Schwab Institutional, a leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for independent fee-based investment advisors, announced today a new bundled managed account offering that provides advisors with access to industry leading institutional money managers at low minimums and with streamlined account administration.
Managed Account Access enables advisors to tap into popular managers without having to negotiate separate contracts, fees and minimum account sizes. Pre-negotiated account minimums are $100,000 for most equity strategies and $250,000 for fixed income, while fees start at 1% or lower and include money manager services and Schwab's custody and brokerage services.
"Our managed account platform is designed to provide independent advisors with choice, flexibility and top-notch support," said John Morris, senior vice president of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. "This new offering can provide advisors who are comfortable doing their own manager research with access to a broad array of managers and styles, with the smoother administrative backbone provided by a bundled program."
Schwab Institutional's managed account services also include Managed Account Select, a complete bundled solution featuring manager research and review by Callan Associates, Inc., and Managed Account Marketplace, an open-architecture, dual-contract platform with a wide selection of money managers.
Managed Account Access is launching with 22 strategies, including five U.S. Trust strategies. Two Charles Schwab Investment Management strategies based on Schwab Equity Ratings will be added in September 2005. Schwab is in negotiations with various top investment managers to join the Access platform by year-end.
"This offering can help advisors compete even more effectively with full-service brokers and help level the playing field by providing advisors access to some of the most recognized names in the industry at low minimums," added Morris. "We also expect Access to have particular appeal for brokers who are leaving their firms to become independent and want to continue working with the same asset managers without interruption. It provides a "soft landing" place for the brokers transitioning their clients and takes the pain out of the dual contract process for both the advisor and the money manager."