Grantham's GMO Launches Platform to Streamline Client Portfolio Customization

News September 08, 2022 at 04:24 PM

Share & Print

Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. — the investment manager led by Jeremy Grantham — on Thursday introduced asset allocation and management technology to help RIAs provide personalized portfolios to their clients.

The Nebo, or "needs-based optimization," platform automates and streamlines client portfolio customization, according to GMO. The firm based Nebo's approach on the idea that clients' main investment risk, rather than short-term market volatility, is lacking the financial resources they need, when they need them.

The platform uses a proprietary "shortfall optimizer" that aims to minimize this risk by helping advisors align clients' financial plans with their particular needs and goals.

"Nebo allows advisors to maintain their investment philosophy while adding intellectual rigor to the choices they make for their clients and the testing they can do to be confident that those choices best serve their clients' needs," Martin Tarlie, a GMO Asset Allocation team member and Nebo product lead, said in a statement.

GMO based the platform on nearly a decade of research focused on optimal portfolio construction that seeks to minimize shortfall risk, and developed it further using a three-year process with a cohort of early-adopter RIAs.

"The launch of Nebo marks an important next chapter in deepening our relationships with RIAs through investment-led solutions," CEO Scott Hayward said in a statement. "In recent years we have expanded advisors' access to GMO strategies by making more GMO funds available on custodial platforms. The introduction of Nebo's novel approach will help advisors improve their clients' financial well-being and achieve their financial goals."

NOT FOR REPRINT