Transamerica, FuturePlan by Ascensus, and Natixis Investment Managers Debut Group Plan Solution with Focus on ESG Investments

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Mar 23, 2022, 09:02 ET

BALTIMORE, March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Transamerica announced today that it is partnering with FuturePlan by Ascensus, Natixis Investment Managers and LeafHouse Financial Advisors, LLC to introduce an innovative group plan solution featuring the first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-driven target date series. The Sustainable Futures ESG Group Plan Solution makes retirement plan sponsorship easier for employers by reducing time-consuming administrative burdens and mitigating fiduciary risk. In addition, a fully integrated 100-point payroll data integrity check helps prevent common and potentially costly errors.

The solution offers a broad range of investment choices, including the industry's first ESG-driven target-date series, Natixis Sustainable Future Funds^®, which launched in 2017. The target date suite is powered by the intentional selection of investment managers that consider ESG factors among other essential criteria in their decision-making processes, to drive better financial outcomes for participants over the long run.

Open to both existing and start-up 401(k) plans, The Sustainable Futures ESG Group Plan Solution provides guided onboarding and enrollment support, as well as ongoing service from a dedicated FuturePlan team with seamless integration into Transamerica's recordkeeping system. FuturePlan serves as the third party administrator and 3(16) plan administrator. Transamerica is the plan's recordkeeper, and LeafHouse Financial Advisors, LLC is the 3(38) fiduciary investment manager.

"Transamerica is a pioneer and has long advocated for group plan solutions, having established our first pooled plan solution in 2001. We continue to innovate by partnering with providers that share our drive to bring the best solutions to our retirement plan sponsors and their participants," said Darren Zino, Senior Managing Director of U.S. Retirement Distribution at Transamerica. "The Sustainable Futures ESG Group Plan Solution allows employers and their financial consultants who seek an ESG approach to lighten the administrative and fiduciary burdens of sponsoring a retirement plan. This benefit allows them to focus on their business growth while offering a crucial benefit to their employees."

Participating employers will enjoy access to a combined team of industry-leading plan professionals not otherwise available outside of this unique pooled arrangement. As the third party administrator, FuturePlan offers the FuturePlan Fiduciary Assistant^® program, a proprietary 100-point payroll data integrity check designed to prevent most common plan errors flagged in U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS audits. Fiduciary Assistant works in conjunction with Transamerica's PayStart^® approved payroll vendors.

Fund selectors cite a number of factors contributing to increased demand for ESG. Investors' growing social awareness tops the list for increased demand from investors, and 86% of fund selectors plan to maintain or increase their ESG offering, according to Natixis Investment Managers' 2021 ESG Investor Insight Report.

"Investment professionals are increasingly incorporating ESG data into their investment process, and plan participants are indicating a strong preference for choices that are sustainable, responsible or ESG driven," said Liana Magner, Executive Vice President and Head of Retirement and Institutional in the U.S. at Natixis Investment Managers. "We are committed to helping plan advisors understand the crucial role ESG can play in retirement plans, and we're pleased to partner with Transamerica in making it even easier for investment professionals to have access to ESG options in their retirement plans."

"The Sustainable Futures ESG Group Plan Solution is an outstanding opportunity to further broaden our pooled plan options with the addition of an ESG offering," said Kasey Price, FuturePlan's Head of Sales. "We're excited to align the advantages of our pooled plan product with environmental and socially conscious investing."

"LeafHouse Financial pioneered the concepts of ESG integration into retirement plan lineups with LIST™, the LeafHouse Investment Sustainability Technology. We are honored to bring that technology to the table with industry leaders like Transamerica, FuturePlan and Natixis," said Todd Kading, Chief Executive Officer at LeafHouse Financial, LLC. "We believe that this program will allow participants to benefit from investing for a sustainable future."

To learn more about The Sustainable Futures ESG Group Plan Solution, employers and financial professionals can contact FuturePlan at (866) 929-2525 or [email protected].

Registered funds are available by prospectus only. Any mutual fund offered under the plan is distributed by that particular fund's associated fund family and its affiliated broker-dealer or other broker-dealers with effective selling agreements such as Transamerica Investors Securities Corporation (TISC), member FINRA, 440 Mamaroneck Avenue, Harrison, NY 10528. For more information on any registered fund, please call Transamerica Retirement Solutions at 800-755-5801 for a free summary prospectus (if available) and/or prospectus. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal and there is no guarantee of profits. You should consider the objectives, risks, charges and expenses of an investment carefully before investing. The summary prospectus and prospectus contain this and other information. Read them carefully before you invest. All Transamerica companies identified are affiliated, but are not affiliated with any other entity referenced.

