Investment Product and Service Launches

Jefferson National Expands Alternative Investment Capabilities

Jefferson National, an investment provider serving registered investment advisers (RIAs) and fee-based advisers, has enhanced its fund lineup within Monument Advisor, dubbed “the industry’s first flat-fee investment-only variable annuity (IOVA),” and by adding six new investment options, including three new alternatives.

Jefferson National’s Monument Advisor offers nearly 380 investment options, including more than 70 alternatives, the firm says.

“In today’s challenging market where every basis point counts, a growing number of advisers are using alternative investments to help hedge against volatility and build more resilient client portfolios—and they understand the benefits of using the power of tax deferral to help clients optimize these strategies,” says Laurence Greenberg, president of Jefferson National.

In response to adviser demand and challenging market conditions, Jefferson National’s latest additions include three new funds in the alternative category: Janus Aspen Global Unconstrained Bond Portfolio, Columbia Strategic Income Fund, and Permal Alternative Select VIT Portfolio.

“Advisers are demanding diversified sources of return to protect clients from an increasingly volatile market environment,” the firm explains. “These new additions allow advisers to take advantage of fixed-income returns across sectors and around the world with the Janus and Columbia funds, as well as a broad mix of alternative strategies thoughtfully assembled in the Permal fund.”

Managed by recognized financial manager and author Bill Gross, the Janus Aspen Global Unconstrained Bond Portfolio invests broadly across global fixed income markets and is not constrained by benchmark-specific guidelines. Columbia Strategic Income Fund seeks total return consisting of current income and capital appreciation. Permal Alternative Select VIT Portfolio, a liquid alternative, provides diversification across alternative styles: equity hedge, event driven, global macro and relative value.

For more visit www.jeffnat.com.

NEXT: Macquarie Group Adds R6 Shares

Macquarie Group’s Delaware Investments Adds R6 Shares

Macquarie Group’s Delaware Investments announced the availability of new retirement share classes (R6 shares) for eight of its mutual funds.

The new Class R6 shares “round out Delaware’s current retirement plan offering by providing plan sponsors with a lower-cost option with greater fee transparency for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans,” according to the firm.

The Class R6 shares are available the Delaware Diversified Income Fund (DPZRX); Delaware Emerging Markets Fund (DEMZX); Delaware Extended Duration Bond Fund (DEZRX); Delaware Small Cap Core Fund (DCZRX); Delaware Small Cap Value Fund (DVZRX); Delaware Smid Cap Growth Fund (DFZRX); Delaware U.S. Growth Fund (DUZRX); and the Delaware Value Fund (DDZRX).

The R6 shares are offered at net asset value with no class sales charges or 12b-1 fees, and do not pay any form of shareholder servicing or sub-accounting fees to third-party financial intermediaries.

“We understand the many issues facing plan sponsors and their underlying plan participants. To address the need for fee transparency, we are pleased to add these share classes to some of our most popular mutual funds in retirement plans,” explains Jamie Fox, head of defined contribution investment-only distribution. “We may add more R6 shares to our lineup as our clients and the market demands.”

NEXT: International Mutual Funds from Baird Funds 

New International Mutual Funds from Baird Funds

Baird Funds announced today the launch of the Chautauqua Global Growth Fund and the Chautauqua International Growth Fund, both managed by Chautauqua Capital Management, a Division of Baird, and available in institutional shares.  

“We are taking an important step to expand our offerings with an international and a global fund managed by an experienced team with a focused approach and distinctive risk management disciplines,” explains Reik Read, managing director at Baird.

According to the firm, both funds seek long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of common stocks of international companies. The Global Fund will include U.S.-based companies while the International Fund is focused on non U.S.-based companies.

Brian Beitner, managing director and managing partner of Chautauqua Capital, says the philosophy of the new funds will have managers “seeking to identify long-term secular trends and the industries and companies that benefit.”

“Simultaneously, we screen the broad universe of stocks for high-quality companies with a history of high profitability that are growing rapidly,” Beitner explains. “Next, we evaluate business advantage and apply our quality criteria. Our approach to valuation is to look at the company on a cash-on-cash basis, which means we compare our forecast of a company’s future cash flows to the current all-in cost of acquiring the business. We then build a portfolio of those companies we believe can generate above average returns. The Global Fund will generally hold 35 to 45 companies.  The International Fund will likely hold 25 to 35.”

More information on the new funds is at www.bairdfunds.com.