Jackson Enters Private Wealth and Trust Market: Portfolio Products

Jackson National Life Insurance Company has formed its own Private Wealth & Trust group, a specialized team focused on complex planning, investment management and tax mitigation strategies for high-net-worth and ultra high-net-worth families.

This dedicated group will work with private banks and trust firms as well as families’ trusted tax and legal advisors on long-term, tax-efficient planning and wealth transfer opportunities.

“Since trust and private wealth firms operate on a fee-only business model, many of these entities haven’t traditionally utilized annuities in their practices,” said Justin Fitzpatrick, head of Private Wealth & Trust at Jackson National Life Distributors LLC (JNLD), in a statement. “However, we’re hoping to change that. We believe fiduciaries should have access to the tax deferral and income control provided by variable annuities in a commission-free form that fits their business. We’re looking forward to building relationships with the firms in this space.”

In creating this product, Jackson sought input from trust and investment management firms and created Private Wealth Shield, an investment-only, tax-deferred variable annuity developed specifically for trusts and private banks.

The new annuity is institutionally priced and available as a fee-based offering without commissions or surrender charges.

By leveraging the tax-deferred nature of variable annuities and the investment-only feature of Private Wealth Shield, portfolio managers and trust officers can help HNW and UHNW individuals and families access tax-sheltered investments, lessen tax burdens and enhance flexible portfolio construction for long-term growth over multiple generations in agency and trust accounts. For irrevocable trusts, Private Wealth Shield provides greater income and tax control and removes the need for tax-related distributions, keeping more assets in the trust for improved growth potential.

“Private trustees have long relied on tax-deferred annuities, but Private Wealth Shield’s investment-only platform offers trust and private wealth firms a more powerful solution for mitigating taxes on nonqualified assets, particularly within the high-net-worth market,” said John Poulsen, executive vice president of sales strategy at JNLD, in a statement. “As financial institutions and professionals navigate complicated fiduciary rules that can lead to difficult investment and tax management decisions, Private Wealth Shield presents a viable strategy that can help alleviate these challenges to meet the needs of their clients.”

Millennium Trust And Paychex Team Up On New Simple IRA Offering For Small Businesses

Millennium Trust Company and Paychex, Inc. have teamed up to offer a SIMPLE IRA (or a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees Individual Retirement Account) to employers with 100 or fewer employees.

“Small businesses increasingly recognize the importance of retirement plans in attracting and retaining talent, but there are barriers that keep them from investing in employer-sponsored workplace savings solutions,” said Gary Anetsberger, CEO of Millennium Trust Company. “A SIMPLE IRA plan is a low-fee retirement savings plan that offers many of the same features found in 401(k) and state-based retirement savings programs including auto enrollment and auto escalation.”

This SIMPLE IRA will include features such as auto enrollment and investment fiduciary services.

Paychex, a provider of retirement recordkeeping services for businesses, allied with Millennium Trust, a provider of specialized custody and retirement solutions, due to the firm’s extensive IRA custody and servicing capabilities.

Millennium Trust’s integrated custody and service platforms provide automatic plan adoption by employers and auto enrollment for employees. Employers, as well as their employees, also have access to the Millennium Trust Workplace Savings portal, along with call center support to efficiently manage the plan and SIMPLE IRA accounts.

Amplify ETFs Files For Blockchain Leaders ETF

Amplify ETFs filed to launch another growth-focused ETF, the Amplify Blockchain Leaders ETF. The actively-managed ETF seeks to outperform a benchmark that invests in companies that are well-positioned to profit from blockchain technologies, and exchange-listed products that invest in blockchain-based applications such as digital commodities.

According to Amplify ETFs, the Blockchain Leaders ETF seeks to provide investors with convenient exposure to companies and applications actively involved in the growing blockchain ecosystem.

Amplify ETFs, sponsored by Amplify Investments, has more than $320 million in assets across ETFs for which it is an advisor or sub-advisor.