American Funds, a family of mutual funds from Capital Group, has launched Target Date ProView, a new interactive target date fund evaluation tool that aligns with the Department of Labor’s 2013 guidance for retirement plan fiduciaries.
ProView is a quantitative, web-based tool powered by Morningstar® data that focuses on the most widely used factors for consideration, including glide path, returns, risk, expenses, and manager and fund profiles. The interface is mobile-friendly and allows users to easily generate tailored, unbranded reports for client presentations.
TDF Evaluation Survey
Capital Group recently surveyed retirement plan advisors, plan sponsors and consultants to determine how and with what frequency target date funds are evaluated by those who consider themselves to be fiduciaries. Of the 691 respondents:
- Two out of three would recommend or expect to do a complete due diligence evaluation of the target date funds in their retirement plans at least every two years, but a quarter expect the frequency to be every three years or longer.
- Retirement plan advisors recommend more frequent evaluation as compared with plan sponsors’ expected frequency.
- More than a third (35%) didn’t conduct a full target date fund evaluation or a deep due diligence more frequently because they feel that the process “takes too much time” or “is too complex.”
ProView differentiates itself in the marketplace by offering a “traditional view” and a “deeper view” into target date fund metrics. The “traditional view” allows users to view and display the metrics most commonly used in the industry, while the “deeper view” allows for more in-depth evaluation of the data.
The tool is available for financial professionals with participating dealers at www.americanfunds.com/proview.
