Gitterman Wealth Management (Gitterman) has launched the Sustainability Metrics Applied to Risk Tolerance (SMART) Unified Managed Account (UMA) Models in an effort to provide clients access to boutique and emerging managers that implement climate science to security selection and portfolio construction in a UMA structure.The SMART UMA Models incorporate products that have robust financial metrics, sophisticated ESG capabilities and rigorous due diligence processes, and are available to outside Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) as well as retail investors. According to the World Economic Forum2, the highest impact and highest probability global risks are primarily climate-related or will be exacerbated by climate change. As such, investment models with a climate focus are increasingly important.
The SMART UMA models feature managers who are strategically exploring climate scenarios and their related impacts, alongside disclosing risks and opportunities. Gitterman selected Natixis as its tax overlay manager in order to achieve after-tax returns that may benefit from significant outperformance. The additional managers in Gitterman’s SMART UMA Models are:
• Alliance Bernstein
• Calvert
• Federated/Hermes
• Green Alpha Advisors
• KBI Global Investors
• Martin Currie
• Promethos Capital
• Stance Capital
• Water Asset Management
• Wellington Management
The SMART UMA Models are exclusively designed as fully diversified core products available in taxable and qualified formats. Gitterman selected Natixis as its tax overlay manager in order to achieve after-tax returns that may benefit from significant outperformance.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Natixis given their excellent reputation for developing multi-manager solutions and maximizing portfolios’ after-tax investment returns,” says Jeff Gitterman, Co-founding Partner at Gitterman Wealth Management. “Building on our existing success with ESG-oriented mutual fund models, we are confident Natixis will enhance the SMART UMA Models by implementing more tax-aware strategies for our climate-focused investors.”
“Since we know that taxes historically erode 1-2 per cent of a client’s investment returns, we believe our tax loss harvesting and overlay management capabilities can mitigate a significant amount of that impact,” says Curt Overway, President and Portfolio Manager at Natixis’ subdivision Managed Portfolio Advisors (MPA). “The introduction of Smart UMAs, implemented in a single integrated portfolio, gives retail investors unique access to world-class institutional strategies through Gitterman’s extensive network of boutique and emerging managers.”
