Frequently Asked Questions
Please click on a question to read more, or scroll down below to browse all of the answers.
- Do you custody the assets?
- What is your relationship with your custodians?
- What is a Separately Managed Account?
- What does Discretionary Management mean?
- Can you custody Nondiscretionary Accounts?
- How has the performance of SS&A’s Discretionary Managed portfolios been?
- How do I know what investments I own?
- Can I have internet access to my portfolio holdings?
- What are the typical types of investments owned by clients at SS&A?
- How do I know my personal information is secure?
- Is there a minimum required relationship size?
- What are the transaction costs associated with trading? How are those paid?
- Are you a broker?
- What is your fee structure?
- For what types of entities do you manage money?
- What do you mean when you say you form relationships with your clients?
- Who owns SS&A?
- What do the letters “CFA” mean?
- Has SS&A, any affiliate, officer, or principal been involved in any claim or litigation or other legal/regulatory proceedings, investigations or disciplinary actions relating to your investment activities?
- Why was SS&A formed?
Do you custody the assets?
No, assets are held in separate accounts with independent custodians. We primarily utilize Fidelity Investments but also use other custodians when the situation calls for it.
What is your relationship with your custodians?
We manage all of our clients’ assets proprietarily in-house. In other words, we do not sell products or funds or receive any sort of fee or monetary compensation from any of our custodians. Fidelity Investments is the custodian for the majority of our accounts, we feel they provide very high quality custodial service and responsiveness. Also, the relationship with Fidelity provides us access to many functions outside our “core competency.” Some of these include: back office functions (tax reporting, statement generation, etc.), 529 plans, annuities, and 401k administration. We view access to the resources of a major financial institution without the encumbrances associated with such an institution as a key advantage. Our relationship with Fidelity allows us to leverage the advantages of being a small and independent firm while still offering sophisticated service and account management capabilities. Our relationships with other custodians are similar though not as significant.
What is a Separately Managed Account?
Separately managed accounts mean that each client has an account or accounts in their name where their assets are held and individually managed. There are no funds or omnibus accounts where assets are aggregated and then managed. This gives SS&A the ability to shape each account specifically to the client’s needs without having to compromise due to the structure of the account.
What does Discretionary Management mean?
We invest the majority of the assets we manage in accordance with a discretionary management agreement. This means that we generally do not consult with a client prior to carrying out transactions. We manage client portfolios according to the IPS that has been put together by the manager and the client, thus allowing us to execute in an efficient and timely manner a strategy the client has agreed to in principle.
Can you custody Nondiscretionary Accounts?
We can custody nondiscretionary accounts for clients in most situations. We like to have all of a client’s securities on our platform for ease of management and planning, so we will custody these accounts for clients without managing them.
How has the performance of SS&A’s Discretionary Managed portfolios been?
Performance for client accounts is measured in a number of ways. The most important from a long term perspective is whether the portfolio performance is in accord with the demands of the IPS and the returns the client requires to meet their investment objectives. Performance is also measured versus various broad market indices and minimum return bogeys. Although we cannot publicly report performance on this site for compliance reasons, we will happily share our past returns with interested parties. The investment professionals at SS&A have a demonstrated track record of performance that we believe clients have found and will find very satisfactory.
How do I know what investments I own?
On a quarterly basis SS&A provides in-depth statements reporting clients’ holdings, performance, and when appropriate, tax information that detail how each dollar is invested. Additionally, the custodian provides monthly statements detailing transactions and holdings. Also, clients can view the holdings information of their portfolio real-time via the Client Access portion of our website.
Can I have internet access to my portfolio holdings?
All of our clients have online access to view their portfolios through the Client Access portion of this website if they so desire. The information is real time and shows holdings, transactions, tax information and additional useful data.
What are the typical types of investments owned by clients at SS&A?
Different client needs require different securities and allocations but generally a client has an equity portfolio consisting of individual common stock securities that we find attractive, sometimes augmented with appropriate Exchange Traded and Mutual Funds. Tax sensitive fixed income portfolios are generally invested in an appropriate tax free municipal strategy. Non-tax sensitive portfolios may have some combination of government agencies, corporates, mortgage backed and treasuries. We also have options management strategies and access to derivatives and alternative investments where appropriate.
How do I know my personal information is secure?
We take security seriously. All personal information is guarded with procedural and structural safeguards, including a detailed disaster recovery plan whereby data is stored in multiple safe houses. For additional information please see our Privacy Policy in the “Literature” section.
