Product & Service Launches

Candidly Introduces AI Assistant

Candidly has introduced a multi-agent AI assistant to its student debt and savings optimization platform. The Conversational AI Tool, Cait, leverages expertise across the full education financing lifecycle.

“One in two American families is struggling with their education financing journey, either trying to figure out how to send their kids to college, grappling with student debt, or both,” said Candidly Founder and CEO Laurel Taylor in a statement. “With 31% of borrowers in delinquency or default … the current system is clearly failing. With Cait, we’re not just fixing a broken system; we’re reimagining how every American household navigates and takes control of their financial future.”

Cait delivers advice for student debt optimization by:

• analyzing income-driven repayment options, public service loan forgiveness, consolidation opportunities and tax-free employer-sponsored benefits;
• assisting with college planning and savings, by providing guidance on 529 education savings plans, tax-advantaged investment strategies and education financing decisions; and
• operationalizing a student loan retirement match program, allowing borrowers to build wealth while paying down student debt.

AllianceBernstein Adds Pacific Life to its Multi-Insurer Platform

AllianceBernstein has added Pacific Life to its multi-insurer platform, delivering lifetime income solutions to large defined contribution plans.

Pacific Life has been added as an insurer to both components of AllianceBernstein’s platform: Lifetime Incomes Strategy, a target-date portfolio with a flexible guaranteed income option; and AB Secure Income Portfolio, a component of LIS that is also available as a separate collective investment trust.

The Lifetime Income Strategy has approximately $12 billion in assets under management, including $4.5 billion in secured income.

Principal Transitions Administrative Responsibilities to FuturePlan

Principal Financial Group has transitioned the administrative responsibilities of Principal EASE, the firm’s largest pooled employer plan by client count, to FuturePlan.

As of July 1, FuturePlan is the pooled plan provider, 3(16) plan administrator and third-party administrator for Principal EASE, one of Principal’s four PEPs.

According to Principal, the transition is intended to allow it to “deepen its focus” on building customer-centric capabilities, investment offerings and innovations for all plans, while utilizing FuturePlan’s fiduciary and administrative expertise.

The Standard, Legacy Marketing Group Launch FI Annuity

Standard Insurance Co. and Legacy Marketing Group have partnered to offer the EclipseMark Single Premium Deferred Index Annuities.

EclipseMark annuities feature extended-rate guarantees on several interest crediting options, including a 10-year fixed rate. The products also feature a 12% vesting premium bonus, with a 10-year surrender schedule and a five-year option for clients younger than age 90. Clients can also access their funds through penalty-free withdrawals of up to 15% annually after their first contract year.

“This partnership with Legacy marks an exciting new chapter in our commitment to provide innovative financial solutions,” said Alan Assner, The Standard’s head of individual annuities, in a statement. “By combining our expertise, we can deliver an annuity product that not only provides security and stability but also empowers people to plan for a stronger financial future.”

Janus Henderson Releases Asset-Backed Securities ETF

Janus Henderson Investors announced Wednesday that it has launched the Janus Henderson Asset-Backed Securities ETF.

The portfolio will allocate to investment grade rate asset-backed securities, utilizing an investing process focused on active asset allocation, relative value analysis and security selection, based on an analysis of yield per unit risk. JABS is intended to provide investors access to short-duration, predominantly fixed-rate, securitized assets.

“We believe that spreads are more attractive as they have widened to or beyond their 10-year averages, which could present an attractive opportunity to invest in asset-backed securities,” said Nick Childs, Janus Henderson’s head of structured and quantitative fixed income, in a statement. “JABS furthers Janus Henderson’s pioneering securitized ETF suite and gives clients direct and transparent access to asset-backed securities.”

Invesco Adds 2 ETFs to Fixed-Income Platform

Invesco Ltd. added the Invesco Core Fixed Income ETF and the Invesco Intermediate Municipal ETF—tickers GTOC and INTM, respectively—to its fixed-income platform.

GTOC and INTM are managed by Invesco’s U.S. investment grade and municipal bonds team. GTOC, the firm’s latest addition to its GTO suite of exchange-traded funds, is designed as a core portfolio building block that invests in high-quality U.S. investment grade fixed-income instruments.

INTM, meanwhile, is intended to provide federally tax-exempt income by investing at least 80% of assets in investment grade municipal bonds, with a focus on high credit quality and intermediate duration.

“Invesco delivers differentiated expertise and content in ways that align with our clients’ evolving preferences, which increasingly include both active and passive strategies,” said Jason Stoneberg, Invesco’s head of product for the Americas, in a statement. “These products are designed to meet increasing client demand for fixed income and active ETFs, two of today’s most significant trends in the market.”

Crossmark Launches First 2 ETFs

Crossmark Global Investments launched two actively managed exchange-traded funds: Crossmark Large Cap Growth ETF and Crossmark Large Cap Value ETF, tickers CLCG and CLCV, marking the firm’s ETF debut.

CLCG aims to outperform the Russell 1000 Growth Index through investments in the large-cap growth segment of U.S. equities, and CLCV seeks to outperform its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, by identifying resilient value securities.

“Moving into the ETF space was a natural next step in our firm’s progression,” said Heather Lindsey, Crossmark’s head of distribution. “These ETFs offer investors an accessible tool for actively managed investment solutions while satisfying demand for values-based investment options.”

GlobalX Announces PureCap ETF Product Suite

Global X Management Co. LLC launched its PureCap Suite, a collection of five exchange-traded funds that provide uncapped, pure market capitalization.

The collection offers exposure across five sectors: consumer discretionary, communication services, information technology, consumer staples and energy. The funds apply implementation techniques, including representative sampling, in an attempt to mimic index exposure.

“Investors often think they’re getting true sector exposure, but traditional funds limit exposure to the largest companies causing investors’ performance to potentially diverge from the true performance of the sector,” said Scott Helfstein, GlobalX’s head of investment strategy, in a statement. “These products provide investors a different way to gain sector exposure, aligning their portfolios with how markets have evolved and potentially capturing the upside of the largest stocks in the sector.”

PNC Bank, CoinBase Partner to Expand Digital Solutions and Banking Services

PNC Bank and Coinbase announced Tuesday a partnership to expand digital asset access to PNC’s banking clients and institutional investors, as well as to provide select banking services to Coinbase. PNC and Coinbase are expected to develop an initial offering that will allow clients to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies.

“PNC is a market leader in delivering best-in-class products for their clients,” said Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional. “We’re thrilled to support their entry into the digital asset market with our leading Crypto as a Service platform, which provides PNC with a powerful set of tools to develop a scalable, high-growth business, built on a foundation of uncompromising security.”