Product & Service Launches – 4/4/24

Voya Expands NQDC Offering   

Voya Financial Inc. announced the launch of additional initiatives—marketed as “Business Ready”—to its lineup of nonqualified deferred compensation business.

Voya launched the additions to provide a simplified NQDC offering, specifically designed for smaller-size employers to offer a supplement for their executive benefits package, according to an announcement.  

“At Voya, we continue to see a growing interest in our executive benefit solutions—so much so that in 2023 we saw a 117% increase in total plans sold in Voya’s NQDC offerings over the prior year,” said Kirk Penland, senior vice president of nonqualified markets, in a statement. “At the same time, we also know there is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to building an executive’s total rewards package.”

The offering is available to any Size 409A (for-profit) company but has been designed specifically for smaller employers, including those with less than 400 employees.

Fidelity Renews Commitment to Financial Education

Fidelity Investments announced a renewed commitment to financial education, activating several initiatives to bolster the continued engagement of its more than 74,000 associates with investors.  

“Improving financial literacy and building lifelong financial skills is the first step to financial mobility—and through financial mobility, we can strengthen financial futures for all and realize positive change for the next generation,” said Pamela Everhart, Fidelity’s head of regional public affairs, inclusion and impact, in a release.

Fidelity has launched the following initiatives:

• FinEd champion program: This associate engagement resource will provide enhanced financial education training to volunteers so they can make direct student impact in classrooms in their community;
• In-school learning opportunities for students and their families: Fidelity launched regional pilots in Boston and Covington, Kentucky, where it collaborates with public schools to offer financial education programming to students, teachers and families by coordinating classroom visits with Fidelity associates to share their expertise; and
• Associate-driven innovation challenge: Fidelity will host an event inspired by the television show “Shark Tank” to foster ideas to advance and enhance youth financial education offerings for community partners.

IRALogix Partners With Benartzi’s PensionPlus

IRALogix Inc. announced a partnership with PensionPlus CEO and behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi, offering a decumulation product for retirement plan assets. 

U.S. workers struggle to convert retirement savings into a retirement paycheck to last the rest of their lives, and in 2024 alone, 11,000 Americans are expected to turn 65 years old, according to the announcement. PensionPlus helps participants create a personalized retirement plan to create a sustainable paycheck with no transfer of assets, monitors the plan’s spending and withdrawals and makes automatic portfolio adjustments based on performance and inflation.

“Collaborating with IRALOGIX will allow PensionPlus to further its goal of democratizing retirement income planning for all participants, including the tens of millions of Americans relying on IRA accounts,” Benartzi said in a statement.

In 2023, OneAmerica and The Capital Group each announced partnerships with PensionPlus.

Confluence Adds Complex Asset Pricing Tool

Confluence Companies announced they have launched a complex asset pricing tool addressing hard-to-price assets, including credit default swaps, interest rate swaps and structured bonds.

The pricing tool is intended to support valuation processes of diverse portfolios, according to the announcement.

The pricing solution will benefit users through independent pricing, which is sourced from “leading firms”; easy integration to access data outputs through application program interface or file transfer protocol with existing infrastructure; and enhanced products coverage.  

The pricing tool addresses the following investment products, complementing Confluence’s existing suite of pricing products:

• Credit default swaps, both single name and on liquid index;
• Interest rate and inflation swaps;
• Equity swaps and total return swaps;
• Foreign exchange forwards;
• OTC derivatives and options (FX, equity and commodity); and
• A wide range of structured bonds and certificates.

Allianz Investment Management Launches Uncapped ETFs

Allianz Investment Management LLC announced the launch of the AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped Apr ETF. The ETF suite is comprised of AllianzIM U.S. equity buffered exchange-traded funds with uncapped returns.

The AllianzIM suite of ETFs offers a 15% downside buffer over a specific one-year outcome period to allow investors to capture full market growth beyond a specified spread against the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, with no limit on returns, according to the announcement.

“During periods of bullish sentiment, investors increasingly seek strategies that can capitalize on the unlimited potential of equities, while still providing a level of protection against downside risk,” said Chris Chambs, CEO of AllianzIM, in a statement. “That’s exactly what our new Buffer15 Uncapped ETFs deliver. As markets shift with technological advancements and changing monetary policies, AllianzIM is committed to forward-thinking solutions that put our clients’ needs first.”

AllianzIm is a subsidiary of Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America.