No matter how much analysis one does, in the end, making this selection is a matter of judgment and experience. Given that, we do extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis. The extremely low turnover of managers we have selected testifies to the soundness of our judgment. Our consultants meet with hundreds of investment managers each year to keep abreast of developments at the firms and new products and services, which allow us to see a wide variety of firms, styles of management and levels of servicing. This practice helps us to separate those firms who are capable to successfully manage money for our clients.

Based on the client’s investment policy and asset allocation, we identify types of manager (e.g., large-cap value, small–cap growth) that are appropriate for our client, e.g., those which have experience with taxable portfolios. We review our proposed search criteria, RFPs and managers' responses with the client. We then develop a preliminary list for further analysis.

Our consultants are actively involved in every search; developing written requests for proposals, interviewing candidates and references, checking data and doing statistical analysis. Among the factors we consider are whether strategies meet the client’ needs, evidence of effective risk controls, strong internal operations and compliance; and stable management.

We perform all analysis in–house, and conduct face–to–face meetings/on-site visits with all finalists. We keep the client fully informed of our progress. Once the manager is selected, we help negotiate the contract and fee schedule, set up the account, handle funds transfers and define reporting procedures.