Hot off the Presses
New products, highlights, announcements
Reported by PLANADVISER Staff
ING’s U.S. Retirement Services operation introduced a Web tool, My Retirement Outlook, to help customers determine if they are on track to achieve their financial objectives in retirement.
Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management (MLGWM) launched My Retirement Income, a feature that allows clients nearing, or in, retirement to transfer funds automatically from a Merrill Lynch cash management account into a Bank of America deposit account on a periodic basis for simplified retirement income distribution and management.
Newkirk announced the availability of a plan communications solution that allows providers to choose from a menu of components, including those typically found in enrollment kits (plan highlights, fund data sheets, and forms), as well as those found in conversion communications (blackout dates and investment mapping).
The Retirement Security Coalition unveiled a Web site, www.MyRetirementSecurity.org, featuring a collection of thinking on retirement security from both the private and public sectors.
Standard Retirement Services launched two retirement savings campaigns designed to promote enrollment, increase contributions, and motivate ongoing asset allocation review. The 401-yay! campaign targets 401(k) plan participants, while Rethink Retirement! targets participants in non-401(k) plans, such as 403(b) plans.
Prudential Retirement rolled out “Redefining Retirement,” a plan model Prudential said carries participants “not only to retirement, but through retirement” with autopilot plan features—such as automatic enrollment, automatic contribution escalation, and automatic asset allocation—combined with Prudential IncomeFlex Target, a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit product.
J.P. Morgan Funds launched an online version of its target-date evaluation program, the Target Date Compass.
RolloverSystems, Inc. (RSI), and San Rafael, California-based Pension Benefit Information (PBI) have announced a joint venture and a new offering, the Compliance Plus IRA Solution, which combines PBI’s missing participant location services with RSI’s terminated participant inventory management and personal retirement counseling.
Fidelity Investments has added Web resources, including a Roth Conversion Evaluator, to help investors better understand whether converting their retirement nest egg into a Roth IRA is the best move for them.
Mutual of Omaha has added a 457(b) retirement platform to its lineup of retirement solutions.
The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company (GIAC) announced that Stadion Money Management, Inc., introduced collective investment funds to Stadion’s managed account services offered to plan participants who utilize The Guardian Choice and The Guardian Advantage group retirement products.
SunTrust Banks added an FDIC-insured account as an investment option for its 401(k) clients.
As part of its educational program for women, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company launched two free applications for Apple’s iPhone and iTouch: a retirement income calculator and a college savings plan calculator.
Transamerica Retirement Services has introduced a mutual fund platform for retirement plans that includes target-maturity funds from three fund families, and has no proprietary fund requirements.
Fiduciary Benchmarks and Bdellium, designer of quantitative evaluation systems, have launched the Retirement Readiness Index (RRI) for 20,000 retirement plans. The RRI is designed to help plan advisers and other service providers assist plan sponsors with evaluating how well their employees are preparing for a secure retirement.
Employee benefits software provider ftwilliam.com has released a Spanish language version of the summary plan description (SPD) for its defined contribution plans.
Clark Consulting, Inc., has rolled out a deferred compensation offering for mid-market companies. R3 is a packaged solution combining a voluntary nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan with informal funding via corporate-owned life insurance (COLI).
TIAA-CREF added an iPhone application called The TIAA-CREF Savings Simplifier, which provides interactive information about saving for retirement and other goals.
Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc., has released a white paper, “Avoiding the Breach: Bringing 403(b) Plans Up-to-Date with Current ERISA Fiduciary Best Practices,” to help higher-education plan sponsors.
MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division announced plans to introduce its new RetireSmart participant engagement platform in the second quarter of 2010.
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc., added Wasatch Funds, a family of no-load mutual funds, to its retirement plan platform.
The registered investment advisory (RIA) firm Kring Financial Management launched an advisory service, 401k ProAdvisor, which will offer clients personalized advice on their 401(k), 403(b), or retirement plan on a quarterly basis. ADVISER TOOLS
Edward Jones entered into a distribution agreement with Pacific Life Insurance Company, giving financial advisers access to a selection of Pacific Life’s protection and retirement products.
