Hot off the Presses

PLAN SPONSOR & PARTICIPANT TOOLS

ExpertPlan partnered with Morningstar Investment Services to launch ExpertNvest, an investment management program providing fiduciary relief for 401(k) programs.

OppenheimerFunds Inc. announced enhanced Plan Reviews on its Pinnacle platform. It now includes an investment section, a plan’s statistics, and benchmark information (including information on loans, participation and deferral rates, and investments), a fiduciary checklist, a plan’s highlights, and an educational section for the plan sponsor. Plan Reviews will automatically be available, on a quarterly basis, for plans with assets greater than $1 million.

An online survey tool created by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., will let you compare your retirement preparations with others of your generation. Users are presented with a graph and statistical summary of how their personal response compares to those of other members of their respective generation.

The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (GIAC) says it will introduce two enhancements to its qualified retirement plan products and services: a new funding option for qualified retirement plans called The Guardian Choice and the addition of fully bundled third-party administrator (TPA) services.

The SPARK Institute released a question and answer Web page to address questions it received following the release of its “Best Practices for 403(b) Plans Information Sharing—Minimum and Comprehensive Data Elements’ in July. The Web page is www.sparkinstitute.org/403b-q-a.php.

Millikin Mandt Associates, Inc. is offering a 403(b) plan solution focusing on the small plan (fewer than 200 employees) marketplace. The offering includes open architecture, shares at NAV or the low-cost R share, employee education meetings and investment information, and online access.

MassMutual Retirement Services Division says it is reaching out to its existing 403(b) plan sponsor clients and their advisers to offer “step-by-step support’ in anticipation of new 403(b) regulations expected generally to take effect on January 1, 2009. That support includes plan document services for ERISA and non-ERISA plans, overall analysis and recommendations regarding 403(b) retirement plans, and audit assistance in preparation for IRS/DoL plan audits.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company has launched a Web site providing access to resources and services specifically designed for people near or at retirement. According to AXA, My Retirement Shop provides a one-stop shop for resources pertaining to Home & Family, Finance, Health & Fitness, Volunteering, Travel, Entertainment, Self-Improvement, Community, Brain Teasers, Financial Products & Services, and a Concierge Service.

ADVISER TOOLS

Ibbotson Associates will offer a family of active exchange-traded fund (ETF) model portfolios, which change allocation to take advantage of price trends, to advisers at ING Financial Advisers, LLC. Ibbotson also will develop a set of tax-sensitive model portfolios optimized to produce low tax liabilities for investors.

A new white paper from the Principal Financial Group helps financial professionals guide their clients to a personalized retirement income strategy. Sustaining Income through Retirement: Four Strategies for Retiring Clients compares and contrasts different retirement income methods to help advisers determine the best fit for a client.

The Hartford’s Retirement Plans Group introduced the No Gaps Four-Point Sales System to help advisers sell the company’s qualified plans as part of their retail sales initiative. The sales system includes three tools that let wholesalers talk to advisers about the opportunity in selling qualified plans, how advisers can take advantage of that opportunity, and how The Hartford can help.

MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division introduced CustomChoice Strategies, a tool allowing employers and advisers to make plan-specific investment options available to participants based on a target retirement date and/or investment objective using the plan’s existing investment options.

Advisor Software Inc. introduced a Web-based institutional Monte Carlo simulator, ASI Portfolio Forecaster. The new tool utilizes 1,500 simulations, allowing the user to display the probability of yearly outcomes by simulating investment portfolios and associated cash flows over a user-defined time horizon.

OppenheimerFunds Inc. released a Form 5500 Data Mining presentation for financial advisers. The 5500 Program includes a presentation with case studies to help advisers understand how to use information from the Form 5500 as a prospecting tool.

Principal Funds says a new tool aids financial professionals in designing an effective wealth transfer strategy for clients. The beneficiary planning guide includes tips on how to conduct a comprehensive beneficiary review using a simple check list, maintain timely contact with clients, organize a family meeting, and host a beneficiary planning seminar to reach a larger audience.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ushers its financial reporting capabilities into a new era with the successor to the EDGAR database. The new system is called IDEA, short for Interactive Data Electronic Applications, which will give investors faster and easier access to financial information about public companies and mutual funds.

R Factor, released by Robinson & Associates, Inc., uses a methodology to predict and capture future revenue. The R Factor Index combined with best business practices to help advisers and financial services companies grow their business through increased referrals. It also is aimed at gaining new assets from existing clients.

