Beaumont Launches Two ETF-Based Strategies

September 16, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Beaumont Capital Management (BCM), provider of quantitative ETF-based investment portfolios, launched the new strategies on the ASSETMark platform.

The BCM Decathlon Aspect series offers diversity and innovation to advisers seeking tactical global market exposure. The two new additions to BCM’s defensive-oriented strategies take a risk-conscious approach, and were developed exclusively for the AssetMark platform. Through long-only exchange-traded fund (ETF)-built portfolios, the strategies are managed with maximum volatility and drawdown goals designed to address specific investor risk profiles. 

The BCM Decathlon Moderate Aspect limits total equity exposure to 70% of the portfolio. The slightly more aggressive BCM Decathlon Growth Aspect targets more total volatility and drawdown.

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“It’s a privilege to have landed these new strategies for AssetMark,” says David Haviland, managing partner and portfolio manager at Beaumont Capital Management. “It’s encouraging for us that these strategies are resonating with the advisers using the platform, and we plan to deepen this relationship over time.”

More information on the Decathlon series is available here.

Independence Blue Cross Introduces Private Health Exchange

September 16, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A new private exchange from Independence Blue Cross offers coverage options for midsized and large employers.

Beginning October 1, employers in the Philadelphia five-county area with more than 100 employees will be able to use the exchange marketplace from Independence Blue Cross. The private exchange will offer medical, pharmacy, dental and vision coverage, all effective on or after January 1, 2015.

“Our customers are unique, and so are their employees,” says Linda Taylor, senior vice president and chief sales executive at Independence. “The Independence private exchange allows employees to play a key role in their personal health care decisions and make plan selections … online,” she adds.

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The marketplace’s online shopping tool guides individuals through their plan options, making suggestions of the health care plans best suited to each, based upon their preferences—for instance, how frequently they visit a primary care physician. Employees can then make their selections and enroll online.

Employers can manage their annual health care budgets by setting a fixed dollar-amount to spend on each employee’s coverage, and groups with prescription drug, dental or vision coverage may be eligible for bundling discounts.

The emergence of a new health care exchange is part of a growing trend in employer preferences (see “Are Health Care Exchanges the Answer for Employers?”), but employers may wish to consider advice from Findley Davies before making a decision (see “Checklist for Evaluating Private Health Care Exchanges”).

More information about Independence Blue Cross, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is available here

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