The Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) has launched a mobile application called the PSCA Knowledge Center.
The app will serve as a one-stop shop where plan sponsors can access information and resources related to qualified and non-qualified retirement plans via several channels including articles, podcasts, and the council’s own surveys. The app is geared toward plan sponsors, managers, fiduciaries, participants and others in the retirement plan industry.
“The professionals in our tight-knit community are busy and on-the-go,” says PSCA Executive Director Tony Verheyen. “The PSCA Mobile Knowledge Center allows retirement plan professionals to conveniently tap into the minds of industry thought leaders, and to hear about trends and best practices wherever they are.”
The PSCA says new content will be added regularly. The app currently features a sampling of audio podcasts covering administration, investments, compliance, communication and financial wellness topics; a sampling of articles from PSCA’s DC Insights quarterly publication, as well as articles from other associations’ publications; and a sampling of research from the latest PSCA survey.
“Plan Sponsors can’t always wait for the next white paper, conference, or webinar, and our members need to know what’s happening at PSCA,” says Verheyen. “The Mobile Knowledge Center gives everyone access to some of PSCA’s thought leadership and shows our members we are working hard for them.”
The free mobile app can be accessed via the Web and most mobile devices. More information about the app can be found online here.
Cavalier Assigns Nine Interim Sub-Advisers for Suite of Mutual Funds; Empower Retirement Paper Explores QDIAs; TOBAM Launches its First U.S. Mutual Fund.
Mutual fund manager-of-managers Cavalier Investments has appointed nine firms as interim sub-advisers for its suite of
funds.
The sub-advisers, each approved
by the Cavalier investment committee, were selected for their connection to
Cavalier’s investment philosophy and performance standards, the company said.
The firms chosen are: Beaumont Capital Management,
Bluestone Capital Management, Carden Capital, Efficient Market Advisors, Julex Capital
Management, Navellier & Associates, Parasol Investment Management, StratiFi
and Validus Growth Investors.
“These firms were carefully selected for their high-quality,
defensive-oriented, and tactical, rules-based approach to investing,” says
Gregory A. Rutherford, chief executive officer of Cavalier Investments. “We
believe portfolios should adapt to changing market conditions and each of these
firms aligns with our philosophy. Given recent market volatility, and the need
for tactical funds that are versatile and protective, we are pleased to partner
with firms that bring a proven track record with this strategy.”
The appointment comes after the bull market run and recurrent
instability have caused a need for additional strategic protective offerings, according to the firm.
The Cavalier Investments suite of funds is as follows:
Cavalier Dynamic Growth (I-Shares CDYGX); Cavalier Fundamental Growth (I-Shares
CAFGX); Cavalier Global Opportunities (I-Shares CATEX); Cavalier Hedged High
Income (I-Shares CHIIX); Cavalier Multi Strategist (I-Shares CMSFX); Cavalier Adaptive
Income (I-Shares CADTX); and Cavalier Tactical Rotation (I-Shares CTROX).
“With these funds and the proven sub-advisers and managers behind
them, investors have more options in both expanding and contracting markets,” says Scott Wetherington, chief investment officer for Cavalier.
NEXT: Empower Retirement Paper Explores QDIAs
Empower Retirement Paper Explores QDIAs
Empower Retirement and Great-West Investments recently
published “In Search of a More Dynamic QDIA [Qualified Default Investment
Alternative],” a joint white paper explaining its “dynamic QDIA” model.
The dynamic QDIA model is designed to adapt to a
participant’s evolving perception of financial decisionmaking and retirement
planning overtime. It’s based on Great-West Investment’s finding that “some
individuals, who are less interested in retirement planning in their early
working years, are likely to become increasingly engaged as they move into the
middle stage of their career.”
The model aims to leverage existing QDIA
regulations in order to direct participant savings into professionally managed investment
options such as target-date funds (TDFs) early during their careers,
Empower says. After a “pre-determined set of criteria” are met in the
future, a participant’s savings would shift toward a managed account, providing
the opportunity to receive personalized asset allocation and advisory services
while moving closer to retirement.
“The great challenge plan sponsors face is how to help their
participants who do not make decisions about their retirement plan,” says Edmund
F. Murphy III, president of Empower Retirement.
“We hear it every day. One important touch point we have with these
participants is through their default option so we wanted to explore how we
could create an innovative offering to help improve engagement.”
David Musto, president of Great-West Investments adds, “Investments
within retirement plans have the capability to be much more than off-the-shelf
products built for the average retirement plan participant. As an investor’s
financial needs change over a lifetime there is an opportunity for default
solutions to adapt to those needs.”
TOBAM, a global asset manager, has partnered with McMorgan & Company Capital Advisors, a San Francisco-based broker/dealer, to launch the TOBAM Emerging Markets Fund for institutional investors.
Being the first mutual fund launched in the U.S. by TOBAM, the fund will provide investors with access to a “cost effective, socially responsible, and liquid vehicle,” the firm said.
“We continue to focus on delivering innovative, relevant, and proven investment strategies to our clients,” says John Santaguida, CEO of McMorgan & Company. “TOBAM’s approach, targeting maximum diversification, exemplifies the qualities we seek in this pursuit. The launch of the TOBAM Emerging Markets Fund will provide clients with exposure to the return potential of emerging markets while attempting to significantly reduce volatility and preserve a conscientious approach to responsible social and environmental issues.”
McMorgan and TOBAM are also collaborating in the distribution of TOBAM’s patented Anti-Benchmark strategy to the Taft-Hartley community. The approach has garnered more than $8 billion in assets under management (AUM) globally, the firm says.