Products February 18, 2009

Morningstar Introduces Target-Date and Target-Risk Indexes

Morningstar, Inc. has launched a family of asset allocation indexes, designed to benchmark target-date and target-risk investment products.
Reported by

The Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index series consists of 13 target-date indexes, each of which is available in three risk profiles—aggressive, moderate, and conservative. The index asset allocations adjust over time—even beyond the stated retirement date—by reducing equity exposure and shifting toward traditional income-producing and inflation-hedging asset classes (e.g., bonds and Treasury inflation-protected securities).

The Morningstar Target Risk Index series consists of five asset allocation indexes that span the risk spectrum from conservative to aggressive. All of the indexes are based on asset allocation methodology from Ibbotson Associates, a Morningstar company, an announcement said.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

The family of asset allocation indexes can serve as benchmarks to help with target-date, target-risk, and retirement-income product selection and evaluation, or can be licensed to institutions for the creation of investment vehicles like mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or commingled trusts, the company said.

More information is available at www.morningstar.com.

Deals & People February 18, 2009

ADP to Offer GuidedChoice Advice to Client Plans

ADP Employer Services and GuidedChoice, a provider of investment advice and managed account services, have announced a partnership to provide personalized advice to ADP retirement plan recordkeeping clients and their participants.
Reported by

According to the announcement, the relationship will allow ADP to make available GuidedChoice’s GuidedSavings service to more than 20,000 ADP retirement plan recordkeeping clients and their participants nationwide. The GuidedSavings service works with the investments already available in each employer’s plan, and delivers to each plan participant investment advice based on asset allocation models and proprietary analytics.

The solution actively manages participants’ accounts according to their personal, recommended investment strategy. The application imports basic information and plan rules – critical for accurate portfolio recommendations. When participants “accept advice,” the software will send investment instructions directly to the recordkeeper or employer for implementation.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

Employees will have access to the GuidedChoice call center and Web site for program and investment information.

More information is available at www.ADP.com or www.guidedchoice.com.

«