ING and WisdomTree Investments have launched ING WisdomTree Global High-Yielding Equity Index Portfolio, a new fundamentally weighted index portfolio that will be available exclusively as a variable investment option within an ING variable annuity issued by ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company.
The portfolio will be sub-advised by ING Investment Management Company and will be distributed by ING Funds Distributor. WisdomTree has licensed its WisdomTree Global High-Yielding Equity Index to ING Investment Management Company, which will seek to match, before fees and expenses, the performance of the underlying index in managing the portfolio’s assets.
Bill Lowe, president of ING Wealth Management Distribution, said that making the new dividend-weighted index portfolio available through ING annuity contracts is in response to strong client interest in savings and retirement income vehicles that help manage downside risk while still taking advantage of steady equity growth potential.
Mr Lowe noted that the market volatility of recent months underscores the potential benefit of a rules-based methodology to select and weight equities based on cash dividends.