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Wilshire | AAMA | DWS | Core Capital WILSHIRE
Corporate Overview Wilshire Associates Incorporated (Wilshire®) is a leading global independent investment services and consulting firm owned by key employees. Wilshire provides consulting services, analytics tools and customized investment products to the institutional investment community including plan sponsors, investment managers and financial intermediaries around the globe. Today, Wilshire works with over 600 organizations in excess of 20 countries with combined assets of more than $8 trillion1. Wilshire was founded in 1972 when the founder and current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis A. Tito, applied then-new computing technology to investment concepts and helped revolutionize the industry. Wilshire now has approximately 350 employees working in ten offices on four continents. Wilshire has long been a market leader in asset allocation and investment manager research. The firm was the first to incorporate liabilities into asset allocation models for pension funds in the 1970s, ten years before actuarial and accounting firms began to adopt this technology. In addition, Wilshire’s proprietary analytics collect data on more than 5,000 investment products. The Manager Research Group of Wilshire Funds Management, the global investment management business unit of Wilshire Associates, develops detailed qualitative evaluations on more than 1,500 strategies. Strategic Asset Allocation Portfolios Wilshire Funds Management constructs Strategic Asset Allocation Portfolios based on long-term, forward-looking assumptions for asset class risk return and correlation, using extensive capital markets research developed by its Manager Research Group. These portfolios employ a strategic asset allocation approach, implemented on a global basis and attempt to offer the highest possible level of expected return for a given level of risk. Wilshire constructs the Strategic Asset Allocation Portfolios by allocating to mutual funds that are selected based on the manager scoring and in-depth evaluations from its Manager Research Group. A team of analysts conducts interviews with managers and evaluates the funds in six areas to assess the investment skill of each manager. This qualitative score is combined with quantitative research to produce a list of mutual funds that the Portfolio Manager utilizes to build asset allocation strategies with a specific risk and return profile. Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios The Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios are constructed using a risk budget that is “spent” through the use of tactical over and under-weightings or “tilts” to asset classes and sub-classes in an attempt to generate excess return. Instead of the asset allocation target remaining constant, it is varied quarterly in an effort to generate enhanced performance. The active risk budget may be entirely consumed by the asset allocation policy, implemented using low-cost exchange traded funds. The investment objective of a TAA portfolio is to obtain better-than-benchmark returns with possibly lower-than-benchmark volatility by forecasting the returns of two or more asset classes, and varying asset class exposure accordingly, in a systematic manner. Each Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio has a stated equity/fixed income exposure target and each portfolio is managed to have a beta range between 0.80 to 1.20. 1 Assets are as of December 31, 2007, based on published data in the December 20, 2008 issue of Pensions & Investments. Wilshire is a registered service mark of Wilshire Associates Incorporated., Santa Monica, CA. Wilshire Funds Management uses mathematical and statistical investment processes to allocate assets, select managers and construct portfolios and funds in ways that seek to outperform their specific benchmarks. Past performance does not guarantee future returns, and processes used may not achieve the desired results. This material is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, accounting, tax, investment or other professional advice. Back to Top AAMA
Advanced Asset Management Advisors (AAMA) is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Investment Advisor and specializes in portfolio design and asset management. Clients include individuals and families, retirement plans, corporations and charitable organizations. AAMA is privately owned and its offices are located in Columbus, Ohio. AAMA manages four primary portfolios: international equity, domestic equity, strategic domestic equity, and fixed income portfolios. The portfolios are blended together in differing amount to offer the five model portfolios offered on the Elements Group Platform. Each portfolio offers distinct risk/return objectives. AAMA’s portfolio management disciplines are grounded in modern portfolio theory, while our proprietary research and insights are designed to provide clients value added investment strategies and results. AAMA’s seasoned group of investment professionals offers over 100 years of combined investment experience spanning many different stock and bond market cycles. AAMA’s investment professionals include:
Individual investment experiences started as early as 1963, 1975, and 1981, including continuous management of client portfolios invested in mutual funds since 1975. AAMA was founded in December 1998. Valued added investment results require discipline, confidence, diligence and patience. A well-founded discipline is essential to navigate the information-laden investment world. Too often, investors are swayed by the headlines of the day, instead of long-term investment valuations. AAMA believes that equity portfolio performance can best be enhanced by emphasizing broad areas of the market that are under-valued and reducing exposure to over-valued areas. AAMA’s investment committee expends significant effort in valuing and weighting broad areas of the market as defined by industries, sectors, and market capitalization. International equity exposures can also be valued by geographical areas. AAMA believes fixed income portfolio structure requires special attention to credit quality and maturity structure to mitigate the risks inherent with bond holdings – risks that can be similar to those found with equity investing. Back to Top DWS
