Generating returns through better relationships: How managed custody accounts benefit managers and investors

Institutional investors are under significant pressure to maximise returns. To that end they have focused on reducing fees and consolidating their portfolios according to the best ideas of their best managers. A few pioneering US public pension plans and public university endowments have been early adopters of Managed Custody Accounts (MCAs) in efforts to maximise their ability to participate in the best new products and control costs and fees. An MCA creates a platform through which an investor can quickly and nimbly invest across any of an investment manager’s funds, products and strategies. Because fees and expenses are negotiated at the platform level on an aggregate assets under management basis, parties are able to create an efficient investment process with a fee structure that motivates the manager and investment team, encourages investors to consider all of the manager’s products, and has the effect of maximising the investor’s investment levels with a manager. This efficiency also allows public investors to react quickly to managers’ new products as other legal terms are built into the MCA agreement at the onset of the investment relationship. This paper will discuss the typical investment process of public investors, from manager selection to funding of new traditional products, contrasting it to the MCA process, and highlighting the benefits that MCAs provide to managers and investors alike.