Principal Expands D2C Advisor Offering With New Advice Program: Portfolio Products

Confluence Analytics Introduces ESG Tools

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Confluence Analytics started fielding a suite of environmental, social and governance-focused research and rating tools that enable investors to draw clear links between ESG ratings and the return characteristics of stocks and ETFs, the company said.

"Until now the ESG data available to investors had serious limitations," according to Conor Platt, founder of Confluence Analytics. "Vendors' ESG rankings and metrics vary widely and are updated inconsistently, so users end up inherently biased by their chosen vendor's perspective," he said in a statement, adding: "For all the data that the typical vendor provides, they are silent when it comes to providing direct links between ESG ratings and investment returns."

Confluence partners with OWLShares to use that firm's multi-sourced, consensus-based data universe, reducing the effects of latent biases, Confluence said. It also offers clients performance rankings, rankings forecasts and alpha forecasts, it said.

The new Confluence Analytics suite of tools is available to RIAs, institutions and asset managers and can be customized to suit specific needs, the company said.

New Innovator ETFs Start Trading

Wheaton, Illinois-based RIA Innovator Capital Management introduced the November Series of Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETFs on the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

The Innovator Defined Outcome suite of ETFs "allow investors to take advantage of market growth while maintaining very specific buffer levels against loss," according to Bruce Bond, CEO of Innovator ETFs.

In a separate announcement, the company said its suite of ETFs, including its flagship Buffer ETFs, are taking advantage of Rule 6.9, which allows in-kind transfers with regard to options held in ETFs. The rule was  proposed by the CBOE and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in mid-October.

In-kind transactions allows investors to defer certain tax consequences until they sell an ETF, helping them avoid capital gains distributions, among other benefits.

The rule change has, in effect, created a "new era of tax efficiency for ETFs using options," according to Innovator, which added there is now a "path for options-based ETFs, including its flagship Buffer ETFs, to be more tax-efficient by taking advantage of in-kind transfers previously only available to traditional ETFs."

The firm's November Series of ETFs include the Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF (BNOV), Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF (PNOV)  and Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF (UNOV). Each has a 0.79% management fee.

Carson CX Tech Stack for Advisors Updated

Omaha, Nebraska-based Carson Group, which manages $11.2 billion in assets, made several enhancements to its CX technology stack that it said were "designed to help advisors serve their clients, articulate their value and grow their firms."

A new version of Carson's Personalized Gameplan was launched, branded as "Life's Moments," that the firm said illustrates the lifespan of an advisor-client relationship through an interactive timeline and showcases "key pivotal decisions where the advisor added value and guidance to the client's life."

The redesign was done to "match and enhance the Carson CX, with improved print formatting and functionality as well as integration into advisors' Document Storage systems," it said.

Notes taken electronically in the Personalized Gameplan are automatically tracked and formatted for post-meeting client updates, grouped by advisor and client checklist items (To-Do's) and displayed in a single, digital view, the company said.

Client's mobile experience was improved with updates to the Carson CX that was originally launched in May 2019. The updated CX leverages new tools that "simplify the account aggregation process," while "enhancements have also been made to improve readability and accessibility, especially for visually or auditory impaired users," it said.

Enhanced reporting on client actions include advisor email notifications for major cash events, profile updates or risk tolerance updates and design changes that "improve the user interface and streamline client interactions with their financial priorities and profile information."

– Michael S. Fischer contributed reporting.

— Check out last week's portfolio product roundup here: Morningstar Teams With Millennium Trust on Mutual Funds: Portfolio Products