Investment Product and Service Launches – 9/7/23

Human Interest Launches Fast Track 401(k)

Human Interest has launched Fast Track 401(k), a simplified way for small and medium-sized businesses to purchase and design a new 401(k) plan.

Fast Track 401(k) recommends common plan designs that comply with industry regulations like the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. In a 10-minute process, customers can access the same plan designs, transparent pricing and built-in investment advice, according to the firm.

“We spent months researching the needs and challenges of first-time 401(k) buyers and learned that most grapple with anxiety and indecision when required to answer a long series of convoluted questions with little knowledge or confidence,” Kristina Wallender, Human Interest’s chief experience officer, said in a statement. “We’ve created a simplified experience that replaces 401(k) jargon with common language, guides users to commonly chosen plan options, and provides contextual guidance to help administrators make confident choices.”

AllianzIM Expands Risk Mitigation Tools With September Buffered ETFs

Allianz Investment Management LLC announced the launch of its latest series of buffered exchange-traded funds, completing the series of AllianzIM Buffered ETFs.

The September Buffered ETFs series includes two ETFs based on 12-month outcome periods: AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer10 Sep ETF and AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer20 Sep ETF. Caps on these funds will continue to be reset monthly.

“Investors have been challenged with balancing a recent string of upside economic news with what might be more realistic expectations of a cooling economy in the months ahead,” Johan Grahn, head ETF market strategist at AllianzIM, said in a statement. “Our line of Buffered ETFs offers investors the opportunity to maintain equity exposure while buffering their portfolios against unforeseen risks.”

The ETFs seek a downside buffer of 10% or 20% against market drops while allowing investors to participate in the upside potential of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a stated cap.

Madison Investments Unveils Latest Addition to Actively Managed ETF Suite

Madison Investments, an independently owned investment firm, announced the launch of the Madison Short Term Strategic Income ETF.

MSTI is the fourth addition to Madison’s suite of actively managed, income-driven ETFs. This expansion follows last week’s launch of the suite’s first fixed-income fund, the Madison Aggregate Bond ETF.

“Through our active management approach, our fixed income ETFs are designed to help investors capitalize on the opportunities presented by this current rising rate environment,” Mike Sanders, Madison Investments’ head of fixed income, said in a statement. “We created MSTI and its companion fund, MAGG, to address the growing need for fixed income strategies that generate yield from the bond market with a proactive approach to risk.”

MSTI is designed to generate a high level of current income by allocating to a diverse set of fixed-income sectors and individual securities within a typical duration range of three to five years. Its list of high-quality securities is built by actively managing portfolio duration, yield curve positioning, sector/industry allocation and credit quality.

Smartria Introduces Cybersecurity Focus Solution

Smartria announced the launch of its new solution, Cybersecurity Focus, built to mirror the SEC’s proposed new Cybersecurity Rule. The solution will include:

• Cybersecurity policies and procedures templates;
• Associated compliance workflows;
• Cybersecurity training and phishing tests;
• Third-party vendor due diligence;
• Employee access to data and incident reporting and tracking; and
• IT, device and cloud surveillance and reporting

“We developed Cybersecurity Focus to align seamlessly with forthcoming regulations,” said Mac Bartine, CEO of Smartria, in a statement. “Our ultimate goal is to empower our clients with a truly comprehensive cybersecurity solution that not only protects their clients, but also their own firms.”

YCharts Introduces Proposal Capabilities, 3 Subscription Configurations

YCharts, an investment research platform, announced the launch of Proposals, a customizable proposal offering.

Proposal can create reports of various lengths and complexities on a web-based interface. Users will be able to position investment recommendations about how a strategy meets a client’s specific needs.

“Included in select subscriptions is the new Proposal capability, designed to expedite the reporting process, equipping users with essential data, compelling talking points, and implementation functionalities that ensure compliance-approved reports are generated swiftly and seamlessly,” Caleb Eplett, chief product officer at YCharts, said in a statement.

In addition, YCharts is introducing three new subscription configurations. The flagship professional configuration provides in-depth market analysis and client-centric features, while additional configurations promote either client communication and presentation workflows or data analysis, research and market monitoring workflows.

Opto Launches Custom Funds Capabilities

Opto Investments, a private markets solution built for the wealth management community, announced new custom funds capabilities.

This enhancement enables the creation of white-label fund strategies, including private credit, equity, real estate, venture capital and infrastructure.

The new offering allows RIAs to create custom fund strategies to serve high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Further, through the multi-manager approach, advisers can offer diversified exposure, potentially enhancing risk management and optimizing returns.

“The rollout of Opto’s custom fund capabilities reflects our commitment to supporting advisers and giving them personalized solutions to navigate private markets effectively,” Ryan VanGorder, Opto’s CEO, said in a statement. “This new approach is set to elevate the private markets investment experience for advisors and clients alike.”