Ascensus launched SingleSource Select, a service that the firm says makes it administratively easy for financial advisers to manage their revenue stream by offering level compensation for the funds their clients choose to offer in the plan. In addition, for TPAs and the advisers who work with them, Ascensus offers the LinkInsight Select service that it says combines the local service of a TPA with Ascensus’ recordkeeping capabilities, now with a simplified approach to level compensation.

Genworth Financial, Inc., expanded its service offerings in its wealth management business through Quantuvis Consulting, a company that provides practice management and business development for independent financial advisers.

INVESTMENT BENCHMARKING

Dow Jones Indexes and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) launched the Dow Jones/CCX European Carbon Index and Dow Jones/CCX Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) Index. They will serve as benchmarks for participants seeking exposure to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), respectively.

Standard & Poor’s has announced the launch of the S&P India Select Index, providing tradable exposure to the largest and most liquid companies in India. The index comprises 60 leading Indian companies that meet size, liquidity, and tradability requirements, with no single stock representing a weight of more than 10% in the index, according to the firm. The index is fully float-adjusted and stock weights are determined by what is legally and practically available to foreign investors.

MSCI Barra has expanded its MSCI Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries & Arabian Markets Indices family. Two of the new indexes, the MSCI GCC Countries Domestic Index and the MSCI Arabian Markets Domestic Index, are domestic versions of existing regional indexes. The new indexes are designed for institutional investors wishing to invest in these regions that are not constrained by foreign ownership limits. The other two indexes are new regional composite indexes created by combining existing country indexes.

INVESTMENTS

Vanguard reopened the Vanguard Explorer Fund and Vanguard Health Care Fund to new shareholder accounts. The $23.1 billion Vanguard Health Care Fund, which focuses on pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other health care-related stocks, was closed in March 2005. Four Vanguard funds remain closed: Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund, Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund, Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund, and Vanguard International Explorer Fund.

Matthews International Capital Management, LLC, reopened the Matthews Asian Growth and Income Fund and Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund to new investors. The funds, both launched in 1994, have been closed to most new investors since November 28, 2003, and June 7, 2006, respectively. The funds’ closure had been prompted by rapid increases in inflows combined with market constraints.

Old Mutual Capital launched Old Mutual Heitman Global Real Estate Securities Fund. The fund, which offers class I shares, will invest primarily in securities of both U.S. and foreign real estate companies and companies related to the real estate industry.

JennisonDryden, Prudential Financial Inc.’s proprietary mutual fund family, added Z share classes to its Jennison Equity Income Fund, making the income-oriented equity fund available to mutual fund wrap programs and retirement platforms that use institutionally priced mutual funds.

Zacks Investment Management, an independent registered investment adviser based in Chicago, has announced its entry into the mid-size retirement plan market, offering what the firm describes as “the same low-cost separately managed account (SMA) structure that they use in their private client business.”

Old Mutual Capital launched Old Mutual Global Funds, a suite of 11 offshore funds available to non-U.S. investors. The suite includes four global asset allocation funds that primarily invest in other open-ended collective investment schemes, including the single-manager funds within the suite.

Mellon Capital Management Corporation unveiled an Advanced Beta strategy that invests in a range of global asset classes to enhance performance regardless of the economic environment. The strategy takes long positions in global equities, global fixed income, global inflation-linked securities, commodities, and global real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Henderson Global Investors launched the Henderson Industries of the Future Fund. The fund will invest in themes identified as “Industries of the Future,” which are based on sustainability trends and challenges, to include cleaner energy, environmental services, health, and sustainable transport.

Janus Capital Group Inc. introduced a new fund of funds product, the Janus Adviser Modular Portfolio Construction Fund. The fund is a fund of funds that seeks long-term growth of capital, with a secondary emphasis on income, by investing primarily in other Janus mutual funds, as well as ETFs, exchange-traded notes (ETNs), and derivatives.

ETFs

Claymore Securities, Inc., unveiled the Claymore/Delta Global Shipping Index ETF available on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The offering is the first shipping ETF that provides investors with a means of accessing the rapidly growing global shipping sector.

Van Eck Global launched the Market Vectors-RVE Hard Assets Producers ETF. The firm says it is the first and only global hard assets ETF on the American Stock Exchange.

Standard & Poor’s licensed MacroMarkets LLC to launch exchange-listed products based on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The first of several exchange-listed products linked to U.S. housing is anticipated to begin trading on the NYSE/Arca later this year and will reference the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index.

ETF MarketPro has announced the release and general availability of its online guide to investing with exchange-traded funds. According to the firm, ETF MarketPro is an independent, online directory that helps individual investors find, research, and select ETFs.

Illustration by Michael Wandelmaier