Page 29 - Investment Advisor June 2021

more of a niche and were more [targeted]
Finalists of the 2021 Envestnet & Investment Advisor for a specific clientele,” he stated. “I see a
Annual Asset Manager & Strategist Awards future where every single company has to
report those metrics, is going to be evalu-
Large Cap Equity (two awards) ated on how it does and will be excluded

• Harbor Capital Appreciation Fund from portfolios because it doesn’t take
• Columbia Contrarian Core SMA [impact and ESG issues] seriously.”
• Alger Capital Appreciation Strategy CHOOSING THE FINALISTS, WINNERS
• Alley Dividend Portfolio For 17 years, Investment Advisor and
Small, SMID, and MidCap Category (two awards) Envestnet | PMC have partnered
to find, select and honor the Asset
• RMB SMID Cap Core Managed Account / RMB SMID Cap Fund Manager Award Managers of the Year
• Redwood US Small Cap Growth Managed Account / JHancock Small Cap in multiple categories.
Growth Fund The selection process begins with
• Riverbridge Smid Cap Growth Managed Account the Envestnet team of analysts, who
research each category for best-in-class
• EARNEST Mid Cap Value managers by using several metrics. In
Fixed Income addition, the analysts meet with most
management teams to narrow the field
• Brandywine Global Opportunities Bond Fund in each category, which typically has
• Federated Hermes Total Return Bond Fund between about 30 to 200 managers. This
Global, International and Emerging Market Equity year, meetings were done by video con-
ference due to the pandemic.
• Martin Curie Emerging Markets Fund and SMA The analysts make their detailed
• Oberweis International Opportunities Fund presentations of top choices to the
• Schroders International Alpha ADR Strategy selection committee, which then delib-
erates and votes on the winners. The
Impact Category selection committee is comprised of
Envestnet | PMC Chief Investment
• Brown Advisory Sustainable Core Fixed Income Strategist Tim Clift; Managing Director
• Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund Erik Preus, CFA; and Dana D’Auria,
Liquid Alternatives Category Envestnet co-chief investment officer;
Investment Advisor Group Editor-in-
• AQR Diversified Arbitrage Fund Chief Janet Levaux; and Managing
• John Hancock Seaport Long/Short Fund Editor Ginger Szala.
The committee relies heavily on the
Strategist Category research and due diligence expertise of
• WestEnd Advisors the analysts. This process also incor-
• Globalt Investments: Globalt innovatETF Strategies porates Envestnet | PMC’s proprietary
• BlackRock Target Allocation Portfolios systematic and multi-factor methodol-
ogy, which evaluates managers on both
qualitative and quantitative criteria,
“As analysts, we’re asking companies, these issues as part of the due dili- including investment process and style,
regardless of whether or not they pro- gence process, Clift says. This includes performance, firm profile, customer ser-
mote ESG products, about their internal answering questions about what diver- vice and tax efficiency.
practices, …” he explained. “We have to sity looks like at the asset-management
ask those values questions.” firm and if the company is focusing on Ginger Szala is managing editor of
Regardless of whether or not a firm the environment, for example . Investment Advisor Group. She can be
has ESG products, it will be asked about “Impact strategies in the past were reached at [email protected].

JUNE 2021 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 27