Products January 21, 2010

Commonwealth Releases Adviser-Directed UMA Program

Commonwealth Financial Network announced enhancements to its fee-based asset management program for separately managed accounts (SMAs), including a new unified managed account (UMA) option.
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The firm said it will now provide access to SMA features, including additional managers, simplified rebalancing, all-inclusive pricing, and a proposal system. Additionally, the new UMA option will provide mass-affluent clients with a single account strategy utilizing professional money management.

The adviser-directed UMA brings together the potential tax efficiencies associated with SMAs, while allowing advisers to actively participate in the portfolio construction process, the company said. “It’s a solution that advisers can effectively deploy across multiple client segments, yet they can still implement a degree of customization at the portfolio level,” said Greg Gohr, director of investment and advisory products and services at Commonwealth.

With benefits typically afforded to institutional investors, Commonwealth said the UMA approach can provide a single custodial account for all investments, allowing advisers to construct a client portfolio without having to choose between SMAs and pooled investment vehicles. SMAs, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be consolidated into a single account structure.

Clients utilizing the SMA platform will now have access to additional small- and mid-cap asset classes, simplified rebalancing across investment strategies, and the elimination of ticket charges for securities liquidation, according to the firm.

Diversions January 21, 2010

What Does Your Smartphone Say about You?

In the old days of smartphones, having a BlackBerry probably pegged you as a businessperson; however, that might no longer be the case.
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Smartphones are increasingly catching on among consumers for more personal use, according to a survey by Compete, an online market research firm. Almost three-fourths (72%) of smart-phone owners use their device primarily for personal reasons.

It’s true that BlackBerries do still seem to stand out as the most business-oriented of the smartphones. BlackBerry users are still the least likely to use their device for only personal reasons (26%, versus 44% for Android users, who are the most likely to use their device for only personal reasons).

It might also then come as no surprise that BlackBerry users make the most money. More than a fourth (27%) of BlackBerry owners makes more than $100,000.

When users were asked to describe their smartphone in one word or phrase, BlackBerries slightly edged out other smartphones as the most likely to be described as “a business tool.”

While BlackBerries are often nicknamed CrackBerries for their addictive attributes, it looks like the iPhone needs a nickname as well. The iPhone just barely beat the BlackBerry as the most likely to be named “addictive.” Furthermore, iPhone users were much more likely than other smartphone users to call their phone “a must have.”Smartphone Users vs. Cell Phone Users

While smartphones might be catching on among all consumers, it’s true that the average smartphone user does fit some stereotypes. Compared to a cell phone user, smartphone users on average are younger, more tech-savvy, better-educated, and earn a larger income.

While not all smartphone users are tech geeks, 59% do consider themselves to have a very high level of technical expertise (compared to 45% of cell phone owners), according to the Compete survey.

Almost half (48%) of smartphone users make more than $60,000 per year (compared to 36% of cell phone owners) and 64% have at least a four-year college degree (compared to 47% of cell phone owners).

Smartphone users also tend to be younger than cell phone owners (73% are under the age of 45, compared to 50% of cell phone owners). Furthermore, half of smartphone users are male, compared to 43% of all cell phone owners.

Most (65%) smartphone users are on their first smartphone. The rest have had a smartphone before, with about one in 10 (11%) previously owning a BlackBerry.

Compete conducted online interviews with 5,932 wireless device owners (1,959 of whom own smartphones).

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