Fidelity Broadens Access to Its Target Date Trusts With Alts

Fidelity this week broadened the availability of a target date strategy, the Freedom Plus Commingled Pool, that offers exposure to alternative investments.

Fidelity introduced 14 Freedom Plus collective investment trusts, or CITs, to the broader institutional investor market on Tuesday at a time when plan sponsors are increasingly turning to these products as an investment option, the firm said, citing its recent Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey.

The strategy previously was managed only for select clients, a spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor by email on Thursday. It applies Fidelity’s target date investment process to a broader opportunity set that can include liquid and illiquid alternatives, the firm said. 

Each Fidelity Freedom Plus portfolio currently includes a 5% strategic allocation in alternatives — specifically direct real estate — in addition to exposures in equities, bonds and short-term building blocks that are similar to other Fidelity Freedom products.

“Fidelity’s investment team will continue to evaluate additional alternative asset classes for inclusion in the portfolios over time,” the spokesperson said.