Albridge Solutions adds calculation options

Albridge Solutions Inc. of Lawrenceville, N.J., now offers calculations for internal rate of return and daily time-weighted return rates in its portfolio-accounting and performance-reporting solution.
The new IRR and the previously available Modified Dietz formulas allow financial advisers to use a dollar-weighted calculation in determining the performance of a portfolio. These calculations take into greater account the timing and size of portfolio cash flows and their impact on performance.
The daily time-weighted calculation is tailored more to meet the needs of asset managers looking to follow the CFA Institute (formerly AIMR) standards for measuring investment performance. This calculation is less affected by the timing and size of cash flows on performance over time.

Advisor Resources unveils low-cost VA
The Louisville, Ky.-based Advisor Resources division of AEGON USA Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has partnered with Transamerica Life Insurance Co. of Cedar Rapids to introduce Transamerica Advisor Elite, a lower-cost variable annuity that has no surrender fees and no front-end sales loads.
For an additional fee, the annuity can be combined with guaranteed lifetime withdrawals and an additional death benefit through its optional living-benefit rider, Income Select for Life.

Commonwealth offers adviser newsletters
Commonwealth Financial Network of Waltham, Mass., has partnered with Marlborough, Mass.-based Forefield Inc. to provide its advisers customizable wealth management newsletters to share with existing and prospective clients.
Advisers can choose from a variety of NASD-reviewed wealth management articles to create each newsletter, including topics such as retirement income planning, wealth transfer and insurance planning.
The newsletter service also offers articles covering broader life issues involving finances.  
Each newsletter can be customized with an adviser’s proprietary content and branding, such as logo and color scheme.
Newsletters can be distributed via e-mail, website, or standard mail. Advisers may create as many or as few newsletters as they choose.

FTSE makes index data available on Bloomberg
FTSE Group has unveiled a data service for investors, using the most popular indexes from the London-based company.
Through the new service, investors can access real-time constituent data via Bloomberg Professional. 
The collaboration with Bloomberg will allow users access to real-time constituent weights, names and market capitalizations for a range of FTSE country, sector, strategy and partner indexes.
The partnership with Bloomberg will also allow for the pass-through of all FTSE end-of-day constituent files on Bloomberg through a direct link to the FTSE file transfer protocol site.

RiverSource Investments creates futures contracts
RiverSource Investments LLC, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial Inc., has launched two single-strategy mutual funds — RiverSource Strategic Income Allocation Fund and RiverSource Disciplined Large Cap Growth Fund.
The former is designed to help investors meet their income needs, while the latter is designed to help investors accumulate assets.

U.S. Futures Exchange launches 2 mutual funds
U.S. Futures Exchange LLC of Chicago is offering futures contracts on 15 style- and capitalization-based indexes from Chicago-based Morningstar Inc., as well as its U.S. market index.
The futures contracts will allow investment advisers, institutions and retail investors to hedge against the performance of the sectors represented in Morningstar’s indexes.

Ameritas Direct relaunches no-load VA
Ameritas Direct Advisor Services, a subsidiary of Lincoln, Neb.-based Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., has introduced the Ameritas Advisor Select No-Load Variable Annuity, a relaunch of a no-load VA option that was designed for active investors.
Featuring 22 investment options managed by Bethesda, Md.-based ProFund Advisors LLC, this annuity provides advisers and consumers the ability to perform short-term trading within a tax-deferred vehicle.

Metrics Partners offers 401(k) surveys
Metrics Partners of Miami, an electronic marketing firm that specializes in delivering messages to retirement professionals, has introduced 401kSurveys, a product for companies seeking market intelligence from plan sponsors.
The company also has completed a database that targets financial planning firms that specialize in retirement plan advisory services, and it is in the process of completing a certified public accountant database.

FundQuest introduces conversion tool
FundQuest Inc. of Boston has introduced a service designed to assist firms with the conversion of fee-based brokerage accounts to advisory or commission accounts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that fee-based brokerage accounts must be converted to an advisory account or a commission account.
The new service automates that conversion, helping firms comply with the ruling.

Golub Group rolls out SMA program
The Golub Group of San Mateo, Calif., has rolled out a separately managed account program for financial planning and wealth management firms, and their clients.
Dubbed the Golub Group SMA Program, the new service is available to advisers through the Schwab Institutional Marketplace platform and includes core equity, equity income and balanced investment portfolios.
The accounts are managed by a team of financial services professionals using the firm’s investment strategy that seeks to create wealth by managing risk.

TradeKing provides ETF center on site
TradeKing, an online-trading site based in Boca Raton, Fla., has added an ETF Center to its website.
The feature is designed to consolidate a number of educational tools and screens on one web-based platform. TradeKing is an online subsidiary of broker-dealer Kane Reid Securities Group Inc.

Franklin Templeton adds all-cap-value fund
Franklin Templeton Investments of San Mateo, Calif., has launched the Franklin All Cap Value Fund, managed by Bill Lippman and Steve Raineri of the company’s value equity team.
The fund, designed to serve as a core equity holding, seeks long-term total return by investing primarily in equity securities of companies of any size which the managers think are undervalued and which have the potential for capital appreciation.

Allianz Life launches deferred VA
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, a Minneapolis-based unit of insurance company Allianz SE of Munich, Germany, has launched the Allianz Vision Variable Annuity.
It is a deferred variable annuity designed to maximize retirement income.

Pershing expands managed accounts
Pershing LLC, a Jersey City, N.J.-based subsidiary of the Bank of New York Co. Inc., has launched Managed Account Network, an open-architecture platform that allows introducing broker-dealer firms to offer clients a range of managed-account solutions from industry-recognized turnkey asset management program providers.

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