Products June 15, 2023

Investment Product and Service Launches

Aptus Capital Advisors Launches New Enhanced Yield ETF; MetLife and Lyra Health Expand Workplace Mental Health Access; Alight Expands Global Employee Benefits Solution.

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Aptus Capital Advisors Launches Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF  

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC announced the launch of the Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF, an actively managed exchange-traded fund combining U.S. large cap equities with an equity options overlay. 

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“We’re proud to have assisted advisors in helping clients over the past decade and are excited to now offer a market beta strategy that provides income not reliant on certain equity styles and sectors typically associated with higher distributions,” JD Gardner, founder and managing member of Aptus Capital Advisors, said in a statement. 

The launch is the third strategy in the firm’s suite of actively managed enhanced yield ETFs. In the past year, Aptus crossed $2 billion in assets under management across its ETF lineup. 

 

MetLife, Lyra Health Expand Access to Workforce Mental Health Solutions  

MetLife and Lyra Health announced a new initiative to provide employees with access to mental health services as part of their recovery when they file a disability or absence claim. 

This collaboration connects eligible employees to Lyra’s providers through a referral at the beginning of their claim. The approach will also help employers with the administrative tasks associated with disability claims and mental health resources. 

“Lyra’s evidence-based mental health care and MetLife’s disability and absence management work in concert to help ensure that people can easily access high quality care when they need it most,” Sean McBride, chief revenue officer at Lyra Health, said in a statement.  

 

Alight Expands Global Employee Benefits Solution 

Alight Inc., announced the release of its global employee benefits solution, which offers administrative support and customer care for managing benefits programs. 

“When you include the complexities of managing multiple vendors, languages, and time zones, it’s no surprise that global benefits remain a challenge for organizations and their employees,” Jan Pieter, vice president of business development at Alight, said in a statement. “[Our solution] enables organizations to provide their employees with benefit offerings in their language of choice and to personalize the process of tailoring their benefits.” 

The solution is offered across more than 100 countries and in 32 languages. It is integrated into the Alight Worklife platform and powered by total rewards software partner Benify.  

Benefits June 15, 2023

Participation Rates in 401(k) Plans Reach All-Time High

Plan sponsors have driven plan participation in the last 15 years to a record high in 2022, Vanguard reports.  

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After adoption of automatic enrollment increased consistently over 15 years, plan participation reached a record high in 2022.

Automatic enrollment and automatic annual increases have driven participation rates in 401(k) plans recordkept by the Vanguard Group to an all-time high, according to the firm’s annual “How America Saves” report.

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Since the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006, adoption of automatic enrollment has more than tripled, according to the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based asset manager. The study indicated that at year-end 2022, nearly 58% of plans and 76% of plans with at least 1,000 participants have adopted the design. Accordingly, last year saw record plan participation of 83%.

The news from Vanguard comes as the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022’s first provision, Section 101, requires auto-enrollment and auto-escalation for new plans. 

“To date, many of our plan sponsors and consultants have taken tangible steps to improve plan design with features such as automatic enrollment and automatic escalation,” John James, managing director of the institutional investor group at Vanguard, said in a statement. “Many are starting to make their plan a destination by introducing financial wellness features to their benefits packages.”

Vanguard also found that participants kept saving in 2022 despite market volatility. The average deferral rate was 7.4%, a record high, and nearly 98% of plan sponsors also offered some type of employer contribution, helping the total average contribution rate reach 11.3%.

Meanwhile, participant trading in retirement plans was muted in 2022. Only 6% of defined contribution plan participants traded within their accounts. On a net basis, there was a shift of 1% of assets to fixed income during the year, with most traders making small changes to their portfolios.

Participant trading has declined significantly over the last 15 years, and Vanguard’s report attributed the decline to the increased adoption of target-date funds and retirement savers valuing buy-and-hold strategies.

“Building on the proven benefits of smart plan design, employers are increasingly exploring more comprehensive efforts to help their employees reach their long-term financial goals,” James said in a statement. “In addition to advice, forward-thinking plan sponsors are offering financial wellness tools such as student debt paydown and supplemental savings accounts like HSAs.”

Vanguard data included in “How America Saves 2023” report was drawn from several sources, including the firm’s defined contribution clients and recordkeeping clients.

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