Products May 1, 2014

MullinTBG Introduces Plan Sponsor Reporting Center

May 1, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – MullinTBG has created a Plan Sponsor Reporting Center.
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The solution will offer plan sponsors more options, flexibility and convenience for accessing the plan- and participant-related information they need, the company says. Plan sponsors can run 22 new standard reports for balances, elections, transactions and enrollment, as well as customize, save and schedule a variety of reports to run on-demand.

Ad hoc report building and customization features will include:

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  • Date range;
  • Output format; and
  • Customizable report names and automatic report scheduling.

MullinTBG developed the center after receiving feedback through its Client Satisfaction Program.

“We look at our Client Satisfaction Program as an important part of our quality control initiative,” notes Senior Vice President Nancy McGinnis, who has managed the program since its inception. “By providing an objective feedback loop between the client and MullinTBG on customer service, we are able to make adjustments and improvements to our processes as necessary, like creating the Plan Sponsor Reporting Center.”

MullinTBG is a Prudential Financial company and a provider of nonqualified executive benefits, with 817 customized plans and more than $25.2 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2013, representing more than 74,400 corporate executives.

Products May 1, 2014

Invesco Launches Variable Rate Preferred Portfolio

May 1, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Invesco PowerShares Capital Management has launched the PowerShares Variable Rate Preferred Portfolio (VRP).
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The aim of this portfolio will be to provide income-seeking investors with efficient exposure to a portfolio of variable-rate preferred securities.

“We see strong demand for variable-rate preferred securities that offer the potential for high income and less interest rate risk than fixed-rate preferred securities in this current market rate environment,” says Dan Draper, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global exchange-traded funds (ETFs), based in Chicago. “As a variable-rate preferred ETF, VRP is designed to help investors meet their risk and return objectives.”

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Draper explains that variable-rate preferred securities are typically issued at rates below fixed-rate preferred securities of similar quality, in exchange for the issuer bearing most of the risk for changes in interest rates. In the rising interest rate environment, Invesco expects that their risk/reward profile and tendency to trade on a yield-to-call basis may provide variable-rate preferred securities the potential to outperform the fixed-rate preferred market. Typically, variable-rate preferred securities exhibit less sensitivity to interest rate movements than preferred securities, which is an important feature for investors interested in building a more diversified fixed-income portfolio.

Invesco’s VRP portfolio is based on the Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities Floating and Variable Rate Index. The fund will generally invest at least 90% of its total assets in the preferred securities that comprise the index. The index is a market capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of preferred stock, as well as certain types of “hybrid securities” that are functionally equivalent to preferred stock and that pay a floating or variable rate dividend or coupon. The fund and the index are rebalanced monthly.

“The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities Floating and Variable Rate Index is designed to track a unique segment of the preferred market that offers both significant income potential and reduced interest-rate sensitivity,” says Daniel Forth, head of strategic indexing at Wells Fargo, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We are excited to partner once again with Invesco PowerShares to meet the needs of today’s investors.”

More details about the PowerShares Variable Rate Preferred Portfolio can be found here.

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