Source: Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab today announced enhancements to its managed account platform to assist independent investment advisors who choose to outsource functions such as money manager research and portfolio construction in order to run their businesses more efficiently.
As part of this effort, Schwab Institutional has recently formed new and expanded relationships with three firms that provide investment products and back-office services to advisors. In addition, Schwab has grown its own managed account program, including expanding the selection of available strategies and the introduction of a multi-strategy portfolio.
New and expanded strategic relationships
As part of its managed account services platform, Schwab has relationships with turnkey asset management providers (TAMPs) who offer a variety of products and services to advisors who custody assets with Schwab Institutional. The TAMP category is one of the fastest growing parts of the managed accounts industry and is expected to approach $1 trillion in assets by 2012. In order to provide advisors with greater choice in this rapidly growing category, Schwab has expanded its TAMP platform to include:
An expanded relationship with Envestnet Asset Management to include a full product line-up of unified managed accounts (UMAs), multi-manager accounts, mutual fund and exchange traded fund (ETF) wrap products, and separately managed accounts (SMAs).A new relationship with FundQuest Incorporated to offer a full product line-up of UMAs, multi-strategy products (MSPs), mutual fund and ETF wrap products, and SMAs.A new relationship with Morningstar Investment Services, Inc., to offer its line of actively managed mutual fund, stock, and exchange-traded fund portfolios.
"More advisors today are looking for turnkey solutions that provide research capabilities, sales support and back-office administration, allowing them to focus on serving clients and growing their businesses," said Barnaby Grist, managing director of strategic business development for Schwab Institutional. "We see this trend occurring among established and fast-growing RIA firms but also among newly independent advisors who have left established firms and are setting up shop on their own."
As part of their offerings for advisors, Envestnet, FundQuest and Morningstar Investment Services provide a range of back-office services to advisors, including client management (e.g., client profiling and proposal generation), investment management (e.g., portfolio construction, manager research and rebalancing), performance monitoring (e.g., reconciliation, and reporting) and operations (e.g., billing and compliance tools.)