Unified managed accounts hit $289.8 billion in 2013

Unified managed accounts — a group including separately managed accounts, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other UMAs — also witnessed significant increases in 2013. In the aggregate, UMA assets hit 289.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. This is up a substantial 35.4 percent from the $214.1 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2012.

“UMAs have experienced the strongest growth, more than doubling their assets in the past two years, albeit off a smaller asset base,” the report states. “Their defining feature is model-driven separate accounts, in which the asset manager submits trades to the program sponsor, but the program sponsor optimizes the after-tax effect and places those trades.

“Despite their success, advisors remain reluctant to adopt these products, as the program sponsor often tightly controls the portfolio construction. [T]he push and pull between advisors and sponsors regarding portfolio construction in managed accounts continues to be a battleground for control.”

The Cerulli survey also reports fourth quarter year-over-year gain in other managed account asset programs. Among them: mutual fund advisor, ETF advisory, rep as portfolio manager and rep as advisor.