party funds in the Additional Fund Categories section.

Investments can be made in the fund for a minimum of $1,000; there is no load and no transaction fees. More information is available here.  

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