Victory Capital Management Inc. and Milliman USA Inc. have teamed up to offer services for corporate defined benefit plans, including investment management, asset allocation, custody, actuarial services, regulatory reporting and employee communications.
"We expect a (roughly) 30% reduction in fees" from the new bundled defined benefit package, said Al Barnabei, product manager for Victory, in Cleveland.
The two companies will target defined benefit plans with $5 million to $30 million in assets.
"We offer institutional-priced investment products," Mr. Barnabei said. "A lot of sponsors in this market use retail mutual funds," whose fees are higher.
Victory expects to be the sole investment manager for clients in the program. It also will provide investment policy, asset allocation and custody services. Milliman will provide actuarial services, regulatory reporting and employee communications, including a website for participants.
For each client, the website will contain information on the defined benefit plan terms, salary growth, Social Security benefits and, where available, 401(k) holdings. All that information will allow participants to engage in retirement-planning scenarios on the website.
"We hope the website will enable employees to appreciate and understand the much neglected defined benefit plan, and recognize its value," Mr. Barnabei said.
