LPL Launches No-Transaction-Fee ETF Network
LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, has introduced a no-transaction-fee, exchange-traded fund network.
Inaugural partners in the network include three of the leading ETF providers—State Street Global Advisors, Invesco and WisdomTree—with the new pricing effective December 6. The announcement is part of LPL’s multiyear strategy to lower pricing and further increase the value of the firm’s advisory platforms.
Free ETF trading with these three asset managers will be available on the firm’s Strategic Asset Management and Strategic Wealth Management platforms, designed for corporate RIA, hybrid RIA or RIA-only advisors.
Founded in 1989, LPL Financial is headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., San Diego and Boston.
ScholarShare 529 Debuts CSA Platform
ScholarShare 529, California’s official college savings plan, has launched its Children’s Savings Account (CSA) platform, designed to support local governments and non-profit organizations interested in establishing their own local CSA program.
The ScholarShare 529 platform is intended to support organizations that currently administer a citywide or regional CSA program or that may implement one through the CSA Grant Program.
Since 2010, CSA programs nationwide have relied on VistaShare Outcome Tracker to securely manage data. The tracker provides the easy importation of child data, application of additional contributions and incentives, direct interaction with parents, data reporting and seamless integration with ScholarShare 529 accounts.
For further information, visit www.ScholarShare529.com/CSA or contact ScholarShare 529 directly by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (916) 651-6380.
ScholarShare 529 is a Morningstar Gold-rated college savings plan for California residents.
Cornerstone Capital Unveils Access Impact Fund
Cornerstone Capital Group, a New York-based financial services firm, has launched its Cornerstone Capital Access Impact Fund (CCIIX), targeted to investors that want to save the world and realize a profit for their efforts.
The fund is a liquid, low-minimum solution that adheres to Cornerstone’s rigorous standards for vetting investments.
The all-cap, global thematic fund allocates its assets among multiple investment managers acting as subadvisors, whose investment strategies emphasize certain themes and/or employ various environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. The fund’s goal is long-term capital appreciation.
To achieve its investment objective, the team selected themes that advance the Sustainable Development Goals laid out by the United Nations in 2015: health, wellness and education; climate and clean energy; innovation and economic opportunity; reduced inequalities and social justice; data-driven solutions; and the circular economy.
The minimum investment for the Cornerstone Capital Access Impact Fund, distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors LLC, is $1,000. To obtain a copy of the prospectus, call (800) 986-6187.
Delta Data Releases Discounted Online Calendar Tool
Delta Data, a Columbus, Ga.-based provider of software and data management solutions for the mutual fund industry, has released the Delta Data Dividend Calendar, an online calendar tool that can manage as many as 38,000 year-end security dividend payouts in December, as well as those scheduled for the rest of the year.
The dividend calendar is the perfect management solution for busy banks, recordkeepers, broker-dealers, insurance companies and financial professionals in the pooled investment fund industry. And for a limited time, it is available at a 10% discount during December, the busiest month of the year.
The annual calendar tracks every fund’s payout and enables exact income processing for trust companies, recordkeepers and broker-dealers. The calendar also alerts users to payouts in advance by projecting forward all dividend events over the next 13 months. Missing a dividend can have catastrophic financial consequences that the calendar can help your company avoid.
Security Benefit Launches Two New Fixed-Index Annuities
Security Benefit Life Insurance Company, known as Security Benefit, headquartered in Topeka, Kan., has launched its new Strategic Growth Series Annuities, two new fixed-index annuities (FIA) that offer contract holders the ability to safely accumulate and grow retirement assets without the risk of market losses.
These modified, single-premium deferred fixed-index annuities provide the opportunity to select between the Strategic Growth Annuity, which features accumulation-oriented caps, participation rates and spreads without a bonus, and the Strategic Growth Plus Annuity, which features a 6% premium bonus with competitive caps, participation rates and spreads.
Both annuities, offered through Security Benefit’s exclusive distribution group of select IMOs, also feature new one-year and two-year index accounts based on the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Barclays VC 7% Index.
Financial representatives and their clients have the option to allocate the purchase payments among nine available interest crediting options. The new products both feature nursing home and terminal illness waivers in most states, as well as a free withdrawal of up to 10% of the prior year’s contact anniversary account value, beginning in the second contract year.