J.P. Morgan Launches TDF Series

SmartRetirement Blend keeps the overall asset allocation and glide path design of SmartRetirement target-date funds (TDFs), while incorporating the selection of some passive investments for fee efficiency.

The funds are designed to give strong risk adjusted returns over market cycles, with the goal of getting as many participants to a minimum wage replacement threshold as possible at the point of retirement.

The series seeks to add value through: 

• Diversified strategic asset allocation, grounded in participant behavior research;
• Underlying manager selection screened from J.P. Morgan’s platform of 240-plus investment strategies for alpha delivery with low correlation to other underlying strategies. The funds leverage this process to incorporate passive investing in multiple asset classes, including domestic U.S. equities; and
• Tactical asset allocation helps the fund series position for market inefficiencies and relative value opportunities.

“Plan sponsors are increasingly sensitive to fees, yet simultaneously take their fiduciary duty very seriously in seeking the most suitable investment options for their participants to help improve retirement outcomes,” said Daniel Oldroyd, SmartRetirement portfolio manager in J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s GMAG.

The fund’s management team, overseen by Anne Lester, is part of a multi-asset boutique within J.P. Morgan.