Product & Service Launches

Principal Announces TDF Suite With ARS’s Lifetime Income Builder

Principal Financial Group Inc. is launching a target-date-fund suite embedded with Advantage Retirement Solutions LLC’s in-plan annuity option for participants to set up guaranteed distributions in retirement, according to an announcement.

ARS’ proprietary Lifetime Income Builder functions like an investment for plan participants while being backed by a group fixed-indexed annuity with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit.

Starting next year, Principal will offer target-date series that include both active and passive investment options for plan sponsors using its recordkeeping services.

The recordkeeper and asset manager will also encourage plan sponsors to use the TDF as the qualified default investment alternative or the default investment option to “help remove difficult participant-level decisions that often lead to confusion or inertia,” according to the announcement.

Capital Group, KKR File for 2 Public-Private Fixed-Income Funds

Capital Group Companies Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc. registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission two public-private fixed-income funds, Capital Group KKR Core Plus+ and Capital Group KKR Multi-Sector+. The firms expect the funds to launch in the first half of 2025, pending approval.

The filings follow the firms’ announcement that they would be creating a category of hybrid public-private investment funds with the goal of giving investors access to private markets in their portfolios. The funds will be offered via financial professionals in the U.S. wealth market, the firms noted.

“These strategies aim to solve the access gap that individual investors currently face when it comes to private investments, and we expect these two public-private strategies will be the first of many across asset classes and geographies,” Holly Framsted, head of global product strategy and development at Capital Group, said in a statement.

Capital Group is responsible for the overall fund strategies, with KKR leading on the private market offerings. The former manages more than $555 billion in public fixed-income assets, while KKR manages more than $100 billion in private credit.

North American and AMS Financial Services Group Announce Max Elite Annuities

Fixed-index-annuity provider North American Co. for Life and Health Insurance, a member company of Sammons Financial Group Inc., is partnering with AMS Financial Services Group on a new annuity product series.

The companies announced this week the Max Elite Accumulation FIA series and the Max Elite Guaranteed MYGA series, both of which will be wholesaled by AMS and sold through bank and broker/dealer channels. Each series will offer five-, seven- and 10-year surrender charge options.

“Right now, the U.S. annuities marketplace has broad client attraction as consumers see the value of guaranteed income,” Rob TeKolste, president of Sammons Independent Annuity Group, said in a statement. “We intend to lead the market by delivering a product that may help clients grow their nest egg.”

Candidly Unveils Onward, a Debt Optimization Solution for the Workplace

Candidly, an artificial intelligence-backed student debt and savings optimization platform, has launched a new consumer debt management program for retirement plan advisers, plan sponsors and recordkeepers to offer to participants.

Candidly’s Onward, which has been available as an application programming interface, will in 2025 have a full “front-end experience,” according to the firm. The new platform’s goal is to help consumers best allocate their money across debt, savings and investing to maximize interest-bearing deposits.

Onward can be used as a “plug-and-play” option in existing employer-sponsored benefits, including health care savings accounts, flexible savings accounts, brokerage accounts and retirement accounts.

“Lowering consumer cost of debt, and directing those dollars into first time deposits, savings, and retirement savings, transforms financial outcomes today and tomorrow,” Candidly CEO Laurel Taylor said in a statement.