Federated Hermes Announces 1st Equity CIT

Federated Hermes Inc. is offering its first equity collective investment trust for qualifying employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The MDT Mid Cap Growth Collective Investment Fund, announced Thursday, will focus on capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of U.S. mid-cap growth companies. Total expenses for the CIT are 49 basis points, or 0.49%, according to the company, and it will be trusteed by Great Gray Trust Co. LLC.

CIT’s have become a popular option in defined contribution retirement plans in part due to being lower cost than rival mutual funds. They are not available for use in 403(b) plans, though there are currently bills in the Congress seeking to change that.

Federated Hermes MDT investment strategies have “seen continued interest in the retirement market,” according to a statement from Paul Uhlman, president of Federated Securities Corp. and vice president of Federated Hermes.

The investment team working on the fund also manages more than $10 billion in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, institutional separate accounts and separately managed accounts. That team includes: Daniel Mahr, head of the MDT group; Damien Zhang, head of MDT research; Frederick Konopka, portfolio and trading manager; and John Paul Lewicke, research manager.

This is the first equity CIT Federated Hermes has brought to market. It also offers four fixed-income CITs also trusteed by Great Gray. It has also offered a stable value CIT since 1986, trusteed by Federated Investors Trust Co.