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We believe one of the most important aspects of choosing an investment manager is knowing how they work, being aligned with their approach, and feeling confident in how they are handling your accounts. Here are a few important pieces of information that can help you more easily compare Motley Fool Wealth Management to other investment managers you may be considering.
Separately Managed Accounts (SMA)
With Motley Fool Wealth Management, your money is held in an account that is solely yours, rather than in a pooled vehicle – like a mutual fund or ETF – with investors who may have different goals. In an SMA, you’re not at the mercy of other investors’ whims. So their actions – like pulling out money at inopportune times – can’t hurt your returns.
SMAs differ from a pooled fund in that a professional investment manager purchases securities in an account in your name – on behalf of you, the investor, not on behalf of the fund. This important distinction opens the window for possible advantages in terms of management, customization, diversification (and potentially avoiding over-diversification), performance, and tax considerations.
A comparison of Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) vs Pooled Investments
| Separately Managed Accounts | Pooled Investments | |
|---|---|---|
| Professionally Managed |  |
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| Portfolio manager purchases securities on your behalf | |
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| Money is pooled with thousands (and sometimes millions) of other investors | |
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| Can maintain an individual cost basis in the securities within the portfolio | |
|
| Offers diversified strategies | |
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| Ability to exclude specific companies in your portfolio | |
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| Updated pricing throughout the trading day | |
(ETFs only) |
| Capacity to customize based on investor preferences | |
A separately managed account has one main purpose—to fulfill your investing wants and needs. It’s not about what other people want. It’s not about how other people move their money. And it’s not about what other people believe. It’s about you—your taxes, your objectives, your beliefs.
Transparency & Trade Rationales
You are the owner of the individual securities in your account so we believe you should not only be able to understand what your portfolio managers are doing, but why. You can view every single position at any time. Every buy and sell transaction we make within your investment strategy is accompanied by a “trade rationale,” a brief explanation written by the portfolio managers explaining exactly what they’ve bought or sold, and why they chose to do so.
Our Portfolio Managers and Analysts carefully watch over our strategies, monitor our holdings’ performance, keep their finger on the pulse of the market, and track down new opportunities day in and day out. This work is their passion, and as such, they are happy to share the reasoning behind their decisions with you.
In addition, every quarter you’ll hear directly from our President, Nick Crow, as he writes about what he sees in the market, and how he is thinking about guiding our client portfolios through whatever challenges or opportunities arise.
With Motley Fool Wealth Management, you can stay fully informed without having to be fully involved.
Fees
We charge a simple, straightforward assets-under-management (or AUM) fee of 0.95% annually for accounts up to $1 million and 0.75% for any amount in an account that is over $1 million. Our performance is always reported net of fees and against a comparable benchmark, so you can see how our strategies are faring versus the market. Financial planning is included at no extra charge for clients with over $1M under management.
Fiduciary Duty
We are a Registered Investment Advisor, regulated by the SEC and committed to a fiduciary standard. That means we are legally bound to put your interests ahead of our own, always. This is a commitment we take very seriously.
Performance
You can see how our strategies have fared against relevant market benchmarks in the table below.
Returns as of September 30, 2024.
Stock Picking
While many investment managers will often allocate your savings into a mixture of mutual funds or ETFs**, we believe that high-conviction stock picks can potentially be a better path to building long-term wealth.
Asset Allocation
Most of our seven exclusive portfolio strategies are driven by our team’s highest-conviction stock picks. These are augmented by Fixed Income, International, and Hedged Equity strategies that strive to provide additional diversification and mitigate risk appropriately for your specific situation. Your precise allocation is carefully tailored to your goals and needs, according to a fiduciary standard.*
Portfolio Management
With professional analysts and portfolio monitors at the helm, you can feel confident that your holdings are being watched over carefully, and adjusted when necessary. Often, business decisions or industry shifts take years to play out in the stock market. With Motley Fool Wealth Management, you can rest assured that your portfolio management team is keeping their finger on the pulse of it all, carefully following our current holdings and always on the lookout for the next great opportunity.
Security & Privacy
To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards, including encryption, authentication, and secured buildings and files.
We will only share your personal information for everyday business purposes such as transaction processing, account maintenance, informational and legal inquiries, and marketing from us or our affiliates. For more regarding how Motley Fool Wealth Management shares your personal information, and how to limit certain types of sharing, view our Privacy Statement here.