Investment Products and Service Launches

Nationwide will now offer its retirement plan clients more choices in how they select and monitor investments with the addition of 3(21) investment fiduciary services from IRON Financial.

“Investment selection and ongoing due diligence are important and often complicated responsibilities for a plan sponsor,” says Kevin Devine, leader of 401(k) plan sales at Nationwide. “We know plan sponsors have many time constraints, and we’re dedicated to making it easier for our clients to offer a customized plan. At the same time, we want to ensure we offer a variety of services designed to meet the unique needs of each client and their workforce.”

Nationwide will offer IRON’s non-discretionary 3(21) service and a discretionary 3(38) service. The 3(21) service provides plan sponsors assistance with selecting and monitoring the plan’s investment options, while allowing the plan sponsor to maintain control over its investment lineup. The 3(21) service also provides plan sponsors with the flexibility to develop investment lineups with both active and passive management strategies. Both time and risk based asset allocation models are available. With the 3(38) service, IRON maintains full discretion over investment options for a plan and will select, monitor and replace investment options based on the plan’s investment policy statement.

For the 3(21) option, IRON will create an investment policy statement (IPS) detailing the quantitative and qualitative processes followed by IRON in the selection, monitoring and replacement of recommended funds. It will also provide a quarterly fiduciary report through Nationwide websites that includes a comprehensive review of the trust program’s recommended funds, and notes any recommended actions for the quarter.

“For those plan sponsors who wish to remain involved in the selection of plan level investments, this new fiduciary offering provides a simplification of the process and enables those sponsors to maintain control,” explains Dick Friedman, managing director of Corporate Retirement Services for IRON Financial. “IRON has provided its retirement plan sponsors and financial advisers a flexible fiduciary model that encompasses both passive and active investment options, risk based asset allocation models and time based options of varying types that meet their particular plan needs. As an independent investment fiduciary, IRON is pleased to be able to offer this solution with unbiased investment advice.”

NEXT: intellicents to Use Schwab Automated Investment Management Program

intellicents to Use Schwab Automated Investment Management Program 

intellicents investment solutions will utilize Institutional Intelligent Portfolios, an automated investment management program from Schwab Wealth Investment Advisory, as the core technology supporting its digital adviser offering.

“Today retirement income planning is a significant issue for baby boomers entering the distribution phase of their 401(k) and 403(b) experience,” says Grant Arends, president of intellicents. “Our plan sponsor clients expect us to not only educate their participants on this subject, but to offer solutions for those participants who desire to take money out of their employers’ plans. Our intellicents digital adviser platform exclusively uses exchange traded funds (ETFs) to deliver a rollout solution that is less expensive than most 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Institutional Intelligent Portfolios provides the underlying technology, our Chief Investment Officer selects and monitors the ETFs, and determines the appropriate asset allocation strategy for each model we offer on the platform.”

The firm says Institutional Intelligent Portfolios were designed to give registered investment advisers an edge in the competitive robo-advice space.

“Our strategic business plan is to put intellicents wealth management branches in key areas where we have a large population of 401(k) and 403(b) plans and participants,” says Arends. “We have found that our intellicents digital adviser is not only an attractive offering for small investment balances, but also for large seven-figure investors. And it has helped us in our recruiting efforts to attract advisers to join our team.”

NEXT: Delaware Investments Rebrands

Delaware Investments Rebrands

Delaware Investments has adopted the name of its parent company and rebranded as Macquarie Investment Management in order to better reflect the firm’s global capabilities and goals. Its United States registered mutual fund and managed account offerings will retain the Delaware Investments name.

Macquarie Investment Management, headquartered in Philadelphia, has $256.9 billion in assets under management worldwide as of December 31, 2016, and employs more than 500 people in the Americas. It is a division of Macquarie Asset Management.

NEXT: Trust Company of America Launches ETF Custody Advantage

Trust Company of America, a provider of integrated technology and practice management support for registered investment advisers (RIA), has launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading platform. The ETF Custody Advantage will offer 60 ETFs spanning various asset classes including domestic and international equity, bonds, and commodities. The funds will come from ETF providers Guggenheim Investments and Global X.  

TCA will provide a custody fee offset on all participating ETFs, automatically applied to assets held in the products on the trading platform.

“TCA's ETF platform will ensure investors receive greater levels of diversification through exposure to a wide array of asset classes,” says TCA’s president and CEO Joshua Pace. “What sets ETF Custody Advantage apart is its transparency, allowing advisers to know exactly what returns their clients are receiving, giving them a greater amount of flexibility. In addition, the tax efficiency and investment options advisers will have through this will be a game-changer.”

Guggenheim Investments and Global X will provide advisers and their clients with ETF educational resources including white papers, commentaries, sales ideas and fact sheets. In addition, TCA plans to add to its lineup of ETF providers throughout the year.

“As a money manager with conviction that active investment management strategies can add greater value over time, our firm turns to ETFs for low-cost global diversification needed to help our clients meet their goals,” says Horizon Investments president and CEO Robbie Cannon. "We’re excited that TCA has created this new program to help us take advantage of cost savings for clients and also tap into additional resources from leading ETF providers like Guggenheim and Global X.”