CoPiloted, a Boston- and Seattle-based startup, wants to help workers grow 401(k) and individual retirement account (IRA) assets through a new managed account solution.
Services offered by the firm are designed to help users
assess risk levels; select appropriate investments; and determine when to buy,
sell and rebalance accounts, according to a statement from the firm.
“Today’s investors often put off dealing with their
retirement accounts, and rarely make the necessary adjustments to ensure safe and
steady returns,” says Jeremy De Bonet, CoPiloted CEO. “CoPiloted’s fully
managed service does it all for you, at a cost that all investors can afford.”
Bonet adds that CoPiloted uses investment approaches
typically accessible only to the very wealthy and tailors these approaches to
accounts of all sizes.
To use CoPiloted, retirement savers provide information on
current savings accounts and thoughts on investment risk. Based on those
answers, CoPiloted provides specific and actionable recommendations that can be
automatically enacted, if desired.
Plan sponsors and advisers can use CoPiloted to provide
participants with personalized investment advice, the firm says, among other
applications.
Global asset manager Russell Investments is implementing a series of strategic asset allocation changes to several retail product offerings in the U.S. market.
These products include the Russell LifePoints Funds, Target
Portfolio Series and Russell Core Model Strategies. The primary changes include
shifts in the fixed-income, U.S. equity, international equity and alternatives
asset class allocations, according to Russell. For most portfolios, the
reallocations take effect during the month of January.
“Our investment strategists are forecasting an environment
of modest returns through 2014, which can be challenging for some investors in
achieving a desired rate of return at a level of risk they are comfortable
with,” says Jeff Hussey, global chief investment officer at Russell, who is
based in Seattle. “Despite a lower-return environment, our outlook is not
pessimistic and we see promising opportunities for many investors maintaining
diversified, multi-asset portfolios with global exposure.”
The perspective of Russell’s team of global strategists is
outlined in its recently released 2014 annual global outlook report, which
highlights the firm’s expectations of modest global growth that should see
equities outperform cash and fixed income, despite some expected market
volatility.
“Many investors and financial advisers are struggling with
the best way to approach U.S. core fixed income in an environment in which we
expect interest rate increases,” says Phill Rogerson, managing director of
consulting and product services for Russell’s U.S. adviser-sold business.
“While we believe fixed income remains an important element of a diversified
portfolio, we feel the time is right to implement a modest decrease in core
fixed-income exposures and an offsetting increase to equity and high-yield bond
exposures that may benefit investors’ long-term investing goals with a
commensurate increase in risk.”
The specific portfolio reallocations include:
Fixed
income. Reallocating assets from core bond exposures (Russell Strategic
Bond Fund and Russell Investment Grade Bond Fund) to equities and global
high-yield bonds that represent a better return potential with
corresponding increase in risk.
U.S.
equity. Increasing overall exposure to U.S. equity, with a majority of
this increase going to the small-capitalization equity allocation, in an
effort to compensate for the lower return expectations of fixed-income
markets.
International
equity. Taking a more targeted approach to non-U.S. equity exposure with
an emphasis on emerging markets and adjustments within global equity
allocations.
Alternatives.
Changing the real asset composition by decreasing commodities and
increasing infrastructure allocations in an effort to maintain non-U.S.
exposure levels while also offering higher return potential.
“We believe that strategic asset allocation is one of the
primary determinants of investors’ progress toward their desired outcomes,”
said Rogerson. “The changes we are making to our products reflect Russell’s
best thinking and our commitment to providing investment solutions that are
broadly diversified, implemented utilizing some of the world’s leading money
managers and strategies, and dynamically managed to reflect the realities of
changing global market conditions.”
More information about these changes is available in an
online video featuring
Phill Rogerson.
The
“2014 Annual Global Outlook” report can be downloaded here.