Due diligence: 8 Factors to Consider When Selecting an ETF Model Portfolio

Clarity of investment philosophy and process is a critical consideration. Can the provider clearly articulate its philosophy? Is it easily understood? Ensure a provider can express its philosophy and process in a way that makes immediate and intuitive sense.

Performance plays an important role in the decision-making process; attention should also be paid to how the performance is calculated.

Calculating performance for portfolio components in aggregate can be complicated. Buyers should assess how well providers have achieved specific goals—such as delivering downside protection, upside capture and liquidity.

While pricing can be an important facor in provider selection, investors should look beyond overall pricing to broader factors influencing total costs. Factors include cost to trade, trading frequency, portfolio administration, and underlying investment fees. Look at fees relative to the strategy being provided, as the strategy employed influences fees charged.

Investors should carefully evaluate the robustness of the provider’s infrastructure. Does the firm have sufficient staff, resources and capabilities in risk management, legal and compliance? Does the firm obtain designated resources to coordinate these functions and deliver a seamless solution?

There is wide variation among competitors in terms of experience, expertise and commitment to their ETF model portfolios. Large or small, providers need to clearly demonstrate their depth of knowledge and capabilities.

Buyers of ETF model portfolios should seek providers with a clear division of labour across functions. Having staff dedicated to investments, ETF selection, risk management, legal and compliance functions demonstrates that a provider has the expertise required to execute their strategies and support clients on a day-to-day basis.

How well does a provider communicate their strategy and performance updates? Seek a provider with a proven track record of timely, effective and thorough client communications. Providers should alert investors about any changes to the portfolio or underlying products, provide relevant updates about the firm, and supply market research and thought leadership.

Two key considerations

• Performance Assessment and Reporting:  As a best practice, buyers should have a standardised process for reviewing and assessing performance. Buyers should determine not only which benchmarks are used on the portfolio, but also why these benchmarks are used over others.
• Conflicts of Interest: Conflicts of interest must be avoided at all costs. Buyers of ETF model portfolios should seek out defined functions and reporting lines for investment management to  reduce potential conflicts of interest within model portfolio teams. Buyers should additionally be wary of revenue-sharing agreements and should push providers to disclose any such arrangements.