New products and changes introduced over the last week include an R6 share class from Goldman Sachs Asset Management; a bond fund from Franklin Templeton; master limited partnership ETFs from Van Eck; the AC Alternatives mutual fund suite from American Century; and changes to Allianz Life fixed universal life insurance policies.
Also, TD Ameritrade added mobile support; eVestment launched SmartVision Analytics; LPL Financial added Retiremap to its vendor affinity program; and RiskX Investments launched.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) Franklin Templeton Adds Bond Fund
Franklin Templeton Investments launched the Franklin Flexible Alpha Bond Fund (FABFX), which aims to provide attractive risk-adjusted total returns over a full market cycle by allocating its portfolio across a broad range of global fixed income sectors.
The fund seeks to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of net assets in bonds and investments that provide exposure to fixed income, including global debt obligations of any credit quality, maturity or duration, and derivatives and other instruments that provide exposure to bonds.
2) Goldman Sachs Adds Share Class
Goldman Sachs Asset Management added an R6 retirement share class across 54 mutual funds.
R6 shares offer retirement clients a lower expense ratio than GSAM's current institutional (I) share class, and are generally available only to certain types of employee benefit plans. These shares will not pay any form of intermediary compensation, not 12b-1 and/or distribution fees, or service, sub-TA or other fees. They are not sold directly to the public.
3) Van Eck Adds MLP ETFs
Van Eck Global announced an agreement with Yorkville ETF Advisers, LLC and Exchange Traded Concepts LLC relating to the Yorkville High Income MLP ETF (YMLP) and Yorkville High Income Infrastructure MLP ETF (YMLI). Pending approvals from shareholders of the existing ETFs and the boards of trustees of each of the Market Vectors ETF Trust and Exchange Traded Concepts Trust, YMLP and YMLI will be reorganized as the Market Vectors High Income MLP ETF and the Market Vectors High Income Infrastructure MLP ETF, respectively.
Upon completion of the reorganization process, the ETFs are expected to retain their current ticker symbols and underlying indexes. Van Eck Global expects the reorganization process to begin late in the third quarter of 2015 and the transaction to be finalized in the fourth quarter.
4) American Century Launches AC Alternatives Fund Suite
American Century Investments introduced the AC Alternatives suite of mutual funds. Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management LP will provide investment management and allocation services and recommend and interact with subadvisors for AC Alternatives Income, as well as two other multimanager funds still to launch.
The suite includes the sub-advised multimanager AC Alternatives Income fund (ALNNX) and two existing but rebranded American Century-managed mutual funds, Equity Market Neutral (ALHIX) and Market Neutral Value (ACVVX).
5) Allianz Life Makes Changes in FIUL Policies
