American Century is rebranding its target-date funds, dropping the LIVESTRONG name, which is associated with Lance Armstrong, and branding the funds as One Choice Portfolios. The funds were branded with the LIVESTRONG name in 2006, though American Century’s Partnership with the cancer charity. Lance Armstrong, who earlier this year admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to win his seven Tour de France titles, founded the charity.
American Century’s chief marketing officer Mark Killen attributed the name change to the company's broadened commitment to cancer charities. "Our relationship with LIVESTRONG has been a great success. In fact, it inspired us to begin working with a number of organizations whose programs also help those affected by cancer. While we continue to support LIVESTRONG and its mission, in light of our broadened commitment to the cause, showcasing a single entity no longer tells the full story."
In addition to the rebranding, American Century is making several other changes to its funds. The firm’s target-date and target-risk funds of funds will be consolidated under the new One Choice Portfolios brand. This includes the firm’s target dates in five-year increments from 2015 through 2055 and an "in retirement" portfolio. All changes will take effect on May 31.
The firm will also add a new retirement plan share class, “R6”. This new class is designed for use in employer-sponsored retirement plans and will have the lowest total expense ratio of any share class offered by the company. R6 will be available on July 31 for 42 funds, including the firm's target-date portfolios.
"Expanding access to our product line at all price points maximizes flexibility for our clients. Furthermore, we believe that the consolidation of our target-date and target-risk funds under our already-established 'One Choice' sub-brand will make it easier to navigate our range of quality retirement investment solutions," Peter Cieszko, chief client officer - Americas, said in the release.
