Pensionmark Introduces Custom TDFs

Pensionmark Financial Group has launched a suite of custom target-date funds (TDFs), the Pensionmark SmartLifecycle Funds. The funds were created by Wilmington Trust, which will act as trustee, and BlackRock will serve as the manager of the portfolios and their glide paths.

The goal of the fund is to provide returns in line with market indexes, but with a lower risk profile. “If we can achieve that, we believe we can curb participant tendencies to move to cash during the bottom of a cycle and then to re-invest at the top,” says Michael Woods, executive vice president at Pensionmark. “Keeping people invested may be one of the most substantial influences we can have on the retirement savings of Americans.”

The Pensionmark SmartLifecycle Funds resemble solutions that are currently only found at mega plans, adds Ronnie Cox, director of investments and technology at Pensionmark. During declining markets, the funds will seek to track minimum-volatility domestic and international equity indexes, while still participating in potential gains during rising markets.

Pensionmark’s President and CEO Troy Hammond adds: “Participants are most concerned about loss, and plan sponsors about the appropriateness and cost of their target-date solutions. By utilizing minimum volatility strategies, a collective trust chassis and the ability for participants to engage with us to adjust their position along the glide path, we have sought to effectively address all of these needs in a way that has never been seen before.”