MassMutual, BlackRock Partnership Offers Custom Asset Allocation for Retirement Plans

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massmutual/blackrock partnership MassMutual Retirement has teamed up with the BlackRock firm to introduce a customized, lower-cost alternative to managed accounts for defined contribution retirement plans.

MassMutual Managed Allocations powered by BlackRock enables financial advisors to offer professionally managed asset allocation strategies to help achieve the diversification and customization that individual plan sponsors and their advisors are increasingly seeking. MassMutual provides the recordkeeping for the Managed Allocations strategies while BlackRock assumes fiduciary responsibility for designing and updating the glidepath models and asset allocations.

“Advisors and plan sponsors want more control over the quality of the funds selected as part of the asset allocation models as well as the glidepaths available within these investment strategies” said Eric Wietsma, Senior Vice President, Sales and Worksite Education for MassMutual Retirement. “MassMutual’s experience in providing custom asset allocation strategies convinced us to team up with BlackRock to offer this next generation solution.”

“BlackRock is pleased to work closely with MassMutual to offer Managed Allocations to meet the growing demands of advisors and plan sponsors for high-quality, customized asset allocation solutions,” said Greg Porteous, Managing Director, BlackRock US Retirement Group. “Managed Allocations offers plan sponsors an innovative and scalable custom target date experience for plans that may not have the ability to go custom because of their size or the cost.”

The Managed Allocations program provides several benefits not previously available together within a single asset management solution:

• Three glidepath options, including conservative, moderate and aggressive, designed to help participants grow their assets and manage their savings to-and through-retirement. The choice of glidepath may hinge on a variety of considerations, including whether or not the plan sponsor offers a defined benefit pension, offers company stock as an investment option, employee demographics, employee savings rates and other factors that advisors can help clients navigate.

• Flexibility in asset class inclusion, as plan sponsors can choose from as few as six asset classes to as many as nine asset classes.

• Fiduciary oversight of the glidepath model and asset allocations. On an annual basis, BlackRock will rebalance the glidepath model and asset classes.

• The ability to choose from the full menu of investment managers and investment options offered through MassMutual.

 

By Joshua Bjerke