JP Morgan Asset Management has launched an online version of its target date evaluation program, the Target Date Compass (TDC). The program provides a framework that advisors can use to evaluate design factors such as time horizon, participant behavior, risk management and asset class diversification, and identify those target date strategies that are most closely aligned with the goals of the plan sponsor and its participants.
The company said that advisors will have real-time access to the TDC, which plots the plan sponsor to a specific target date type, and identifies the target date strategies associated with that target date type. Advisors can go online and customise it by adding or removing funds from the target date universe in order to focus on the most relevant funds. In addition, they can generate, in real-time, a detailed target date analysis report which provides a side-by-side quantitative and qualitative analysis of the selected funds. The advisor may also archive pervious reports on the system.
Once the target date type is determined, then an advisor can identify the appropriate funds, conduct due diligence, prepare a recommendation, and support the implementation of the selected target date fund. The universe of target date funds and data behind the online analysis of Target Date Compass is powered by Lipper.
David Musto, head of retail investment only retirement business at JP Morgan, said: “With a vast universe of target date funds to choose from, advisors and plan sponsors need a framework to sort out and identify the right option based on their goals. With Target Date Compass, advisors can make sure they have thoroughly assessed the elements of a fund’s design and whether or not it is the right match for the plan. We have now made the advisor’s job easier by providing them with the ability to go online to customize and generate these reports more efficiently, so that they can serve their clients in a timely way.”
