Investment Product and Service Launches

Art by Jackson Epstein

Stadion’s Managed Account Service Offered on TRG Platform

Stadion Money Management has announced today that Touchstone Retirement Group (TRG) has made Stadion’s managed account service StoryLine, built with SPDR ETFs, available on its retirement solutions platform. TRG is a provider of retirement plan recordkeeping services to employer-sponsored retirement plans, mainly small and midsized employers.

“TRG’s delivery of a competitive personalized service model for advisors complements our approach to the market,” says Jud Doherty, president & CEO of Stadion Money Management. “We’re delighted that they’ve chosen to make StoryLine available and look forward to a long and beneficial relationship with them.”

The StoryLine process first seeks insight into the overall plan make-up with the intent of tailoring default options for each plan sponsor, according to Stadion Money Management. Employees can further define their individual investment paths based on personal risk profiles. StoryLine allows, at the employee’s discretion, the inclusion of outside and spousal assets to facilitate more comprehensive retirement planning. The end goal is to have each participant on a personalized path that goes well beyond typical age-based investment strategies. 

“StoryLine’s delivery of customization at both the plan and participant level adds a valuable service to our recordkeeping services,” said Jonathan Duggan, Principal of TRG. “We’re pleased to make this solution available to the advisors who access our platform so that they can bring it to the attention of plan sponsors nationwide.”

Apex Builds ESG Rating Service and Adds Global Development Head

Apex has launched a new environmental, social and governance (ESG) data and rating service, Apex GreenLight ESG Ratings (GreenLight), and has appointed a global head of ESG Product to drive development.

GreenLight is said to deliver an in-house developed ESG rating evaluating privately held companies globally, unlocking market intelligence and delivering access to a previously opaque asset class.

The service will also deliver consulting services to support the integration of ESG across clients’ due diligence, value creation and reporting processes.

The new product line will be offered alongside Apex’s ESG reporting solutions for listed assets, launched in October 2018, delivering an enhanced set of solutions to ease the reporting and due diligence process.

Amara Goeree has been appointed as global head of ESG Product and will lead the firm’s product development and go-to-market strategy. Goeree is a sustainability specialist with almost a decade’s experience in ESG innovation within financial services. Most recently Goeree was head of Corporate Sustainability and Responsible Investment at Julius Baer. She has also acted as deputy head of the team leading the ESG ratings process for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index at RobecoSAM AG.

Apex is also currently in the process of becoming a UN PRI signatory.

Principal Global Investors Launches New Multi-Factor ETFs

Principal Global Investors has expanded its factor exchange-traded fund (ETF) suite with the launch of the three new multi-factor ETFs: Principal U.S. Large-Cap Multi-Factor Core Index ETF (PLC), Principal U.S. Small-Mid Cap Multi-Factor Core Index ETF (PSM), and Principal International Multi-Factor Core Index ETF (PDEV). The funds launched on July 24.

Multi-factor core ETFs are designed to serve as the foundation of an investor’s portfolio, complementing alpha-generating, high active share strategies. PLC, PSM and PDEV were initially developed for RobustWealth, the digital wealth management platform of Principal, to provide investors with strategic beta strategies with relatively low tracking error and competitive fees, but will also be available to the general marketplace.

The portfolio management team for the funds within Principal’s Global Systematic Solutions team (GSS) maintains innovative factor definitions and combinations that seek to enhance investors’ risk/return profile through outperformance of standard market-cap weighted indices while not increasing risk. Portfolio construction for the funds combines three distinct factors: shareholder yield, momentum and quality growth. 

“We are excited with the growth and direction of our ETF platform. These ETFs provide additional choices for our investors when building portfolios. The factor ETFs are index-aware and provide a balance of potential outperformance and limited tracking error to established market-cap weighted benchmarks. They are cost-efficient, comprised of multiple factors, and designed for use as core holdings in portfolios,” says Paul Kim, managing director, ETF Strategy at Principal Global Investors.

The Principal U.S. Large-Cap Multi-Factor Core Index ETF is a strategic beta fund designed to provide broad index-aware U.S. large cap equity exposure while incorporating a multi-factor model and modified weighting process to potentially enhance the risk/return profile. The multi-factor model seeks to identify equity securities of companies in the Nasdaq US Large Cap Index that exhibit potential for high degrees of sustainable shareholder yield (value), pricing power (quality growth), and strong momentum. The fund’s objective is to track the Nasdaq US Large Cap Select Leaders Core Index.

The Principal U.S. Small-MidCap Multi-Factor Core Index ETF is designed to provide broad index-aware U.S. small, mid-cap equity exposure while incorporating a multi-factor model and modified weighting process to potentially enhance the risk/return profile. The multi-factor model seeks to identify equity securities of companies in the Nasdaq US Small Cap Index and Nasdaq US Mid Cap Index that exhibit potential for high degrees of sustainable shareholder yield, pricing power, and strong momentum. The fund’s objective is to track the Nasdaq US Small Mid Cap Select Leaders Core Index.

Lastly, the Principal International Multi-Factor Core Index ETF will provide broad index-aware developed international equity exposure while incorporating a multi-factor model and modified weighting process to potentially enhance the risk/return profile. The multi-factor model seeks to identify equity securities of companies in the Nasdaq Developed Market Ex-US Ex-Korea Large Mid Cap Index that exhibit potential for high degrees of sustainable shareholder yield, pricing power, and strong momentum. This fund’s objective is to track the Nasdaq Developed Select Leaders Core Index.

Northern Trust Forms Options Trading Desk in Chicago

Northern Trust has established an options trading desk within its institutional brokerage business, expanding its global capabilities in response to demand from asset owners and asset managers. The Chicago-based options desk provides institutional clients globally with options trading and streamlined reporting for prime brokerage.

“As sophisticated investors navigate fluctuating markets, Northern Trust continues to broaden our capabilities to increase speed, provide transparency and manage market impact, all of which can contribute to investment performance results,” says Guy Gibson, global head of Institutional Brokerage. “This new options trading desk demonstrates our commitment to meet the evolving needs of asset manager and asset owner clients who seek tailored solutions to manage risk and portfolio exposures efficiently across global markets.”

Options trading at Northern Trust is offered through an agency model with no principal trading operation in order to drive alignment with client interests and best execution practices. Through its proprietary network, Northern Trust provides clients with access to deep pockets of diversified liquidity over a range of trading venues, while working to maintain as low a market impact as possible. Additionally, Northern Trust improves the client options trading experience with enhanced prescriptive and exploratory analytics developed in-house and through strategic partnerships.