Callan Unveils Target-date Analytics Product

A Callan news release said its TDVantage product evaluates target-date fund performance using Callan’s Target Date Index Series, which combines index returns with target-date fund industry-average asset class weights from the Callan TDF Consensus Glidepath. The product also includes performance attribution that separates glide path return (asset allocation) from implementation return (fund selection, fees, etc.) and compares results to a fund’s industry peers.

The product also:

• breaks target-date fund asset allocations into 17 asset classes and provides a comparison to the asset allocation of the full target-date universe and indexes;
• provides a return, risk, and fee analysis of the entire target-date fund family in one snapshot that is customized to the way a plan’s participants actually use the funds; and
  
• gives sponsors a vantage point to determine if their funds are competitively priced relative to peers.

“TDVantage is designed to assist DC plan sponsors in achieving their fiduciary obligations with respect to monitoring, evaluating and tracking their target-date funds,” said Lori Lucas, defined contribution practice leader at Callan, in the news release. “With Callan’s benchmarking approach, plan sponsors can objectively evaluate the value added of all of their target date managers’ decisions, including active management and asset allocation decisions.”

According to Lucas, TDVantage is customized to each DC plan to give plan sponsors an understanding of how well participants fared given their individual TDF choices and how they would have fared if they had invested in different suites of available TDFs.

Callan said the product can also appeal to providers who, if they subscribe to TDVantage will receive access to analytical reports, including:

• a graphics and report package;
• a quarterly analysis;
• peer group and target date index comparisons and rankings;
• total target-date fund family analysis and individual target-date fund reports;
• asset allocation comparisons with macro and micro level analysis; and
• detailed glide path and implementation return attribution and peer comparisons.

 For more information, contact Judith McKinney at (312) 346-3536 or via email at mckinney@callan.com.