Overview DWS provides a breadth of institutional asset management services to clients through an array of investment products that span the efficient frontier. We believe that one of our most critical tasks is helping clients develop an appropriate asset allocation strategy. In an effort to accomplish this objective, DWS has developed an innovative framework for addressing clients’ investment challenges, especially in the areas of asset allocation and portfolio construction. We believe the key to delivering value through a global asset allocation process is to use innovative analytical approaches to turn market insights into accurate forecasts—and forecasts into efficient portfolios. Experience DWS has delivered customized asset allocation solutions to our clients for over 14 years. Our Asset Allocation team leverages extensive firm wide experience conducting asset allocation analysis for a wide variety of institutional, intermediary and insurance clients. Currently, our group provides asset allocation for more than $46 Billion in client assets as of December 31, 2008 with a 20 person Asset Allocation team. Investment Process The investment process has two components: strategic and tactical asset allocation. We create strategic asset allocations using a proprietary methodology that consists of several steps. First, we derive return forecasts, taking into account factors such as productivity rates and inflation expectations. Based on these forecasts, we find optimal asset classes for the stated investment objective. To create optimal portfolios, we use a proprietary system called PortfolioChoice. PortfolioChoice™ is a systematic portfolio selection platform which takes market inputs and investors’ views as inputs, conducts statistics analysis to predict return distributions, and then construct optimal portfolio to meet fund’s investment objectives and constraints. The second step of our investment process is tactical asset allocation, which is implemented as under/overweight of a particular asset class relative to its strategic asset allocation target. Tactical weights are updated every month, guided by our global platform which collects investment ideas generated by investment analysts teams located around the world. These analysts forecast over multiple time horizons near-term movements of global stock, bond, currency and other markets, using both fundamental analysis and quantitative models. DWS unique platform provides clients with an innovative approach to asset allocation through dynamic solutions and with the experience of a global team. Back to Top Core Capital
Overview CORE Capital Markets, LLC (CCM) is a Registered Investment Advisor formed to provide asset class portfolios through The Elements Group to an exclusive group of financial professionals. The primary goal of CCM is to build and monitor portfolios that achieve an attractive balance between a client’s risk tolerance and the desired rate of return, while minimizing the client’s investment expense. In order to achieve this goal, CCM has established a strategic partnership with Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc. (DFA), a Santa Monica, CA based Investment Company. DFA was founded in 1981 to apply academic research to capital markets. The firm maintains close ties with the University of Chicago as well as other academic institutions for finance and economics. Board members and consultants include some of the nation’s most distinguished academic theorists, including Roger Ibbotson and Nobel Laureate Bill Sharp. Dimensional Fund Advisors DFA manages over $100 billion in assets, as of 2008, and serves a multitude of corporate, government, college endowments and charitable entities. In 1991, DFA began offering its low-cost institutional portfolios through a small number of selected investment firms. As one of these firms, CCM plays an important role in educating advisors on the benefits of assets class investing, developing portfolio allocations to meet specific objectives and maintain the necessary discipline to ensure long term success. DFA does not distribute its funds through direct marketing or Broker/Dealer firms. They only work with qualified fee-only investment firms that have met the criteria of their rigorous approval process. Philosophy CCM’s approach is rooted in the belief that markets are efficient and that investors’ returns are determined principally by asset allocation decisions, not market timing or stock selection. DFA has no economists forecasting business cycles or interest rates, no strategists shifting allocations between stocks and bonds nor analysts searching for mis-priced securities. DFA relies on the Science of Investing. While conventional index funds like Vanguard employ a strict passive approach, DFA differs in several important aspects: DFA does not track popular market benchmarks, but each asset class portfolio is designed to capture separate dimensions of returns which are accompanied by independent sources of risk. The risk/return premium available from focusing on the “value vs. growth” and “small vs. large” dimension of equity returns has been well documented. These dimensions are supported by rigorous, long standing academic research, conducted by the leading economists with whom the firm maintains relationships. The firm also places great emphasis on minimizing trading costs. Unlike conventional passive managers who replicate an index in mechanical fashion, DFA employs sophisticated tactical trading strategies in return for substantial cost reductions and therefore improved total return. These strategies include: 1. Equity block trading out-of-the-market, 2. Patient buy/sell strategies 3. Securities lending CORE Capital Markets, LLC CCM portfolios are designed with extensive diversification and broad assets class coverage which exceeds that of conventional asset class portfolios. Overtime, this unique depth and breadth of CCM’s portfolio design can deliver reduced volatility for our clients. CCM’s president and founder K. Whitney “Whit” Brown has almost two decades of industry experience and since 1994 has been managing portfolios employing DFA strategies. CCM delivers the performance of the global capital markets, while increasing returns through portfolio construction. The result: together with DFA, CORE Capital Markets, LLC delivers an investment solution that puts the client first and helps them attain their goals. Back to Top |
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