Is there a minimum required relationship size?
Typically, the minimum relationship size that we will accept is $1 million. This is not a hard and fast rule, and certain circumstances warrant exceptions.
What are the transaction costs associated with trading? How are those paid?
For accounts at Fidelity over our standard minimum (or a family of accounts) of $1 million, each equity transaction costs $8.00 (up to 3,000 shares). This is one of the lowest institutional trading costs available. The trading commission is essentially a delivery fee paid to the custodian. We carry out the vast majority of our trades over an electronic trading platform that removes any broker or intermediary. SS&A’s in-house traders execute transactions directly on the exchanges where the security is traded in real time. The transaction fee is debited out of the account at the time of trade and included in the cost basis of the security purchased or sold on a pro rata basis. Accounts that are not custodied at Fidelity have differing commission structures.
Are you a broker?
No, SS&A is a registered investment advisor. We do not make any money from transactions; there is no fee or kickback received by SS&A. In most cases brokers are compensated according to the level and frequency of fees and commissions generated in a client’s account via mutual fund loads, 12b-1 fees, annuity sales and transaction costs. In contrast we charge a flat fee on the average balance of the account irrespective of transaction volume or product. We feel this structure better aligns the interests of the client with the incentives of the manager. There is no benefit for SS&A in excessive trading and no incentive to put a client in high fee products. Rather we benefit from the real performance of the portfolio and its alignment with the IPS.
What is your fee structure?
We charge an asset level fee that is administered each quarter on the average account balance for that time period. We believe this structure aligns our interests more directly with the client’s interests. Making client accounts grow safely and investing within the parameters of the IPS is our number one objective. We abide by a fee schedule that takes into consideration the size of the account. Our fee structure is entirely transparent with the flat fee being the only fee SS&A receives; there are no hidden or undisclosed charges or costs. Other than our flat fee, we do not collect any other form of compensation, such as 12b-1 commissions or sales loads.
For what types of entities do you manage money?
Our current client relationships include individuals, corporations, foundations, 401k plans, IRA Rollovers, trusts, pensions, and profit sharing plans.
What do you mean when you say you form relationships with your clients?
We are available for as much or as little communication as the client desires. We have found that some clients prefer a hands off approach and only will meet with us once a year, the minimum we require. However some clients prefer more frequent communications, indeed we speak with some as often as once per week. We help facilitate communication with the other professionals involved in managing your wealth by coordinating with each client’s accountant, lawyers, and other money managers to ensure their estate is cared for from every angle. Being proactive about potential client needs or adjusting circumstances is another facet of caring about the relationship. If there is something that could be done or should be done to improve a client’s financial picture we aim to discuss it with the client.
We realize that our clients have put enormous faith in us by entrusting us with their financial well being. At a minimum we feel that clients should feel a level of comfort and familiarity such that tough questions can be asked and tough answers given in return.
Who owns SS&A?
SS&A is wholly owned by its employees. We have no parent company or subsidiaries. SS&A employees largely manage their personal money in the same way we manage our client’s money. With both our personal wealth and ownership in the firm dependent on the success of our clients, you can rest assured that the long term success of our clients, and thus the firm, is our sole focus.
What do the letters “CFA” mean?
The letters CFA after a name denote that the individual holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. The CFA designation is granted only after the candidate has garnered the requisite work experience, has committed to following the CFA Institute ethical guidelines and has successfully completed a rigorous program of testing covering fields of micro- and macroeconomics, security valuation (equity, debt, derivative instruments), portfolio management, quantitative methods and ethics.
Has SS&A, any affiliate, officer, or principal been involved in any claim or litigation or other legal/regulatory proceedings, investigations or disciplinary actions relating to your investment activities?
Neither SS&A nor any of its employees have ever been involved in any professional impropriety whatsoever.
Why was SS&A formed?
SS&A was founded to address a perceived services gap in the investment management industry. The boom in wealth and the consolidation of major investment managers in the late-90’s resulted in a move up-market by full service wealth management firms in order to justify their investment in people and infrastructure. Clients whose portfolios fell short of the low to mid-eight digit portfolios required to justify such a level of service were pushed off to ‘management light’ subsidiaries and retail broker operations. SS&A was formed to combine the capability of a full service wealth manager with the structure of an efficient boutique firm in order to bring those types of services to clients who were falling through the cracks of the major institutions and who, we believe, are not receiving the level of performance and service that they should be receiving.
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