Separately Managed Account Assets Remained Stable in 2002

The quarter-end total was up approximately 4.4% from the third quarter’s restated $381.8 billion.   Comparatively, at year end 2001, the asset total was $399.7 billion, according to quarterly figures for account assets under management released by The Money Management Institute (MMI).

New Money

The SMA industry added 330,000 new investors during the first nine months of 2002, complementing the stability seen during the year. That total likely grew to 500,000 by year-end 2002, according to Financial Research Corp. (FRC) (See  Separately Managed Accounts Show Growth in ’02 ).

Managed accounts are individual accounts offered by financial consultants utilizing a broad range of advisory services and are usually managed by professional, independent money managers using an asset-based fee structure.   The MMI’s quarterly assets under management figure is based on program totals reported by Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS PaineWebber, Prudential, and Smith Barney, which collectively hold approximately 70% of the overall market.   This is in addition to totals reported to the MMI by a selection of smaller firms that represent a proxy for the remainder of the managed account industry.