Putnam Investments will be launching several mutual funds later this summer that bring to bear three different alternative strategies designed to provide financial advisors and their clients with an array of modern portfolio construction tools to help navigate changing market conditions.
The funds will be sub-advised by PanAgora Asset Management and are expected to be available in the marketplace in the third quarter of this year.
The new funds will offer three important and distinct investment approaches. Putnam PanAgora Risk Parity Fund seeks total return under varying economic conditions through strategic allocation across asset classes; Putnam PanAgora Market Neutral Fund pursues uncorrelated alpha by investing in long/short equity strategies; and Putnam PanAgora Managed Futures Fund seeks absolute return through a managed futures strategy that is designed to provide meaningful diversification to traditional asset classes.
In discussing the underlying needs — and demand — driving the launch, Scott C. Sipple, head of global investment strategies at Putnam Investments, said in a statement, "Continuing volatility in the financial markets and a changing risk-benefit equation have driven financial advisors to think about portfolio construction in new and different ways, including utilizing components that help solve some of the more vexing challenges that investors face. These additions to the Putnam fund lineup will bring a new dimension and provide an opportunity for clients to advance a range of objectives."
Allianz Life Adds Two Index Variable Annuity Products
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America launched two new index variable annuity (IVA) products, Allianz Index Advantage ADV Variable Annuity and Allianz Index Advantage NF Variable Annuity.
The new IVA product lineup now positions Allianz Life to better capitalize on the growing demand for new index variable annuities and brings the well-received concept of upside potential with some protection to a broader market of consumers.
Allianz Index Advantage ADV is exclusively designed to fit within a fee-based portfolio, while Allianz Index Advantage NF, with no annual product fee on the index strategies, establishes another option for fee-sensitive clients.
Index Advantage ADV and Index Advantage NF both help clients reach long-term financial goals by offering the combination of variable options and three index options giving a balance between protection and performance potential. Both of these potential solutions also offer features including tax-deferred growth opportunities and a built-in death benefit.
Cambria ETF Trust Launches Cambria Core Equity ETF
The Cambria ETF Trust and its investment manager, Cambria Investment Management, LP, launched a new exchange-traded fund that actively manages a diversified portfolio of equities and options.
The Cambria Core Equity ETF (CCOR) is listed on the NYSE Arca exchange and utilizes a combination of several strategies to produce capital appreciation while reducing risk exposure across market conditions.
CCOR was developed to be a core holding for all types of investors because the strategy seeks to combine the long-term compounding benefits of stocks with the goal of improving risk management to minimize portfolio drawdowns.
Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the value of the fund's net assets will be invested in equity securities. CCOR's underlying holdings include high-quality companies across all industries and sectors that have prospects for long-term total returns as a result of their ability to grow earnings and their willingness to increase dividends over time.
CCOR sells exchange traded index put and call options to reduce volatility and increase return. It also buys index put options, which can protect investors from a significant market decline that may occur over a short period of time.
