Investment Product and Service Launches

Russell Investments Launches New Client Strategy Team

Russell Investments announced the formation of a new team within its investment division, dubbed Global Client Strategy & Research (GCS&R).

The GSC&R team is charged with “integrating the firm’s full breadth of asset-allocation expertise across regions and businesses, enhancing its ability to design innovative strategies for multi-asset solutions.”

Jeff Hussey, global chief investment officer at Russell Investments, explains that investors increasingly want the asset management industry to focus on their individual outcomes, “whether it’s increasing or preserving funded status for a pension plan or building a reliable stream of retirement income for an individual.” He says multi-asset solutions offer investors the “wide range of levers required to meet one’s investing goals, particularly amid volatile markets; and asset allocation is one of the most important considerations for translating objectives into true outcomes.”

Kevin Turner, a 21-year veteran of Russell Investments, has been appointed to lead the new GCS&R team, reporting to Brian Meath, global chief investment officer, multi-asset solutions. Turner, who now holds the title of managing director, global head of client strategy and research, most recently served as the head of consulting for the firm’s institutional business in North America.

To present more information the firm’s new approach to achieving investor outcomes through a multi-asset approach, Russell Investments released this video.

NEXT: Wilshire Consulting launches the Wilshire ClimateLens

Wilshire Consulting launches the Wilshire ClimateLens

Wilshire Consulting announced the launch of Wilshire ClimateLens, a four-part program designed to help clients understand and make informed decisions about the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.  

Wilshire ClimateLens was introduced with a new white paper, “ClimateChange: Evolving Risks and Opportunities for Asset Owners,” co-authored by Wilshire Consulting President Andrew Junkin.  The Wilshire ClimateLens program advises clients to approach climate change as a “broad exercise in risk management, which includes both active engagement and thoughtful investment solutions.”

As detailed in the paper, the four components of the Wilshire ClimateLens program can be taken in sequence or, alternatively, can be integrated individually into an existing strategic plan. They include:

• Education:  This introductory step provides a structured program explaining the fundamental factors related to the intersection of climate change and investing, including a review of climate science, possible resulting economic consequences, and the risk-return considerations associated with policy and regulatory responses. 

• Assessment:  The second phase involves the evaluation of current climate-related investment and risk exposure in the context of investment objectives and analyzes organizational capacity, including an assessment of governance and policies, asset allocation, manager selection, engagement, and carbon footprinting.

• Planning:  As a part of the process, Wilshire Consulting designs a strategic blueprint to identify how asset allocation, investment process and policies, risk management, governance, and operations could be modified to better manage future exposure to climate risk and help capture climate-related opportunities within a prudent decision-making framework.

• Implementation:  At this stage, Wilshire Consulting executes mission-specific climate-change-related actions that calibrate the portfolio to desired risk-return targets while ensuring the adoption of best practices and procedures.

More information is available at http://wilshire.com/

NEXT: Hartford Funds to Acquire Lattice Strategies

Hartford Funds to Acquire Lattice Strategies

Hartford Funds announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lattice Strategies, an investment management firm and provider of strategic beta exchange-traded funds (ETF).

This acquisition marks Hartford Funds’ expansion into the ETF space, “adding robust investment management and product development capabilities to its existing portfolio of actively managed mutual funds.”

“We are excited to acquire Lattice Strategies’ distinctive ETF offering and investment capabilities, which we foresee being increasingly demanded by financial professionals and their clients,” explains Jim Davey, president of Hartford Funds. “The strategic beta space is a natural extension of Hartford Funds’ actively managed platform, enabling us to enter a fast-growing category that will serve as a foundation for growth in the future.”

The acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, pending customary closing conditions, builds on Hartford Funds’ active management platform and creates in-house investment and product development capabilities for future ETF strategies. Lattice Strategies’ strategic beta ETFs seek growth through multi-factor security selection and the deliberate allocation of risk.

In addition to these strategies, Lattice Strategies provides a range of multi-asset solutions, including liquid endowments, alternatives, equity, and income strategies. Upon completion of the acquisition, Hartford Funds will maintain Lattice Strategies’ office in San Francisco and welcome Lattice’s team of more than 20 professionals.

For more information about Hartford Funds, visit www.hartfordfunds.com.