Bank of America Launches HSA Digital Platform: Portfolio Products

Bank of America has announced the launch of a digital platform for health savings accounts to make the tax-advantaged savings vehicle more accessible and easier to use.

The new digital platform offers integration between online and mobile channels, as well as a bar code scanner to validate qualified medical expenses via mobile devices. The new platform also features a customized participant experience through targeted messaging, banners and articles, and a new online learning hub for better understanding of health accounts, featuring calculators and helpful content.

"As health care costs persist as one of the greatest financial concerns facing both individuals and companies, making HSAs more accessible and convenient for them is paramount," said Lorna Sabbia, head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions at Bank of America, in a statement. "Unlike other 'use it or lose it' vehicles, HSAs can be used to fund qualified health care expenses in retirement, which is why it is so important for individuals to start saving and growing balances now."

Bank of America also introduced a number of other enhancements to its Health Benefit Solutions program, including:

Increased fraud monitoring and prevention measures. Additional enhancements include multi-factor authentication, chip-enabled debit cards, and risk-based transaction reviews through a dedicated team of security and privacy experts.
Full integration with the Chief Investment Office.
Simplified transactions and expanded investment menu.
Increased interest rates for participants who have an HSA cash balance of more than $7,500.
Expanded advisor distribution. To broaden reach to employers, the HSA plan sourcing model has been expanded to include Merrill's more than 4,100 advisors who hold an Institutional Retirement designation and are now supported by new resources and educational tools.

SoFi Fills Out Insurance Offerings Together With Lemonade and Root

SoFi announced two new partnerships in the insurance space, expanding its portfolio of offerings to its members to include homeowners and renters insurance through Lemonade and auto insurance through Root.

These partnerships round out the company's insurance offerings.

SoFi members will now have access to insurance products across renters, auto and life insurance through Lemonade, Root and Ladder.

Additionally, SoFi is also adding a new incentive to its partnership with Ladder following initial integration last year. After conducting research that indicated millennials are surprised (and misinformed) about the affordability of life insurance, SoFi will be offering $25 to invest in stocks, ETFs, or with robo-advising through SoFi Invest for eligible individuals who apply for life insurance through the SoFi and Ladder partnership.

SoFi members can sign up for Lemonade, Root and Ladder directly from the SoFi website or mobile app.

Cornerstone Capital Introduces Sustainable Investment Measurement Framework

Cornerstone Capital Group announced the launch of The Cornerstone Access Impact Framework.

The framework represents a new approach to investing in alignment with the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Cornerstone Access Impact Framework uses a proprietary methodology to measure and report on how investments facilitate access to the systems and resources required to achieve the SDGs.

The notion of access represents the single common denominator to moving capital closer to achieving the SDGs. The Access Impact Framework offers integrated impact reporting solutions for both existing client portfolios and the construction of new SDG-aligned portfolios.

The Access Impact Framework is rooted in a quantitative analysis of company-level ESG data and a proprietary assessment of industry-level relevancy to 11 access themes, which serve to translate the SDGs into investable opportunities. This bottom-up analysis is paired with a narrative and analysis of each fund manager/strategy highlighting the alignment of their own organization's policies and activities to these access themes.

Docupace Announces Collaboration With FundKeeper

Docupace announced the integration of the Docupace platform with FundKeeper, a mutual fund service platform that brings together the real-time shareholder accounting technology of Envision Financial Systems and the operational experience of U.S. Bank Global Fund Services.

This integration enables advisors and back-office staffers who use the Docupace Platform to open and maintain mutual fund accounts from one unified interface, replacing time-consuming and error-prone "check and app" paperwork processes.

FundKeeper gives financial intermediaries instant access to selling agreements for more than 16,000 funds and includes automated suitability checks and breakpoint calculations. The platform benefits advisors and clients by providing a single servicing point across fund families, with one statement, and one IRA fee.

In the back office, FundKeeper creates efficiencies by reducing Not In Good Order (NIGO) submissions, streamlining the account opening process and providing a single interface for changing rep codes.

B+E's 1031 Trade Platform Now Available to Public

B+E, a brokerage and technology platform for net lease real estate, announced that its online trading platform for 1031 exchanges is out of the beta stage and available to the public.

After a five-month beta testing period, 1031 Trade now maintains more than 4,000 property listings on a daily basis, enabling B+E brokers to instantly criteria-match 1031 exchange buyers with net lease properties across the country.

1031 Trade helps buyers instantly sweep the active market for NNN listings that are available on- and off-market, 24 hours a day and 7 days per week. The platform also organizes all information in one location through dashboards, task management tools and data vaults that help buyers stay on track and on time.

—Read the last portfolio product roundup here: New App Makes Proxy Voting Easier for Individual Investors: Portfolio Products