Products October 5, 2011

Liberty Mutual Develops Partially Customizable Annuity

Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston is introducing its Freedom Series Builder Annuity.
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In addition to offering the benefits of fixed deferred annuities – including the opportunity to guarantee a stream of annuitized income for life – the Builder Series also offers users a degree of control, says Liberty Mutual. After paying a single premium, purchasers may choose from a menu of three modules that give Builder owners extra safeguards and access to their money, in exchange for a reduction in the interest rate they earn. Moreover, the modules’ features and pricing are fully transparent to the purchaser.

“Boomers researching safe options for their nest eggs should note that, at its core, the Builder is a fixed deferred annuity, a form of annuity that protects retirement funds from principal loss, while growing the funds tax-deferred,” said Mark McVeigh, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Distribution for Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston.

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The three modules that the Builder annuity is available in are: 

Extra Access2: lets customers withdraw a larger percentage of their account (10% annually), free of withdrawal charges, than the base version of the Builder allows. In addition, should the need arise to surrender the entire policy, Extra Access owners are guaranteed a return of their original premium.

Extra Care and Protection3: lets customers make withdrawals or surrender their policies, free of withdrawal charge, should they or their spouses become ill and require a qualifying medical stay; are diagnosed as terminally ill; or become unable to perform two of six daily living activities.

Extra Assurance:owners can withdraw any or all of their account value, free of withdrawal charge, should the annuity’s declared interest rate drop below the minimum threshold determined at the time of purchase.

Products October 5, 2011

Litman Gregory Launches Alternative Strategies Fund

Litman Gregory Fund Advisors has launched its Litman Gregory Masters Alternative Strategies Fund.
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The Fund (MASFX, MASNX) is a no-load, multi-manager, multi-strategy mutual fund that offers investors diversified exposure to alternative and absolute return-oriented strategies. It comprises four strategies that draw on the specialized expertise of four managers:

  • DoubleLine Capital: Jeffrey Gundlach – Opportunistic Income
  • FPA: Steven Romick, Brian Selmo, Mark Landecker – Contrarian Opportunity
  • Loomis Sayles: Matt Eagan, Kevin Kearns, Todd Vandam – Absolute-Return Fixed-Income
  • Water Island Capital: John Orrico, Todd Munn, Roger Foltynowicz, Gregg Loprete – Arbitrage

Manager allocations will typically be equally weighted, but Litman Gregory may at times choose to tactically alter managers’ allocations to take advantage of opportunities within a specific strategy or to further manage risk.

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“Litman Gregory Masters Alternative Strategies Fund blends what in our view are four exceptionally talented managers who have highly specialized, complementary approaches,” said Jeremy DeGroot, Chief Investment Officer. “We created the fund to offer all investors what we feel is a unique risk-aware investment vehicle that could produce income and capital appreciation, with a strong focus on capital preservation.”

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