Investment Product and Service Launches

Art by Subin Yang

DWS Group Renames Fixed Income ETFs

DWS Group has announced changes to three fixed income exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The changes are effective as of May 12 and include changes to the ETFs’ names, ticker symbols, underlying indexes, investment objectives and investment policies. In connection with these changes, the ETFs’ respective advisory fees have also been reduced. The changed, renamed ETFs are:

Xtrackers J.P. Morgan ESG Emerging Markets Sovereign ETF (Cboe BZX Exchange

Inc.: ESEB), previously Xtrackers Emerging Markets Bond—Interest Rate Hedged ETF (EMIH). ESEB seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the J.P. Morgan ESG EMBI Global Diversified Sovereign Index.

 Xtrackers J.P. Morgan ESG USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (Cboe BZX Exchange Inc.: ESHY), previously Xtrackers High Yield Corporate Bond—Interest Rate Hedged ETF (HYIH). ESHY seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the J.P. Morgan ESG DM Corporate High Yield USD Index.

Xtrackers Bloomberg Barclays US Investment Grade Corporate ESG ETF (Cboe BZX Exchange Inc.: ESCR), previously Xtrackers Investment Grade Bond—Interest Rate Hedged ETF (IGIH). ESCR seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI U.S. Corporate Sustainability SRI Sector/Credit/Maturity Neutral Index.

The ETF changes serve to bolster DWS’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) capabilities and the continued Xtrackers fund family.

MassMutual and NextCapital Offer Managed Advice Solution

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) has added a new managed advice solution that allows for greater personalization of investment strategies.

The new service, called Manage My Retirement, is a professionally managed account service through NextCapital Advisers Inc. (NextCapital). It will help defined contribution (DC) retirement plan savers choose a path to retirement that matches their unique personalities and circumstances with the goal of helping them achieve better retirement outcomes.

The services are available for 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans and can be customized with a specific plan’s available investment options.

“Given the events of the last few months and the uncertain time we find ourselves in, personalization of retirement savings based on an individual’s broader goals is important now more than ever,” says Paul LaPiana, head of product for MassMutual. “Our new Manage My Retirement service helps savers in 401(k)s and other retirement plans personalize their retirement savings journey to help them retire on their own terms, even in light of the hardship we’ve faced in recent months.”

NextCapital’s Manage My Retirement “advice engine” builds a personalized retirement plan and portfolio for each participant, using up to 30 specific data points, including retirement age, savings rate, gender, marital status, health, salary risk, guaranteed income and funding gap, among others. These data points are used to create a personalized investment portfolio, which is monitored and automatically adjusted as circumstances change. Manage My Retirement also gives each participant a personalized retirement plan, which includes start date and savings recommendations, as well as retirement income forecasts.

“The $8 trillion defined contribution market is shifting to personalized managed advice to better meet the unique needs of each retirement saver,” adds Rob Foregger, co-founder and executive vice president of NextCapital. “With over 2.6 million retirement plan participants, we are excited MassMutual has selected NextCapital’s digital advice platform to help deliver better retirement outcomes.”

Manage My Retirement will also focus on the needs of advisory firms and plan advisers. By leveraging NextCapital’s technology, MassMutual can provide customized solutions for different firms. These firms can include their own investment selections, choose varying levels of advisory interaction and choose their fiduciary role.