OneAmerica wants to close the information gap for retirement plan advisors considering collective investment trusts (CITs) as a potential investment option for retirement plan clients.
To that end, the Indianapolis-based company with over $63 billion in retirement plan assets under administration is unveiling a new website, created in collaboration with Broadridge Advisor Solutions, that offers an online repository of CIT product information.
CITs are popular due to their flexibility and cost effectiveness, but a disadvantage that exists is the inability to quickly and easily find information about the funds and important documents such as a declaration of trust. The new online portal is intended to provide quick and easy access to these types of information on-demand.
“Time is money, and we’re eliminating a hassle so advisors can identify what makes the most financial sense for their clients, including CITs, which are quickly becoming popular in small and large retirement plans,” said Terry Burns, assistant vice president of products and investments at OneAmerica. “The website is a testament to our service-focused philosophy. We believe our effort is market-leading in proactively providing information on CITs.”
CITs are attractive to some plan advisors because the overhead associated with compliance and regulation isn’t as time-consuming as traditional mutual funds, therefore making them a cost-effective option for plans. CITs have evolved over time and many of them are clones of traditional mutual funds — offering the same investment management team, investment composition and similar returns.
“By eliminating the burden of having to conduct independent research, the CIT website is just another example of how our growing company is evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients,” said Sandy McCarthy, president of OneAmerica Retirement Services. “The launch of the website is also our way of reinforcing to the industry our longstanding support of CITs as a viable option for retirement plans of all sizes, not just larger ones.”
The website can be accessed at OneAmerica.com/CIThub.