March 2025
Interview with Sara Allen of Livewire Markets.
The idea and desire to personalise is something that has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives. The car with the custom colours and cream leather? Check. The monogrammed handbag? Check. The targeted advertising in your social media based on your demographics and google searches? Creepier… but check.
It stands to reason that we have come to expect that our investments too should be personalised to not only our needs but our social views and beliefs. While you can do it yourself by researching and investing in individual shares and assets, most people need something that can be managed on their behalf without the excruciating admin. That’s where separately managed accounts (SMAs) can come in.
“Customisation in SMAs is really only limited by one’s imagination – from asset class selection to structuring direct shares portfolios,” says Anthony Golowenko, Portfolio Manager for MLC multi-manager funds.
“Investors today want flexibility, transparency, and control, and SMAs offer all of that in a contemporary, on-platform solution.”
Golowenko notes that he sees a vast expanse of options in how customers use SMAs, with many treating their SMA as a core part of their portfolio, while incorporating existing assets outside of the core. MLC has broadened its model portfolio options to allow investors a bigger range of choices, with five premium models and five value models – all options are active, but Golowenko explains that the value option makes use of some index components to reduce costs to investors.
In this episode of The Pitch, Golowenko discusses the evolution of SMAs, the model portfolios MLC offers and customising your portfolio beyond the model to a range of assets, such as illiquid assets.
Watch the full interview below, recorded on Tuesday 4 March 2025.
