American Independence [profile] is shutting down its NestEggseries of target date funds, Pensions & Investments Online reports.

MFWire's sister publication 401kWire reported the news back in July.

The P&I Online story notes that Goldman Sachs, Columbia, and Oppenheimer also shut down their target date fund lines in the last three months.

These four firms' target date fund series held $937 million combined last year, making up just a quarter of one percent of the open-end mutual fund market. Vanguard, Fidelity, Principal, and T. Rowe Price control about three-quarters of the TDF business.

John Pileggi, managing partner at American Independence, said that "it's hard to compete for shelf space." Morningstar data show that by the end of 2011, the Nest Egg series had $135 million under management.

Josh Charlson, Morninstar analyst, gave a wider picture. “The timing may be coincidental, but it definitely suggests there's a shakeout phase going on," he said. "Companies are evaluating whether they can continue — or whether they should cut their losses."  

Edited by: HFD


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