Products September 3, 2014

Indices Offer ESG Measurement for European Companies

September 3, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Thomson Reuters launched a suite of indices to measure the performance of European companies with superior ratings for environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices.
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The Europe indices are one part of the global family of Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Indices (CRI) that provide a comprehensive, objective and transparent rules-based benchmarking solution for measuring global ESG performance, the firm says. The Thomson Reuters CRI Indices use a network of data, analytics and tools to allow investors to apply filters based on the industry, country and regional focus of a company’s operations. The indices remain objective and transparent through a greater emphasis on quantitative outcomes rather than qualitative corporate statements. Additionally, the process does not use negative screening to exclude certain industries, resulting in more precise and diversified benchmarks. 

“The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices mean that investors are now able to measure the performance of European markets while being assured that all included stocks have ESG ratings superior to the weighted average for indices such as the S&P 500 or MSCI EAFE,” says Joseph LaCorte, president of S Network Global Indexes which serves as a consultant to Thomson Reuters on the development and maintenance of the indices and ratings.

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The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices include:

  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe ESG Index;
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Environmental Index;
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Governance Index; and
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Social Index.

Live calculation of the indices began on July 28, 2014. Historical data is available from December 31, 2007. Detailed information about the Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices including rules, constituent weights, historical performance data and quarterly snapshots can be found on www.trcri.com.

Deals and People September 2, 2014

MassMutual Names Head of Retirement Plan Investments

September 2, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - MassMutual has named Aruna Hobbs as head of institutional investments for retirement plans.
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The firm says Hobbs’ hiring is part of a strategy to more aggressively promote its mutual funds and stable value investments to retirement plan sponsors and their financial advisers. In the new role, Hobbs takes on responsibility for providing strategic oversight for the growth of MassMutual’s family of mutual funds and stable value investments available through retirement plans and defined contribution investment-only (DCIO) channels.

In addition to overseeing the stable value unit, Hobbs also takes charge of a newly created team of seven sales and service representatives tasked with promoting MassMutual’s mutual funds to recordkeeping and DCIO clients. Hobbs reports to Brian Haendiges, senior vice president of investment services for MassMutual’s retirement services business, and will be located in Boston.

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The firm says it hopes to leverage Hobbs’ industry leadership experience and her expertise in stable value, which it calls a critical investment category for retirement plans. Haendiges says current market conditions make stable value particularly attractive as investors continue to seek safety, especially those retirement savers approaching age 65.

Hobbs comes to MassMutual after serving as managing director and head of stable value for New York Life Investments. Previously, she held a series of executive positions in the institutional unit of Aegon Americas and Transamerica. She has an master’s of science degree in economics from Oklahoma State University, as well as a master’s degree in international trade from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, in India. She also holds bachelor’s of arts from St. Xavier, in India.

According to the firm, MassMutual currently offers the MassMutual RetireSmart Funds, the Premier Funds, and the Select Funds, totaling 56 mutual funds in a broad range of asset classes, as well as a variety of stable value options. Last month, MassMutual created an institutional share class (Class I) for all Premier and Select funds and reduced fees from between nine and 20 basis points for the 16 MassMutual RetireSmart Target Date Funds.

More information about MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division, as well as the firm’s stable value offerings, is available by calling MassMutual at 1-800-874-2502, option 4.

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