ESG Investing Risk: The Funds' Environmental, Sustainable, Governance (ESG) investment approach could cause the Funds to perform differently compared to funds that do not have such an approach or compared to the market as a whole. The Funds' application of ESG-related considerations may affect the Funds' exposure to certain issuers, industries, sectors, style factors or other characteristics and may impact the relative performance of the Funds – positively or negatively – depending on the relative performance of such investments. Views on what constitutes "ESG investing" and therefore what investments are appropriate for a fund that has an ESG investment approach, may differ by fund, adviser, and investor. There is no guarantee that the Adviser's efforts to select investments based on ESG practices will be successful.

About Transamerica
With a history that dates back more than 100 years, Transamerica is recognized as a leading provider of life insurance, retirement, and investment solutions, serving millions of customers throughout the United States. Recognizing the necessity of health and wellness during peak working life, Transamerica's dedicated professionals work to help people take the steps necessary to live better today so they can worry less about tomorrow. Transamerica serves nearly every customer segment, providing a broad range of quality life insurance and investment products, individual and group pension plans, as well as asset management services. In 2021, Transamerica fulfilled its promises to customers, paying more than $52 billion in insurance, retirement, and annuity claims and benefits, including return of annuity premiums paid by the customer. Transamerica's corporate headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland, with other major operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Denver, Colorado. Transamerica is part of the Aegon group of companies. Based in the Netherlands, Aegon is a diversified financial services group focused on providing investment, protection, and retirement solutions. For the full year of 2021, Aegon managed over $1.1 trillion in revenue generating investments. For more information, visit www.transamerica.com .

The Group Plan Solution is not a multiple employer plan (MEP). Unlike a MEP, certain plan qualification and ERISA requirements are applied at the individual plan level. An employer participating in the plan retains certain fiduciary responsibilities, including responsibility for retaining and monitoring the 3(16) plan administrator, for determining the reasonableness of its fees, and for periodically reviewing the plan as a whole. Transamerica is not affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers, FuturePlan, or LeafHouse Financial Advisors, LLC, and does not act as a 3(16) plan fiduciary.

About Natixis Investment Managers
Natixis Investment Managers' multi-affiliate approach connects clients to the independent thinking and focused expertise of more than 20 active managers. Ranked among the world's largest asset managers¹ with nearly $1.4 trillion assets under management² (€1,199.4 billion), Natixis Investment Managers delivers a diverse range of solutions across asset classes, styles, and vehicles, including innovative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies and products dedicated to advancing sustainable finance. The firm partners with clients in order to understand their unique needs and provide insights and investment solutions tailored to their long-term goals. For additional information, please visit Natixis Investment Managers' website at im.natixis.com | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers.

¹ Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2021 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 15th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2020.
² Assets under management ("AUM") as of September 30, 2021 are $1,390 billion. AUM, as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of non-regulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers. Excluding H2O Asset Management.

About FuturePlan
FuturePlan is a leading national retirement TPA dedicated to helping advisors, recordkeepers, and plan sponsors deliver better outcomes for savers. Our highly responsive, personalized service is backed by the strength and security of a national leader in Ascensus. As of September 30, 2021, FuturePlan's experienced team of experts supports more than 50,000 retirement plans with more than 2.1 million participants and more than $109 billion in assets under administration. For more information, visit futureplan.com.

About LeafHouse Financial Advisors, LLC
LeafHouse Financial is a national, discretionary investment manager with expertise in the retirement industry. The firm is independent and oversees $12.9 billion assets. LeafHouse acts in a 3(38)-fiduciary capacity for private and public retirement plans, and integrates technology and industry knowledge to provide a layer of protection to plan sponsors. LeafHouse developed proprietary technology (the LeafHouse GPA^®) that aims to prudently select, evaluate, and monitor investments that are solely in the best interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries. LeafHouse is a registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skills or training. More information about the firm, including its investment strategies and objectives, can be found on its ADV Part 2, which is available, without charge, upon request. Their Form ADV contains information regarding LeafHouse's business practices and the backgrounds of our key personnel.

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SOURCE TRANSAMERICA