Conseco Considers Replacing Janus, Berger Funds

In a prospectus supplement filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Conseco revealed some changes to its Advantage Plus Fixed and Variable Annuity, including possibly replacing Janus and Berger Funds in the portfolio.

The firm is considering substituting the Janus Aggressive Growth Portfolio and Berger IPT – Growth Fund with two First American Funds. Conseco is considering making the change after a review of the annuity’s product lineup, but has not reached a final decision and will keep the current funds for now, said Joel Prough, VP of product development for Conseco. The filed prospectus supplement states that those changes will be made, but when the final version is mailed to clients it will be omitted, said Prough.

It is also evident from the prospectus supplement that the firm has added 12b-1 fees to 6 of the funds within the Conseco Series Trust. The 25 point basis point fees will be used for marketing, Prough said.

"That was driven by trying to have a little more marketing dollars in order to market the funds and drive sales into them," he said. "We want to get them to a level where we have better efficiencies."

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING