Products May 4, 2015

SEI Launches Institutional Catholic Values Funds

New fund products from SEI invest according to principals set forth by the Catholic Church.
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SEI Institutional Group announced the launch of two institutional funds created to align with the investment directives set forth by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The goal of the Catholic Values Equity Fund and the Catholic Values Fixed Income Fund is to provide Catholic institutions with high quality, multi-manager products that align with their core values, without sacrificing diversification or return potential, SEI says. (See “A Push to Normalize ESG in Retirement Plans”)

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“Many faith-based organizations today are seeking solutions that allow them to better align their investments with their core values while still achieving the portfolio diversification and performance needed to support their missions and goals,” explains Paul Klauder, vice president and managing director for SEI’s institutional business. “SEI’s social screening capabilities allowed us to create these custom, multi-manager funds for institutions dedicated to investing in conjunction with Catholic standards.”

SEI says it has more than 10 years of experience designing socially responsible investing screens and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) overlays for its institutional clients. More information is at seic.com/institutions.

Products May 4, 2015

ShareBuilder 401k Waives Plan Setup Fees

The small-plan specialist is waiving plan startup fees for the next two weeks.
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ShareBuilder 401k, a specialist in exchange-traded fund (ETF)-based retirement plans for employers of all sizes, is waiving new plan setup fees from May 4 through May 17.

The firm says it often hears from smaller employers that even modest plan startup costs have prevented wider plan ownership among America’s small-business population. And it’s not just a problem that impacts the small-business labor force: ShareBuilder cites Capital One’s Spark Business Barometer Survey to show just 55% of America’s small-business owners are actively contributing to their own retirement savings. Beyond this, only 27% of small businesses in America currently deduct fees associated with retirement plans they offer for their business taxes.

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Stuart Robertson, president of ShareBuilder 401k, notes that many business owners “don’t realize how easy, economical and beneficial setting up a retirement plan can be—for themselves and their employees.” Beyond being a great and increasingly necessary recruiting tool, making available a tax-advantaged retirement savings option funded through automatic payroll deductions is far and away the most beneficial single step an employer can take to promote retirement readiness—a finding consistently borne out in industry research.

Robertson adds that ShareBuilder 401k can “have a plan started in just minutes, and our ‘No Setup Fee Week’ promotion makes it even more affordable to get a plan up and running.­”

To be eligible for free setup for a ShareBuilder 401k retirement plan, visit the ShareBuilder website and enter promo code “maysale” in the free quote/account set-up process and complete the purchase by May 17, 2015. The entire process typically takes just minutes to complete, the firm notes, and only one offer applies per employer.

There are a number of valuable benefits a 401(k) plan offers a small business owner and its employees, ShareBuilder says—not least that all matching, profit-sharing and administrative fees are tax deductible for the employer, and businesses may also receive up to a $500 tax credit to offset setup and administration charges for the plan.

ShareBuilder offered a similar promotion last year with strong results, the firm says. 

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