Products July 12, 2012

The Hartford Adds My Retirement Tracker to Website

The Hartford released a tool that permits savers to set savings and income goals, track their progress and integrate other financial sources.
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Forget the one-size-retirement fits all approach of most 401(k) plan providers. The Hartford’s Retirement Access website has added a number of customizable tools, including the five-step My Retirement Tracker—to make it easier for participants to manage their retirement savings accounts and set goals based on their desired lifestyle in retirement. My Retirement Tracker allows the more than one million 401(k) participants that The Hartford serves in over 28,000 plans to:

  • Set savings and income goals for retirement.
  • Track progress towards these goals.
  • Integrate their current retirement plan with other retirement assets they may have.
  • Project retirement savings at specific ages.
  • Estimate how contributing more to their 401(k) can impact their savings.

 

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“It is critical for 401(k) plan participants to set savings and income goals as part of their retirement planning process and then monitor their progress toward these milestones,” said Sharon Ritchey, executive vice president of The Hartford’s Retirement Plans Group. “Our new tools help participants become more engaged in the retirement planning process and take greater control over their financial future.”

The tools follow The Hartford’s recent introduction of The Hartford Lifetime Income fixed deferred annuity designed for 401(k)s. The solution focuses investors’ attention on the income benefit, selling investors shares that pay $10 of guaranteed monthly income for life beginning with retirement at age 65. (See “Hartford Introducing Retirement Income Solution for 401(k)s).”) Introduced last fall, The Hartford permits investors to contribute to the solution through regular payroll deductions or lump-sum payments. The cost of each income share varies with the plan participant’s age and current interest rates. If an investor retires later than age 65, the income generated from each share rises. Conversely, if the investor retires earlier than age 65, the per-share income declines.

“The Hartford is focused on providing new tools and innovative products that help our retirement plan participants prepare for a more comfortable retirement,” Ritchey said.

 

Products July 12, 2012

LPL Financial Enhances Portfolios Platform

AlphaSimplex Group, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Morningstar Investment Services were added to LPL Financial LLC’s Model Wealth Portfolios (MWP).
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LPL’s platform expansion also encompasses models from LPL Financial Research and BlackRock, with new strategies and increased flexibility for the firm’s advisers and clients. The company has lowered account minimums to participate in the platform to $25,000, compared with $100,000, the cost when the platform was first launched. This decrease was driven by the combination of more demand from advisers and innovation on the part of strategists managing smaller accounts.

The company says it expects the changes to expand the platform’s flexibility and accessibility, while enabling its advisers to create a greater range of customized solutions. MWP, a centrally managed, fee-based platform, has an array of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) strategies in an efficient, easy-to-manage format.

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The additional portfolio strategists bring unique investment philosophies, knowledge and experience to the MWP platform, furthering capabilities in asset allocation, risk management and absolute return, among other investment objectives. The platform now has eight companies providing strategies.

The specific portfolios are:

LPL Financial Research: Absolute Return Diversified Plus, Tactical Opportunities Diversified Plus, Strategic Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) Portfolios;  

AlphaSimplex Group: Risk Efficient Portfolios;  

BlackRock: Tactical Mutual Fund Model;  

J.P. Morgan Asset Management: Global Asset Allocation, Tax Sensitive, Absolute Return Portfolios; and

Morningstar Investment Services: Mutual Fund and Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Managed Portfolios, including tax-conscious mutual fund options and Absolute Return Model.

As of March 31, assets under management on the platform totaled $8.7 billion, an increase of 72.8% over the previous year and an increase of 13,345.6% since its inception in February 2008.

 

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