Managed Accounts
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Managed Accounts are a fast-growing, fee-based investment management product for high net worth (HNW) and ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals. They started as Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) and have since evolved into Multiple Strategy Accounts (MSAs) and the rapidly emerging Unified Managed Account (UMA). The appeal of Managed Accounts is the access to professional money managers, high degree of customization and greater tax efficiencies in a fee-based product. Managed account minimums and the cost to operate managed account programs has steadily dropped as technology helps with efficiency and scale. Increasingly, the managed account products are seeing interest from the "mass affluent" as well.
A handful of firms provide outsourcing services for managed account middle office and back office operations.
The technology platform for managed accounts is dominated by Security APL - a 1990's legacy technology from Jersey City, New Jersey-based CheckFree Investment Services (a division of CheckFree Corp.). Other players in this space include Lockwood (acquired by The Bank of New York), Vestmark, LifeHarbor (acquired by Vestmark), Market Street Advisors, Citigroup GTS, JPMorgan, BISYS, SEI, PFPC, State Street, ITG, and SunGard. Investment managers offering SMAs include Harris, Merrill Lynch, MFS, Bank of America, Wachovia Securities, Lord Abbett, and Parametric among others.
