(Simplicity) A unified managed account (UMA) is a single investment account that can include various types of investment instruments. Investments may include mutual funds, stocks, bonds, unit investment trusts (UITs), and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Simply put, anything that can be held in a brokerage account can be held in a UMA.
Tell me more…
The individual allocations or slices of a UMA are called sleeves. The sleeves are populated with various assets to meet the needs of the investor(s). As such, UMAs are usually diversified model portfolios that are designed to meet the needs of clients with a particular risk tolerance. Using these standardized allocations or models for multiple clients makes the process repeatable and scalable.
Strategies
Although many investment advisors and financial planners create these models themselves, many others utilize the services of an investment strategist. Investment strategists utilize proprietary market research and allocation methodologies to create the model portfolios. These turnkey solutions allow advisors to focus their time and energy on client relationship management and financial planning.
There are over 1,000 model strategies available on the Simplicity Solutions platform. While there are models for every conceivable client solution, the majority of models can be classified as:
- Mutual Fund Allocations
- Exchange-Traded Fund Allocations
- Combination Mutual Fund and ETF allocations
- Separately Managed Accounts
As a final note, it is easy to think of the sleeves of a UMA as comprising asset classes or styles, but this is too narrow a viewpoint. The sleeves can also contain entire model allocations themselves, advisor managed portfolios, unmanaged client stock holdings, or concentrated stock positions. The possibilities are endless.
What’s the next step?
Simplicity Solutions employs a consultative process when onboarding new advisors to the platform. We will be happy to work with you in designing solutions appropriate for your practice and your clients. In addition, a quick demonstration of our Simplicity Solutions Proposal and Research Center (SPARC) will show you how easy it is to exceed your clients’ expectations with UMAs. To set up a meeting click here.
