What is a Separately Managed Account (SMA)?

An SMA is an investment portfolio run by an investment manager. An investment professional manages the portfolio but, unlike a managed fund, the client retains beneficial ownership of the holdings. SMAs can offer you and your clients a range of efficiencies including transparency, cost-effectiveness and choice.

“As a flexible investment option, managed accounts provide advisers with increased efficiencies and transparent portfolios for their clients.”

Michelle Weber Head of Wrap Platform

Benefits

 

Cost efficient

SMAs can offer lower management, custody, and execution costs than retail broking fees.

Responsive

SMAs can offer dynamic asset allocation, allowing investment managers to take advantage of emerging opportunities and manage risk with the ability to move in and out of asset classes quickly.

Transparent

Using the latest technology, you can view underlying securities held and, in changing markets, you can track the performance of individual holdings.

Tax efficient

SMAs can provide tax benefits as the tax positions for direct equities are the client's.

Flexible

SMAs can be tailored to suit each of your clients’ individual investment philosophies and needs.

Beneficial ownership

Your client will beneficially own all underlying holdings within a SMA, enabling the ability to move them in and out of the portfolio.

The benefit applies to direct investors. For indirect investors, they’ll need to make enquiries with their financial adviser.

Time efficient

Outsourcing investment decisions can free up your time to focus on better conversations with clients.

Advisers who implement SMAs on average, save an estimated 17.1 hours per week*

*According to Investment Trends – Managed Accounts Report March 2023

Expertise

Choose from over 63 established investment managers, with a range of almost 400 portfolios and proven track records of delivering client outcomes.

Explore the different managers and their factsheets here

Transparency

Have complete visibility of all assets in your clients’ portfolio and monitor their performance.

Scalable portfolio management

Take advantage of a dedicated team to manage the day-to-day portfolio administration, allowing you to spend time more time with your clients and business.

Reduced corporate action management

Allow the administration to be actioned on your behalf, reducing the time spent to implement.

The benefits of Macquarie

You’ll have the support of the broader Macquarie Group, a global investment leader with over 50 years of unbroken profitability, and a name clients can have confidence in.

 

 

“We’ve hit $13 billion in SMA FUM on our platform, and we continue to invest in our capability.”

Michelle Weber,

Head of Wrap Platform

Buy

A fast and easy way to start using SMAs in your business

A fast and easy way to start using SMAs in your business

With nearly 400 models across 63 managers1, you can buy approved SMAs via the Macquarie Wrap platform and take advantage of our dedicated investment managers who manage the portfolios on your behalf so you can spend more time with your clients and business.

Young businessman using his laptop and phone at work in a dark office
Build

Maintain control but gain greater flexibility

Maintain control but gain greater flexibility

If you already have investment management capability backed by a robust strategy, set of controls and methodologies, you may be able to build or bring your own SMA to our platform.

When building with us, you can use your own Responsible Entity (RE) structure, or appoint Macquarie as the RE, to keep full control of the investment solution.

If you have some, but not all the capability to build your own SMA, we recommend looking at our ‘Partner’ option.

Partner

Work with a specialist team

Work with a specialist team

Jointly manage your SMA model by sharing the responsibility with an experienced and qualified partner. This means you can hold onto some of the responsibilities and leave the rest to a specialist team who will set the investment strategy and decisions.

A high-angle view of a businessman and a businesswoman sitting in the office building lobby and using a digital tablet
Adviser welcoming client into office

Model Manager Portal

Access information about your model portfolios and securely make model updates.

Our managed accounts offer documents

View our offer documents to learn more about the Macquarie managed accounts offering.

Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO)

View our separately managed accounts Target Market Determination (TMD).

Need help?

Please visit Adviser Help Centre to read more about separately managed accounts.

Additional information

Unless stated otherwise, this information has been prepared by Macquarie Investment Management Limited ABN 66 002 867 003 AFSL 237 492 RSEL L0001281 (MIML). It is provided for the use of licensed and accredited brokers and financial advisers only. In no circumstances is it to be used by a potential client for the purposes of making a decision about a financial product or class of products.

The Macquarie Wrap products referred to on this page are issued by MIML. This information doesn’t take into account individual needs or financial situations - consider our Product Disclosure Statement (or other applicable offer document(s)) available on the Macquarie website, to decide if our products are right for you and whether you should acquire or continue to hold a product.

The Macquarie Separately Managed Account is issued by Macquarie Investment Services Limited ABN 73 071 745 401, AFSL 237495 (MISL). 

Funds invested on your behalf by MIML are not deposits with or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited or any other entity of the Macquarie Group and are subject to investment risk, including possible delays in repayment and loss of income and capital invested. None of Macquarie Bank Limited, MIML, or any other member of the Macquarie Group guarantees any particular rate of return or the performance of the investments, nor do they guarantee the repayment of capital.

1

Current as at 1 February 2021.

Target Market Determinations are available at our Design and Distribution hub.