Advisors are
apparently making good use of lifecycle and lifestyle funds, according
to a recent survey by Russell Investment Group.
The poll of 63 advisors who attended
the company's annual conference in April found that 76% currently
recommend these types of funds to their clients. They also said that
client assets devoted to these funds have increased over the past year.
Lifecycle and lifestyle funds are
typically tailored to meet an investor's needs by tailoring asset
allocation to various risk tolerance levels and specific retirement
dates.
Sixty-three
percent of the respondents said that their primary use of these
products is in retirement planning.
They also said that in choosing among
available lifecycle and lifestyle investment products, the most
important factors were investment process, 58%; asset allocation, 52%,
and underlying manager selection, 50%. Manager brand name was
considered important by only 27% of respondents.
A majority of advisors also cited
built-in diversification, ease of use and automatic rebalancing as
important criteria from a client's perspective, according to the survey.
"Lifestyle and lifecycle products can
be an excellent vehicle for helping clients reach their retirement
goals and it is pretty clear that advisors recognize this and are
successfully helping their clients understand the benefits of using
these types of products," said Kristin Gibson, director of national
accounts for Russell Retirement Services.