Investment Product & Service Launches – 10/12/23

PGIM Announces Enhancement to Target Date Funds

PGIM announced plans to enhance its suite of target-date funds to better serve shareholders, including defined contribution plan participants, and their retirement outcomes.

Primary enhancements to the suite of mutual funds and collective investment trusts include:

• New name: Currently branded as the Prudential Day One Funds, the funds will be renamed the PGIM Target Date Funds;
• Lower fees: PGIM is lowering the net expense ratio for the target-date mutual funds to 0.25% from 0.40%. In addition, the expense ratio for the institutional share class of the CITs is expected to drop to 0.19% from 0.34%; and
• Adjustments to underlying investments: PGIM will replace select underlying actively managed equity strategies with passively managed equity strategies. This will offer a blend of active and passive management to keep investment expenses low, while providing the ability to add value and mitigate risks with active management.

Pantheon Expands US Private Wealth Offering With Private Credit Secondaries Fund

Pantheon, a private markets investor owned by Pantheon Partners, announced it has filed for registration an evergreen private credit fund anchored in private credit secondaries.

The AMG Pantheon Credit Solutions Fund will be the latest addition to the firm’s growing evergreen platform. It will be the first of its type to deliver a private credit secondaries-focused investment strategy to the U.S. private wealth market.

Abbreviated as PSECC, the fund is designed to offer prospective investors a core private credit exposure, diversified by manager, vintage year, industry sector and company. The fund seeks to acquire and build a carefully selected portfolio of high-quality, performing private credit at discounted pricing, providing the potential to generate strong, risk-adjusted total returns with an attractive income stream.

“We are excited about extending our position in private credit secondary solutions to this important and growing client channel.” Rakesh Jain, Pantheon partner and global head of private credit, said in a statement. “We see a strong opportunity for investors to capitalize on the supply-demand imbalance of capital and expertise in this space, similar to the evolution of secondaries across private equity, infrastructure and real assets.”

Morgan Stanley at Work Launches Charitable Giving Solution

Morgan Stanley at Work, a provider of workplace financial solutions, announced a new charitable giving solution that simplifies the ability of corporate clients and their employees to donate through a donor-advised-fund platform.

Companies can open and manage their own corporate giving account directly on the platform and distribute giving credits to their employees, empowering employees to contribute to charities of their choosing.

In addition, the Charitable Giving Program allows employees to open an individual giving account and amplify personal charitable giving.

“As more candidates seek employers that align with their own personal values, this benefit is a timely addition that helps foster a culture of giving within organizations,” Brian McDonald, head of Morgan Stanley at Work, said in a statement. “While, traditionally, donor-advised funds may be reserved for the executive ranks, this solution democratizes access to these vehicles and allows employees to contribute regardless of their financial situations.”

Alera Group Makes FiduciaryRx Platform Available Nationally

Alera Group, an independent national insurance and financial services firm, announced a partnership with FiduciaryWor(k)s that makes available the FiduciaryRx platform across Alera Group Retirement Plan Services’ national footprint.

“The FiduciaryRx platform unifies key workflows and heightens collaboration among our retirement-plan advisors and their peers in other Alera Group divisions, including Employee Benefits and Wealth Services,” Christian Mango, executive vice president and national practice leader of retirement plan services, said in a statement.  

FiduciaryRx is a modular platform providing fiduciary advisers with workflow and data enhancements across fiduciary management, cost management, committee management and practice benchmarking.

“Alera Group’s approach to serving retirement plans emphasizes individualized consulting, not cookie-cutter ‘solutions,’” Josh Itzoe, founder and CEO of FiduciaryWor(k)s, said in a statement. “FiduciaryRx is helping its advisors zero in on issues prospective clients are grappling with and start productive conversations.”