Morningstar Teams With Millennium Trust on Mutual Funds: Portfolio Products

Millennium Trust partnered with Morningstar Investment Management on a mutual fund lineup that's being made available to customers of Millennium's recently announced Workplace Savings Solutions suite of retirement savings options for small businesses.

The funds were selected to "provide investors with appropriate choices for long-term investment strategies," Millennium Trust said. Its Workplace Savings Solutions was recently launched to give small businesses access to retirement savings options beyond a 401(k), the company said.

With Workplace Savings Solutions, employers can choose from various IRA-based alternatives, with just a one-time $250 start-up fee and "no other hard costs or ongoing fees" for the employer, according to Millennium Trust. If the employer selects Simplified Employee Pension or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees plans, there are funding and/or matching requirements depending on the plan options that the employers select, Kevin Boyles, Millennium Trust vice president of Business Development and Workplace Savings, said.

Employees get access to a tax-advantaged savings vehicle via a user-friendly online portal that costs $40 annually plus a 50-basis-point custodial fee and net expense ratios depending on the funds selected, according to Boyles. Once a business chooses a plan, the companies and their participating employees can self-direct contributions among the 28 selected funds to construct a diversified portfolio, Millennium Trust said.

TD Ameritrade Enhances 529 College Savings Plan With ESG

The TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan will be enhanced with an environmental, social and governance offering starting Nov.18, the company said.

One of four 529 plans offered by the Nebraska Educational Savings Plan Trust and administered by the Nebraska State Treasurer, the competitively priced plan will offer what TD Ameritrade called "socially aware portfolios," along with its core traditional investing options, it said.

"While some other 529 plans offer single ESG funds inside of investment options, the TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan offers a range of diversified ESG portfolios through both age-based and static investment options," Dara Luber, senior manager of retirement at TD Ameritrade, told ThinkAdvisor.

The redesigned plan will "leverage expertise" from portfolio consultant TD Ameritrade Investment Management (TDAIM) for age-based and static investment options and will be offered via direct-to-consumer and RIA TD Ameritrade channels. "All funds will be nonproprietary with no annual maintenance fees and no account minimums," the company said, adding that age-based and static investment options will now all be passive investments.

Morgan Stanley Introduces Jewish Values Tool Kit

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management launched a Jewish Values Tool Kit it said was "designed to facilitate meaningful conversations about the wellspring of values shared" among families, boards and the financial advisors and institutional consultants who serve them.

The Jewish Values Tool Kit is a collaboration between Morgan Stanley's Investing with Impact and Philanthropy Management groups. It will enable Morgan Stanley's financial advisors to "guide their clients in creating investment and strategic grant making portfolios that are consistent with their long-term financial goals and reflect a personalized vision of aligning with their Jewish values," the company explained.

Members of the Jewish faith in the U.S. donate almost $9 billion annually to charity, according to Melanie Schnoll Begun, head of philanthropy management at Morgan Stanley, but there is an "appetite for more guidance around investing with Jewish values while pursuing longterm financial objectives," said Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer of Wealth Management.

The Jewish Values Tool Kit includes a suite of tools and resources to inform and guide implementation decisions, the company said, noting that investment strategies include restriction screening, environmental, social and governance integration, thematic exposure, impact investing and shareholder engagement. The kit also "leverages Morgan Stanley's proprietary Mission Align 360 process, which provides a roadmap for examining and coordinating all sources of capital so that they align with a customized mission, including human capital, philanthropic capital and financial capital," it said.

InvestCloud Releases Open CRM

InvestCloud launched Open CRM, an enhanced customer relationship management system for the investment management industry.

The CRM solution lets advisors and managers apply behavioral science techniques to further engage users, according to the company, which said it has more than $2 trillion in assets. The solution also "allows managers to track how clients' behavior changes over time, using predictive analytics to anticipate needs, which increases user adoption and enables managers and advisors to focus on value-add activities," it said.

The company also announced Integrated CRM, which it said was "designed to overlay a client's existing systems while leveraging the capabilities of the full version."

Glue42 Teams With RocketFin to Help Financial Firms

Tech firm Glue42 announced an implementation partnership with financial services advisory and implementation firm RocketFin Consulting.

Glue42 delivers simplified desktop experiences to financial institutions globally. RocketFin will now help Glue42 extend its capabilities "into the world of business analytics, insight and process optimization," the companies said. The partnership will "enable financial institutions to reduce the complexity and costs associated with regulatory compliance – present and future," they said.

They also plan to expand the capabilities they're offering down the road. "In the near future, joint customers can expect improved support for common financial procedures and regulations, and extended capabilities from the Glue42 Insights product family," the companies said.

— Check out last week's portfolio product roundup here: Legg Mason Launches First Commercial Real Estate Fund: Portfolio Products