XShares Teams with RPG to Offer ETFs in 401(k) Plans

The RPG open architecture platform facilitates the use of actively and passively managed mutual funds as well as any of the approximately 550 ETFs currently trading in the U.S., according to the announcement. In addition, RPG Consultants will be providing the platform to allow advisers to offer the XShares Advisors’ TDAX family of target-date ETFs, the first lifecycle ETFs to be introduced to the market as the default option in their 401(k) offerings to comply with recent Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) legislation, a press release said (see Amerivest, XShares Launch Lifecycle ETFs).

“Our TDAX family of five lifecycle ETFs provides investors with fully diversified retirement strategies bundled in a single ETF that automatically rebalances its constituents as it approaches its specific target retirement date,” said XShares Group CEO, Bill Henson, in the press release. “It’s a lower-cost, one-step solution to retirement planning.”

By working with many financial institutions in eliminating the trading fees and commissions typically associated with retail ETF purchases, RPG devised a fully-automated, daily valuation, internet-driven administrative and recordkeeping program that results in lower overall plan fees. “We encourage advisors to take advantage of the features that our platform provides, including offering asset allocations models using inexpensive ETFs,” said Alvin H. Rapp, RPG Consultants founding partner.

More about XShares Advisors, sponsor of the TDAX, Adelante, and HealthShares families of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is available at www.xsharesadvisors.com. More about RPG Consultants, which provides recordkeeping, administration, and consulting services, can be found at www.rpgny.com.