Star Banc Corp. this week launched a 401(k) retirement plan with a regional twist.
The $8 billion-asset banking company, based in Cincinnati, is making available its proprietary Star Funds plus selected funds from six other Midwestern investment companies.
"These investment advisers are very well known in their community and some have had impressive performance," said Daniel B. Benhase, an executive vice president at Star Bank.
The new retirement product, dubbed All-Star 401(k), includes portfolios from Barlett & Co., Cincinnati; Maxus Investment Group, Cleveland; Gateway Trust, Milford, Ohio; R. Meeder & Associates, Columbus, Ohio; Midwest Financial Services, Cincinnati; and Ryback Management Corp., St. Louis.
While not well known in the rest of the country, these companies have a following in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, where Star Bank operates branches, according to W. Joseph Harper, a Columbus, Ohio-based financial planner.
"They are all highly regarded," Mr. Harper said. "It makes good marketing sense to work with companies that people can call locally, and in some cases even speak to management."
The 401(k) product is valued daily, and lets plan participants move assets via an automated telephone response system, officials said.
Star Bank has been selling 401(k) plans for two years and already administers more than 400 retirement plans. But until now the plans included only the bank's own proprietary funds. The bank will continue to market retirement plans that offer only the Star Funds as a less expensive alternative to the All-Star 401(k).
Mr. Benhase said the new product was developed in response to demands from the bank's corporate customers who asked for a broader variety of investment options.
"They wanted diversity not just in investment strategies but also, management styles," Mr. Benhase said.
Because the companies are located in the region, Star Bank can make a portfolio manager more easily accessible to plan sponsors, he added.
Mr. Benhase admitted that the investment companies were chosen not only for accessibility or "brand name recognition," but also because none offered 401(k) plans of their own.
The bank also is trying out a marketing scheme for the All-Star 401(k) that uses a baseball theme.
The marketing material includes baseball cards that display photographs of the funds' managers, as well as a short profile of the funds' investment objectives and the managing company itself.
