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Portfolio > Mutual Funds

Fidelity Expands Thematic Lineup to 16 Funds: Portfolio Products

By Jeff Berman

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Fidelity added four new thematic funds to its lineup, boosting the total number of its thematic investment products to 16 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, it said.

The new funds are the Fidelity Enduring Opportunities Fund (FEOPX with a net expense ratio of 1.1%), Fidelity Infrastructure Fund (FNSTX, 1% net expense ratio), Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund (FULVX, 0.95% expense ratio), and Fidelity Stocks for Inflation ETF (FCPI, 0.29% expense ratio).

They are available to individual investors and via workplace retirement plans, Fidelity said. Fidelity Stocks for Inflation ETF will also be available via third-party financial advisors, it said. The mutual funds have no investment minimums, while the ETF has an investment minimum of one share.

“Thematic investing at Fidelity allows customers to invest directly in long-term trends and themes that best aligns with their interests or objectives, while accessing Fidelity’s differentiated investment research and portfolio management expertise,” the firm said.

Envestnet Adds 5 Yodlee FinApps to MyBlocks

Envestnet added five Yodlee FinApps to the MyBlocks client-engagement tool from MoneyGuide.

As with prior blocks, the new blocks feed account data into a MoneyGuide financial plan, “delivering broader advice while removing administrative barriers and making engagement easy,” the company said.

The five new blocks are: AI Fincheck, which measures financial health with an AI-driven assistant that automates and improves daily management; Cash Flow Analysis, which tracks finances to evaluate and forecast future expenses and income; Investment Holdings, which provides a “holistic view of a portfolio, allowing users to drill down into sectors and individual holdings”; NetWorth Summary, providing a “situational snapshot with an aggregated view of assets and liabilities [that] are continually updated”; and OK to Spend, which “outlines cash-flow capabilities with visibility into financial obligations and future income,” Envestnet said.

They are available to MoneyGuide customers who have a MyBlocks subscription and have licensed Yodlee data aggregation.

Meanwhile, MyBlocks and the Yodlee apps available via MyBlocks are expected to be available to RIAs using the Envestnet Tamarac platform in 2020, the company said. Envestnet bought Tamarac in 2012, Yodlee in 2015 and MoneyGuide parent PIEtech in March this year. Envestnet announced the initial integration of MyBlocks and Yodlee FinApps in July.

CAIS Rolls Out AI Learning System for Advisors

CAIS IQ is a new learning system using artificial intelligence and learning science that helps independent financial advisors “learn faster, remember longer, and master alternative investments,” according to CAIS, which launched its financial technology platform in 2009.

The new learning system “reduces the alternative investment learning curve by combining expert content with predictive algorithms that adapt to how each individual learns best,” the company said.

CAIS IQ is powered by an adaptive learning platform called Cerego that uses AI and machine learning to “scale proven cognitive science and empowers humans to learn faster and remember longer.”

Citing a 2018 report, CAIS said 84% of investors plan to increase their allocation to alternatives in the next few years, but many financial advisors said they want to deepen their understanding of these strategies before implementing them. CAIS IQ was designed to meet those needs, it said.

“Advisors don’t need more white papers and powerpoints but rather an effective, easy-to-use content delivery system,” Matt Brown, CAIS CEO and founder said in a statement.

Westwood Expands Sensible Fees to 3 Mutual Funds

Westwood Holdings Group expanded its Sensible Fees performance-based pricing model to three mutual funds operating within its newly-formed Multi-Asset franchise.

The new performance fee structure is available in Westwood’s Alternative Income, High Income and Total Return Funds. Investors will pay a minimum net total expense ratio of 0.35% if the fund matches or underperforms the benchmark. Additional fees would apply only if the Alternative Income Fund outperforms the benchmark, with a maximum net total expense ratio of 0.99%, the Dallas-based firm said.

The new approach was “designed to appeal to mutual fund investors in a prospective lower return environment when exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Index funds may disappoint investors,” Westwood said.

The Sensible Fees approach “enables investors to pay significantly lower fees during periods of negative or underperformance which helps them handle the cyclicality inherent in active management while realizing better net long-term returns relative to funds with high, fixed expense ratios,” said Adrian Helfert, director of Multi-Asset Portfolios.

Hartford Expands Fixed Income Offerings

Hartford Funds launched its first closed-end interval fund, Hartford Schroders Opportunistic Income Fund (HSQIX).

The fund expands the number of investment options within Hartford’s fixed income product suite to include the broad range of securitized investments. It was “designed to offer the potential for risk-adjusted returns across market cycles that can exceed those of funds that do not invest in this asset class,” the firm said.

The fund is sub-advised by Schroder Investment Management North America and is designed to provide current income and long-term total return consistent with preservation of capital by investing in U.S. and foreign fixed and floating rate securitized credit instruments and a variety of loan investment types, Hartford said.

Total annual fund operating expenses are 2.15% for Class A shares, 1.85% for Class I and 1.65% for Class SDR shares. There’s also an annual management fee of 1.15% on the first $1 billion and 1.10% in excess of $1 billion of the average daily value of the fund’s net assets, the company said.

Direxion Launches 4 New ETFs

Direxion launched four new ETFs that the New York company said offers traders “daily 3X leveraged exposure, before fees and expenses, of either 300%, or 300% of the inverse (or opposite), of the performance” of the S&P 500 High Beta Index and the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index.

The new ETFs are: Direxion Daily S&P 500 High Beta Bull 3X Shares (HIBL, with a net expense ratio of 1.12%), Direxion Daily S&P 500 High Beta Bear 3X Shares (HIBS) and Direxion Daily Dow Jones Internet Bear 3X Shares (WEBS) — both with a 1.07% net expense ratio — and Direxion Daily Dow Jones Internet Bull 3X Shares (WEBL, 1.17% net expense ratio).

The S&P 500 High Beta Index provides concentrated exposure to 100 stocks in the S&P 500 Index with the highest sensitivity over the last 12 months, which “may lead to magnified market movements,” while the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index tracks the performance of the 40 largest and most actively traded U.S. internet technology and commerce companies, Direxion noted.

Cannon Introduces 3 New Certification Programs

Consulting firm Cannon Financial Institute added three new certification programs: Certified Retirement Plan Professionals, Certified Corporate Trust Professionals and Certified Trust Operations Professionals.

The certifications were “designed to help financial professionals gain competencies in the areas of retirement, corporate trust, and trust operations,” the Athens, Georgia-based firm said.

CRPP addresses the retirement industry’s complex regulatory obligations, while CCTP provides students “confidence to address any corporate trust issues with ease and utmost proficiency.” CTOP “testifies to the broad knowledge of the operations field and helps professionals demonstrate to executive management their competence in the field and how they can shoulder the challenges that might occur in the operations division,” Cannon said.

Klaros Group to Help Fintechs

New advisory and investment firm Klaros Group is out to help fintechs and other firms “find practical ways to build scale and momentum while navigating the complexities of U.S. and international financial services regulation,” it said.

The San Francisco firm was started by financial services industry veterans Konrad Alt, ex- Promontory Financial Group COO; Brian Graham, ex-BancAlliance CEO; and Adam Shapiro, ex-BBVA global head of strategy-Open Platform.

Check out last week’s portfolio product roundup here: Principal Expands D2C Advisor Offering With New Advice Program: Portfolio Products

Jeff Berman

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