Products December 2, 2014

Fidelity Teams With LearnVest for Adviser Program

LearnVest content and financial wellness support are now available for many advisers working with Fidelity Institutional, along with expanded options for digitizing client support and advice.
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Fidelity Institutional is the division of Fidelity Investments that provides clearing, custody and investment management products to registered investment advisers (RIAs) and retirement recordkeepers. The firm announced a new collaboration with LearnVest aimed at helping advisers explore options to digitize their practices.

Fidelity says it will be increasingly important for advisers to begin integrating digital strategies as more investors become comfortable transacting online and demanding simplicity in their finances. Michael Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, adds that many advisers are already seeking out efficient and scalable digital solutions to help the next generation of clients get engaged in improving their own financial outcomes.

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“LearnVest‘s focus on making financial services broadly accessible and effective in helping people live the lives they want aligns with Fidelity’s mission and with the values of the nearly 10,000 advisory firms we serve,” Durbin says.  

The relationship with LearnVest will help advisers offer clients access to an educational financial wellness microsite, populated by LearnVest’s original content, as well as preferred pricing to LearnVest’s technology-enabled financial planning programs.

The collaboration will be particularly useful for advisers consulting on workplace retirement plans, Fidelity says. The program adds to Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services’ previous collaboration with Betterment Institutional, through which RIAs can offer a client-facing digital platform.

Fidelity notes that, for advisers, digitizing a practice is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Advisers should consider reviewing their franchise front-to-back to ensure that it makes sense for them. Important questions include: Can the brand support this? What are the implications for the current engagement model and scope of services provided? Does the firm have the support talent in place?

Fidelity released a related white paper and social media post on new advice models and what digitization means for traditional advisers.

Products December 1, 2014

American Century Debuts Income Fund

The Multi-Asset Income Fund from American Century Investments aims to provide sustainable monthly income from a diversified mix of domestic and foreign fixed-income and equity investments.
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The fund will dynamically allocate across multiple income-producing asset classes, according to Scott Wittman, chief investment officer for asset allocation and disciplined equity. Within equities, the team has the latitude to invest in global dividend-paying stocks, utilities, convertible securities, preferred stock, global real estate investment trusts (REITs) and master limited partnerships. The fixed-income component spans the U.S. and non-U.S. bond market, with specific emphasis on income-oriented sectors, including high-yield, developed and emerging market debt, currencies and mortgage-backed securities.  

The fund’s secondary objective is long-term capital appreciation. The portfolio management team factors in total return and risk in an attempt to enhance the potential for sustainable income. Consideration of total return is important in order to maintain the growth of capital above inflation, Wittman says. The team strives to manage the dominant risks inherent in multi-asset income-focused portfolios, including equity risk, interest rate risk and credit risk.  

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While the fund is not required to allocate its assets in any fixed proportion, over the long term, equity allocations are expected to range from 20% to 60%, with the fixed-income portion ranging from 40% to 80%. “While typical sources of yield, such as U.S. high-yield bonds and dividend-paying stocks of domestic companies, are expected components of the fund, we are casting a much wider net in our quest to generate sustainable monthly income for investors,” Wittman says.

Multi-Asset Income is available in a number of share classes: investor (AMJVX), institutional (AMJIX), A (AMJAX), C (AMJCX), R (AMJWX) and R6 (AMJRX). It is expected to be categorized as “conservative allocation” by Morningstar. Richard Weiss is the senior portfolio manager; and Radu Gabudean and Scott Wilson are the fund’s portfolio managers.

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