Separately Managed Accounts and Advisors: AdvisorOne Special Report

Separately managed accounts have long been a key implement in the investment toolbox of advisors. While the use of SMAs in client portfolios has long been the bailiwick of the wirehouses, advisors of all business models now have access to SMA strategies through a variety of platforms.

Throughout the month of April, AdvisorOne will focus on SMAs, with the centerpiece being the Investment Advisor-Prima Capital seventh annual Separately Managed Account Managers of the Year. In a feature article in the April issue of Investment Advisor, seven managers in six different asset classes were chosen as best in class. The decision of the 2011 SMA Managers of the year was a culmination of a months-long rigorous process that tapped into the research and due diligence expertise of Prima Capital, the Denver-based provider of objective due diligence, modeling and evaluation tools for advisors and wealth management firms of all types and sizes. A committee comprising Prima’s president, CIO, and senior investment analyst, along with Investment Advisor Editor John Sullivan and AdvisorOne Editor Jamie Green made the final determination.

There’s a key characteristic of the 2011 winners. “Post credit-crisis, due diligence is more than just stringing together a set of historical returns; now, it’s all about the culture of the companies and the quality of their management,” said J. Gibson Watson III, (left) president of Prima Capital Holdings, in an interview that introduces this year’s winners in the April issue of Investment Advisor.

During the month, Investment Advisor and AdvisorOne’s editorial staff will cover different aspects of SMAs and include its reports on AdvisorOne’s Daily Wire newsletter. In addition to providing insight into the winning SMA Managers of the Year, we will provide interviews with Prima Capital’s analysts and President Gib Watson. We will explore the different platforms through which advisors can gain access to these managers and others (one of the prerequisites of the winning SMA managers is that their portfolios must be widely available on retail SMA programs). We will also provide insights of your peers who use SMAs in their practices, and data on the SMA industry and its leading lights.

Below is the running list of topics covered. Check back during the month as we enhance the list and add new topics and angles.

Week One

April 1:     The April Investment Advisor feature: A Class Apart: the 2011 SMA Managers of the Year

April 4:     Large-Cap Core Winner: Cornerstone Investment Partners Concentrated Equity Portfolio

April 5:     Large-Cap Growth Winner: Wedgewood Partners Large-Cap Focused Growth Strategy

April 6:     Mid-Cap Equity Winner: Denver Investment AdvisorsConcentrated Mid-Cap Growth Strategy

April 7:     Small-Cap Equity Winner: The London Company Small-Cap Core Strategy

April 8:     Specialty Manager Winner: Forward Uniplan Advisors Uniplan REIT Portfolio

Week Two