Product & Service Launches

AllianceBernstein, Brookfield, Carlyle Launch Private Markets Offering for DC Plans

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P., Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and the Carlyle Group Inc. unveiled ABC [One], a private markets solution for defined contribution retirement plans. Designed to be implemented alongside an existing target-date fund or managed-account solution, ABC [ONE] is intended to be a single source of private-markets exposure for a DC plan’s qualified default investment alternative.

ABC [ONE] will use AB’s proprietary DC technology platform and adjust participants’ private asset allocations across private credit, real assets and equity. AB will manage the allocation to the three private market asset classes alongside a plan’s existing QDIA, based on participants’ ages and preferences.

Global alternative investment firm Brookfield will manage the private real assets component, global investment firm Carlyle will manage the private equity component, and AB will manage the private credit allocations.

Aon Launches Digital Placement Exchange Platform

Aon PLC announced the launch of Digital Placement Exchange, a trading platform designed to allow insurers to define their underwriting appetite digitally.

Aon DPX will use structured data and algorithmic trading to efficiently connect risk and capital, according to the announcement. The platform is expected to integrate with Aon Broker Copilot, Aon’s placement, analytics and broking technology, to embed digital trading into brokers’ workflows.

Partners Group Announces Private Equity Strategy

Private markets firm Partners Group A.G. announced the launch of Total Return Strategy, a private equity strategy focused on lower-leverage investments and designed to deliver recurring income and long-term equity appreciation.

The strategy will invest in businesses with durable cash flows and strong foundational sectors, such as industrial manufacturing, distribution and healthcare, according to the announcement. TRS targets gross total returns in the mid-teens, along with a targeted initial gross annual dividend yield of between 5% and 8%.

SEI Releases High Yield Bond, Alternative Credit ETF

SEI Investments Co. converted a 30-year-old high-yield mutual fund into the SEI High Yield Bond & Alternative Credit ETF, an actively managed exchange-traded fund that invests in fixed-income securities.

The ETF combines a multi-manager, high-yield bond allocation with an internally managed collateralized loan obligation sleeve, offering exposure across traditional and alternative credit markets, according to the announcement.

SEI Investments Management Corp. manages a portion of the fund’s assets. The remaining assets are managed by Ares Capital Management II LLC, Benefit Street Partners LLC, Blackstone Credit Systematic Strategies LLC, Brigade Capital Management LP and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.

Berwyn Group Releases Death Data Detector

The Berwyn Group Inc., a population and death-audit solution provider, launched BerwynDMF, a death data product built as an alternative to the Social Security Administration’s Limited Access Death Master File. BerwynDMF is designed to be a more complete alternative to the LADMF, while remaining compatible with existing LAMDF workflows.

BerwynDMF consolidates Berwyn’s multi-source death detection infrastructure into a single, continually updated file, allowing organizations to minimize the lag between a death and its detection. The product detects approximately 70% of U.S. deaths weekly, compared with LADMF’s current rate of less than 16%.

Berwyn Group services different industries with need for death audit information, including pension funds and third-party administrators.

The product is designed to serve three primary markets:

• Insurance: Life and annuity carriers can apply BerwynDMF to claims adjudication, fraud detection, overpayment prevention and underwriting accuracy;
• Healthcare: Healthcare and managed care organizations can apply the product to audit readiness, deceased member removal and detection of fraudulent claims submitted under deceased members’ identities; and
• Financial services: Banks, broker/dealers, custodians and credit unions can use BerwynDMF to support account fraud prevention, estate administration workflows, individual retirement account distribution triggering and state unclaimed property compliance.