John Hancock Investment Management reduced fees on five multifactor exchange-traded funds.
The fee reductions combine contractual operating expense caps with restructured advisory fee schedules, and they will result in about $1.5 million total savings for current shareholders over the next 12 months, the Manulife Investment Management division said.
The funds affected are the John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML; its net expense ratio lowered from 0.34% to 0.29%), John Hancock Multifactor Developed International ETF (JHMD, from 0.45% to 0.39%), John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM, from 0.44% to 0.42%), John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC, from 0.50% to 0.42%) and John Hancock Multifactor Emerging Markets ETF (JHEM, from 0.55% to 0.49%). Each is subadvised by Dimensional Fund Advisors.
"These fee reductions allow even more access to these products as advisors work tirelessly to find value and return for investors," according to Andrew G. Arnott, CEO of John Hancock Investment Management and head of wealth and asset management at Manulife Investment Management, U.S. and Europe.
The company implemented the reductions as "interest and adoption from investors in multifactor strategies continue to rise," according to Steve Deroian, head of asset allocation models and ETF product at John Hancock Investment Management. Citing SimFund data, he said net flows into smart beta ETFs reached an industry high of more than $48 million in 2019.
Capital Group Introduces RIA Insider
Financial services company Capital Group launched RIA Insider, its new web portal for RIAs that is available as both an online and offline experience.
The portal arrives as the "pressure to deliver value to investors and achieve their financial goals – and the time in which to do so – has never been greater for RIAs," according to Capital Group.
RIA Insider is a free resource available to all RIAs to use to help them "stay two steps ahead," the firm said. RIAs can register at https://www.capitalgroup.com/ria/ria-registration.htm.
The new resource supports RIAs with their practice management and "frees up time so that they can focus on where they add the greatest value: engaging with their clients," according to Capital Group. "RIAs are a growing and increasingly important channel for Capital Group and RIA Insider is a reflection of Capital's commitment to supporting RIAs with tools, insights and access to industry experts as well as third-party services all in one simple-to-use portal," it said.
Key features of the portal include: Marketing Lab, featuring email and newsletter templates that RIAs can customize with their company logos and auto-populate with Capital Group content to communicate with their investors; Truelytics to measure performance and benchmark success; the ability for RIAs to schedule consultations with Capital Group specialists; Portfolio Analysis, enabling RIAs to request personalized, one-on-one consultations to discuss client portfolios' investment results; Insights, offering the latest news and developments in the industry, markets and economy; and CE Credit Opportunities, the firm said.
