Investment Products and Service Launches

Pacific Life Launches Variable Annuity

Pacific Life Insurance Company has released Pacific Odyssey, a fee-based variable annuity within LPL Financial. The product is being released ahead of the Department of Labor’s Conflict of Interest rule which goes into effect on April 10 and is expected to push the industry strongly toward fee-based products. 

Warren Posner, LPL Financial senior vice president of product management, says “While LPL Financial continues to focus on brokerage variable annuity solutions and believes they are and will continue to be an important and relevant solution to meet retirement planning needs in a post-DOL environment, we are excited to expand our existing fee-based variable annuity lineup with the competitive features offered by the Pacific Odyssey product to meet a growing interest and demand in that space.”

Key features of Pacific Odyssey include mortality, expense and administrative charges of 0.30% annually, and no withdrawal charges or front-end loads and back-end withdrawal charges. Clients have full access to their account values anytime in the form of partial or lump-sum withdrawals.

For an additional cost, clients can add a living benefit option for guaranteed lifetime income without giving up control of their assets.

“Pacific Life is focused on bringing quality retirement solutions to a broad range of financial professionals, no matter what business model they choose. We are excited to offer Pacific Odyssey at LPL Financial within its SAM and SWM platforms,” says John White, vice president of national accounts and sales support for Pacific Life’s Retirement Solutions Division. “Pacific Odyssey is a cost-efficient option for LPL Financial advisers seeking a fee-based product that provides the opportunity for growth, guaranteed income for retirement and legacy protection.”

For more information about Pacific Odyssey and current prospectus, visit www.PacificLife.com.

NEXT: Beaumont Capital Management Launches Smart Beta Solutions

Beaumont Capital Management Launches Smart Beta Solutions

Beaumont Capital Management (BCM) has launched two new smart beta solutions. The BCM Paradigm Series includes BCM Paradigm Tactical Fixed Income and BCM Paradigm Tactical Factor Selection, which have inception dates of October 1, 2015, and June 1, 2015, respectively. The Paradigm process seeks risk-adjusted returns and downside protection through rules-based analysis of investor behavior by identifying shifts between normal and volatile markets, the firm explains. The Paradigm Series broadens the range of BCM’s offerings and provides new solutions to meet the challenges of evolving markets and the demands of today’s investors.

“Lots of smart beta, or factor-based ETFs [exchange-traded funds], have been launched recently, but few strategies, in our opinion, seek to use these products in a constructive way,” says Eric Biegeleisen, BCM’s director of Quantitative Research and portfolio manager of the Paradigm strategies. “With Paradigm, we are striving to use smart beta to pursue alpha.”

Through the Paradigm investment process, ETFs are examined for their relative and absolute levels of volatility and then categorized as either ‘normal’ or ‘volatile’. The normal candidates are then allocated based upon their relative attractiveness, which leads to the construction of a portfolio seeking positive returns, while minimizing volatility and drawdown, BCM notes. The strategies’ quantitative models analyze each ETF for inclusion in the portfolio daily and rebalances typically occur weekly.

“Based upon the continued flows to smart beta, it is clear that investors today find significant value in the benefits offered by smart beta products, particularly those that seek to provide downside protection,” says Biegeleisen. “The Paradigm investment thesis is designed with minimizing portfolio drawdowns as its primary objective. This ultimately allows the strategies to ideally deliver alpha that investors need for long-term financial planning and portfolio growth. We believe the best investment processes include a good defense.”

NEXT: Charles Schwab Expands ETF OneSource Series with OppenheimerFunds

Charles Schwab Expands ETF OneSource Series with OppenheimerFunds

Charles Schwab announced it will add exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provider OppenheimerFunds and 12 new ETFs to its lineup of the Schwab ETF OneSource series.

The program now allows investors and advisers to buy and sell 228 ETFs covering 69 Morningstar Categories with $0 online commissions, no enrollment requirements, and no early redemption fees.

Today, four of the Oppenheimer Revenue Weighted ETF strategies are available to Schwab clients with $0 online trade commissions. The new funds include the the Guggenheim BulletShares 2024 High Yield Corp Bond ETF. For a full list, visit Schwab.com.  

OppenheimerFunds joins fifteen other ETF providers that participate in the Schwab ETF OneSource program. They include ALPS, Deutsche Asset Management, Direxion, ETF Securities, Global X Funds, Guggenheim Investments, IndexIQ, John Hancock Investments, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, PIMCO, PowerShares, State Street SPDR ETFs, USCF, WisdomTree and Charles Schwab Investment Management.

“Schwab ETF OneSource is growing in every way – we’ve added to both our provider and fund ranks in the last year, and continue to offer investors of all sizes the most choice when it comes to commission-free ETFs,” says Heather Fischer, vice president of ETF Platform Management at Charles Schwab. “Our research indicates that investors and advisers are steadily allocating more of their portfolios to ETFs, and a broad selection of both ETF categories and ETF providers are critical criteria when evaluating ETFs that are available for zero commission online. Schwab ETF OneSource delivers on both, which explains the traction we’ve achieved in just four short years since launching the program.”

