Investment Product Launches for the Week

Fidelity Investments announced the launch of the firm’s first multi-asset income fund, “designed to meet the growing demand among American investors for income.”

Fidelity Advisor Multi-Asset Income Fund is available only through financial advisers, in share classes A, C, T and I. The fund is described as “an income-oriented strategy that seeks to provide a combination of income and capital appreciation.” A flexible mandate allows the managers to invest across the entire spectrum of income-producing securities, Fidelity says, including investment-grade bonds, non-investment-grade bonds, and dividend-paying equities.

The fund’s benchmark index is the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index. It also has a secondary composite benchmark, equal to 50% S&P 500 Index and 50% Barclays Aggregate Bond Index.

“In today’s low-yield environment, many advisers are looking beyond traditional bond categories to find income. However, stretching for yield can increase risk,” explains Scott Couto, president of Fidelity Financial Advisor Solutions. “Our new fund can help advisers and their clients balance income potential and risk, because it has the flexibility to invest where the best income opportunities exist—regardless of asset class, sector, or geography.”

The firm says the Fidelity Advisor Multi-Asset Income Fund brings Fidelity’s experts in income investing together in a single fund. Adam Kramer, who has 15 years of investment experience and manages high-yield, convertible, and preferred securities asset, is the lead manager. He will work closely with two co-managers, Ford O’Neil and Jim Morrow.

According to lead manager Kramer, in seeking to achieve the fund’s investment objective, there are four primary goals in managing the fund: i) provide a high level of current income; ii) provide capital preservation in declining markets; iii) provide capital appreciation in rising markets; and iv) add alpha through both asset class and security selection.

NEXT: New York Life Adds to QLAC Capabilities

New York Life has launched a new income annuity, Mutual Income, designed to offer clients the opportunity to directly participate in the company’s mutual structure. Separately, New York Life has expanded its income annuity options available on tax-qualified savings.

Both innovations, according to the firm, are meant to address the growing demands of retirees and pre-retirees.

With the launch of New York Life Mutual Income Annuities and the availability of deferred income annuities as Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs), New York Life wants to “give pre-retirees and retirees the guarantees they want and the ability to customize retirement income to meet their needs,” says Dylan Huang, managing director at New York Life.

Mutual Income works much like a traditional income annuity, the firm says, through which income can begin immediately or be deferred until a future start date of the client’s choosing.

“As with other income annuities, a client invests a lump sum with an insurer, and receives an income stream that’s guaranteed for life. But unlike traditional income annuities, the total income amount is not capped at the guarantee,” New York Life explains. “As policy owners, New York Life’s Mutual Income clients will also be eligible for annual dividends that can be used to increase their retirement income beyond the guaranteed amount.”

Huang adds, “We believe the purchase pattern that we see in our non-qualified sales indicates that there will be even more interest in deferred income annuities now that the income start-date is permitted beyond the age of 70½. When pre-retirees have no restrictions around the income start date, they are using the flexibility that deferred income annuities afford to create retirement income tailored to their specific needs.”