Fidelity Investments has rolled out the Insight & Outlook program to give financial advisers and brokers access to market intelligence and industry insights about topics such as retirement planning.
SunGard said it enhanced its Roth IRA analysis capabilities for its Wealth Station wealth management platform in order to accommodate new conversion rules.
FundQuest, a fee-based managed account services provider, has integrated Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (FILI)’s Fidelity Personal Retirement Annuity (FPRA) product into its asset-allocation modeling capabilities for fee-based advisers.
Fidelity Investments said it offers an online Roth IRA conversion calculator, allowing advisers to help clients determine if converting to a Roth IRA might be appropriate.
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (RPS) added functions to its Web site for 401(K) advisers, www.jh401kadvisor.com.
Minneapolis-based FAF Advisors has formed a strategic sales alliance with Jupiter Distribution Partners of Greenacres, Florida. Jupiter will provide FAF Advisors’ retirement-platform channel with sales support.
Ascensus said it unveiled a 2010 proposal for financial advisers selling its plans. The updated proposal can be customized to illustrate either the full-service model or a third-party administrator (TPA) for compliance-only services.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch rolled out internal designation programs for financial advisers specializing in the sales and servicing of corporate defined contribution plans.
Envestnet unveiled PlanHorizon, a retirement income solution for registered investment advisers (RIAs) to help clients plan for retirement.
SEI Advisor Network enhanced its technology offering to advisers. The firm said its new Service Delivery Initiative aims to help advisers with electronic proposal generation, statement and account level reporting, and transaction automation.
MG Advisory Services, LLC, said it expanded its RetireTool(k)it product to include plan proposals, which assist advisers in explaining the benefits of open architecture, roles and responsibilities of all the parties involved, and investment recommendations based on the plan sponsor’s investment policy statement.INVESTMENT BENCHMARKING
BrightScope, a 401(k) data and analytics firm, and Target Date Analytics LLC, a consulting and research firm, unveiled the BrightScope On Target Index to help measure the risk and performance of target-date funds. The offering gives participants the ability to see how accurately a target-date fund lives up to its stated goals as outlined in the prospectus.
Callan Associates has launched a set of target-date fund analytics for individual funds as well as fund families. The TDVantage product evaluates target-date fund performance using Callan’s Target Date Index Series, which combines index returns with target-date fund industry-average asset class weights from the Callan TDF Consensus Glidepath.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) expanded its family of target-risk indexes with the launch of the S&P MATRIX Target Risk Index, composed of three strategy indexes covering long/short large-cap U.S. equities and long/short commodities.
INVESTMENTS
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., introduced The Hartford’s Personal Retirement Manager, a tax-deferred retirement savings vehicle with a guaranteed income component.
Hand Benefits & Trust (HB&T), a BPAS Company, launched a collective investment fund (CIF), the MIZÂN All Equity Moderate Allocation Fund, designed for Muslim investors within their qualified retirement plan.
Social(k), a Springfield, Massachusetts-based retirement platform, added the tobacco-free AHA Investment funds to its fund offerings.
Invesco Aim renamed the AIM Independence Funds to AIM Balanced-Risk Retirement Funds. The firm also announced changes to the funds, the underlying investments, the portfolio management team, glide path, and investment objectives and strategies.
John Hancock has extended its target-date portfolio glide path for another 20 years.
Transamerica Asset Management Group has introduced a new institutional share class to the Transamerica Funds lineup.
The American Funds Target Date Retirement series announced a new fund in the series: the American Funds 2055 Target Date Retirement Fund.
MetLife and Fidelity Investments have introduced a deferred variable annuity product, The MetLife Growth and Guaranteed Income (MGGI), designed for individuals who are either retired or transitioning to retirement.
Symetra Life Insurance Company has launched Retirement Passport Group Variable Annuity for the 403(b)/457 market.
Scottrade said that it expanded its mutual fund offering to more than 14,500 mutual funds, including institutional share classes.