NEXT: New York Life Acquires Stake in Credit Value Partners

New York Life Acquires Stake in Credit Value Partners

New York Life Investments has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire majority stake in Credit Value Partners (CVP), a boutique specializing in opportunistic and distressed debt, as well as high-yield corporate credit investing capabilities.

The addition of CVP represents another step in New York Life Investments' effort to offer a broad range of alternative investment solutions that now include private equity, mezzanine, equity co-investing, middle market lending, real estate, hedged strategies and real assets. These strategies are managed by New York Life Investments and its boutiques, which include Candriam Investors Group, Cornerstone Capital, GoldPoint Partners, IndexIQ, MacKay Shields and Private Advisors.

"CVP is a valuable opportunity to expand our alternatives offerings,” explains Yie-Hsin Hung, chief executive officer at New York Life Investment Management. “The capabilities of CVP's veteran team align with the income generation needs and total return profile of our investor base. With a range of products and capabilities presenting attractive credit opportunities across market cycles, CVP is well positioned to apply its credit expertise to delivering strong risk-adjusted returns for clients."

The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

NEXT: Deutsche Asset Management Releases New ETFs Through Schwab’s OneSource

Deutsche Asset Management Releases New ETFS Through Schwab’s OneSource

Deutsche Asset Management will release two additional Deutsche X-trackers exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Schwab ETF OneSource, the firm’s program which offers investors and advisers commission-free ETFs. Schwab clients can now buy and sell the Deutsche X-Trackers FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor ETF, and the Deutsche X-Trackers Russell 1000 Comprehensive Factor ETF.  

“We are excited to be able to offer two more Deutsche X-trackers funds on Schwab ETF OneSource,” says Fiona Bassett, head of Passive Asset Management in the Americas. “As part of the program, investors now have greater access to two of our comprehensive factor ETFs, which are intended to serve as core portfolio allocations as well as alternatives to traditional market cap weighted domestic and international index products.”

Schwab says its ETF OneSource offers investors and advisers access to the greatest number of commission-free ETFs anywhere in the industry. Commission-free online trading is available to individual investors at Schwab; to approximately 7,000 independent investment advisers who use Schwab’s custodial services; and through Schwab retirement accounts that permit trading of ETFs.

NEXT: Vanguard Adds 2065 TDF for Youngest Investors

Vanguard Adds 2065 TDF for Youngest Investors

The Vanguard Target Retirement 2065 Fund will offer the youngest Millennial investors a diversified target-date fund (TDF) option to begin saving for retirement as they enter the workforce.  

Vanguard says its Target Retirement Funds (TRFs) provide a professionally-managed portfolio comprising broadly-diversified, low-cost Vanguard index funds that aim for diversification, inflation protection, risk control, and growth potential. The firm’s investment experts combine behavioral research and capital markets data to create a glide path strategy that automatically rebalances risk within the portfolio as an investor gets closer to retirement by incrementally decreasing exposure to equities and increasing exposure to fixed-income investments.

The 2065 option will be available to individual investors with a $1,000 minimum initial investment, and to institutional investors with a $100 million minimum investment. Vanguard says both funds are expected to carry industry-leading low expense ratios of approximately 0.16% and 0.10%, respectively.

TDF strategies have grown dramatically from $116 billion to $763 billion in the past 10 years, particularly in the institutional defined contribution (DC) market.

“As DC plans evolved over the past 30 years, it became clear that many workers often lack the time, willingness, or ability to be their own investment manager,” explains Martha King, managing director of Vanguard’s Institutional Investor Group. “Moreover, retirement savers need guidance on asset allocation in an increasingly challenging and complex market environment. Our research has shown that TRFs have dramatically reduced extreme allocations—either too much cash or too much stock—that can expose investors to undue risk.”

The new 2065 Funds are expected to launch at the beginning of the third quarter in 2017. For more information about the fund, visit Vanguard.com.

NEXT: Pacific Funds Cuts Fees on Fixed Income Funds

Pacific Funds Cuts Fees on Fixed Income Funds

Pacific Funds has announced a reduction in net operating expenses for its fixed-income funds. These investment vehicles include Pacific Funds Short Duration Income, Pacific Funds Core Income, Pacific FundsStrategic Income, Pacific Funds Floating Rate Income, Pacific Funds Limited Duration High Income, and Pacific Funds High Income. All are managed by Pacific Asset Management and focus on corporate income opportunities.

“Expenses are never the sole reason for selecting a mutual fund, but they are an important consideration when comparing funds that have similar attributes,” explains Chris van Mierlo, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of sales for Pacific Life Insurance Company's Retirement Solutions Division. “With these new reductions, we believe our funds are now an even more appealing option for meeting an investor’s fixed-income needs in a variety of market conditions.” 

More details about the fixed‐income options of Pacific Funds, and a list of all Pacific Funds offerings can be found at PacificFunds.com. Financial advisers also can inquire about the funds by calling Pacific Funds directly at (800) 722‐2333, option 2.