Operations-Separate Accounts

Firm Name

The name of the asset management firm representing the separate account. Also provides information on business strategies and objectives including philosophy in terms of client served, growth strategy and target account sizes as it relates to assets under management. The separate account name is taken directly from the asset management firm.

Manager Name

The name of the individual or individuals who are employed by the advisor or subadvisor who are directly responsible for managing the fund’s portfolio, as taken directly from the managing firm.

Manager Tenure

Manager tenure represents the number of years that the current manager has been the portfolio manager of the separate account product. For separate accounts with more than one manager, the average tenure is shown. If there is only one manager and he/she has been at the separate account for less than six months (and we have biographical information available), a dash will appear. If the separate account designates the manager as a Management Team and does not disclose the names of the portfolio manager or co-portfolio managers to Morningstar, Manager Tenure will appear as a dash for the separate account.

Phone Number

The number to call to receive more information about a separate account, or separate account literature.

URL

The Web address of the firm.

Firm Type

Provides information on the type of designation used by the firm. They could be the following:

Year Firm Founded

Year in which the advisory company was founded

Parent Company

Company that owns or controls subsidiaries through the ownership of voting stock. A parent company is usually an operating company in its own right; where it has no business of its own, the term Holding company is often preferred.

Product Focus

The asset management firm managing the separate account product determines the separate account’s market focus--Retail or Institutional

Retail Minimum $000

The minimum amount of assets needed to invest in a retail separate account in this product.

Customization Minimum $000

The minimum amount of assets needed to customize the underlying holdings in a separate account in this product.

Institutional Minimum $000

The minimum amount of assets needed to invest in an institutional separate account in this product.

% of Portfolios Customized

The percent of accounts within a product where some degree of customization has occurred. A high number should not necessarily be interpreted such that the money manager is providing a relatively higher amount of customized services; in fact, many account holders may have chosen to not have any particular customization added on to their own account.

% of Portfolio Tax-managed

The percent of accounts within a product where some degree of tax-management has occurred. A high number should not necessarily be interpreted such that the money manager is providing a relatively higher amount of tax-management services; in fact, many account holders may have chosen to not have any particular tax treatment for their own account.

Wrap/Tamp Availability

The availability of a separate account product through third-party distribution platforms.

Inception Date

The date on which the separate account began its operations. The inception year is followed by the month. A separate account with an inception date of February 1986, for example, would be listed as 1986-02. Separate accounts with long track records offer more history by which investors can assess overall separate account performance. However, another important factor to consider is the separate account manager and his or her tenure with the separate account. Often times a change in separate account performance can indicate a change in management. (Note: Even if a separate account's inception date is earlier, Morningstar Office data only go back as far as 1976).

Number of Accounts

Number of total accounts run by the asset manager in this product, broken down by account size.

The Levels: