AST Trust Expands Collective Fund Services with Launch of Groundbreaking ETF Funds for Retirement Plans; Revolutionary Structure Provides Same-Day Settlement.PHOENIX -- AST (AST Computer, Irvine, CA) A PC manufacturer founded in 1980 by Albert Wong, Safi Quershey and Tom Yuen (A, S and T). It offered a complete line of PCs that sold through its dealer channel. Trust Company ("AST"), a division of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, today announced the launch of 10 ETF ETF See Exchange Traded Fund. ETF See exchange-traded fund (ETF). collective funds for the retirement community. The ETF collective funds are an exciting enhancement to the services currently offered by AST to its institutional clients. Collective funds, which operate similarly to mutual funds, are exclusively available to qualified retirement plans. AST's ETF funds open the door for retirement plans and plan participants Plan participants Employees or other beneficiaries who are eligible to receive benefits from a company's employee benefit plan. to take advantage of one of the most popular investment products of the 21st century. AST has revolutionized the use of ETFs for retirement plans by cost-effectively delivering them through collective funds so that they can be used by 401(k) plans like any other investment option. AST's launch consists of 10 ETF collective funds, including large-cap Large-cap A stock with a high level of capitalization, usually at least $5 billion market value. large-cap 1. Of or relating to the common stock of a big corporation that has considerable retained earnings and a large amount of , mid-cap Mid-cap Short for "Middle Cap," mid cap refers to stocks with a market capitalization of between $2 billion to $10 billion. Notes: As the name implies, a mid-cap is in the middle of the pack. A mid-cap isn't too big, but at the same time has a relatively decent market cap. , small-cap, emerging markets, international, equity, short-term and investment-grade bond funds choices. The collective funds are available for trading through FundSERV, the mutual fund clearing platform for the National Securities Clearing Corporation ("NSCC See National Securities Clearing Corporation. NSCC See National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). "), thereby making the services widely accessible to plan sponsors. "The retirement community has been thirsting for an attractive ETF solution, and AST is the first company to deliver it in a cost-effective and common structure for 401(k)s and other qualified plans," said Steve Ferber, Executive Vice President of Collective Fund Operations at AST. "Until now, the features of ETFs have not been consistent with the trading needs of daily valued retirement plans. By leveraging our collective fund services, we've married the features of an ETF with the needs of the retirement market." The funds will initially be available through several of the leading retirement platforms and bundled plan providers, a number AST expects to increase. AST is also partnering with many of the nation's most respected investment managers to create additional collective funds to address the needs of the retirement market. "We at AST are dedicated to providing a full spectrum of fiduciary fiduciary (fĭd  `shēĕ'rē), in law, a person who is obliged to discharge faithfully a responsibility of trust toward another. services to our institutional clients; we believe that many retirement plan sponsors, in search of lower fees, and investment managers, in seeking to grow their business, will look to leverage collective funds," said Greg Tschider, President of AST Trust Company. About AST Trust Company AST Trust Company (http://www.asttrustco.com), a division of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, is an independent trust company that provides directed trustee, trust administration and back-office services to financial advisors who serve individuals, families, companies, foundations, organizations and financial institutions. AST is one of the largest independent trust companies in the U.S. Founded in 1971, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company - the nation's largest, independent stock transfer and trust company - currently services more than six million shareholder accounts on behalf of more than 2,500 public company equity issuers. Headquartered in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. with trust operations based in Phoenix and offices in Seattle and Denver, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company has been recognized as the number one transfer agent in the U.S. six years in a row by Group Five's Shareowner share·own·er n. See shareholder. Noun 1. shareowner - someone who holds shares of stock in a corporation shareholder, stockholder investor - someone who commits capital in order to gain financial returns Services Corporate Satisfaction Study. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion