Manning & Napier, Inc. is an independent investment management firm that
provides a broad range of investment solutions through separately managed accounts,
mutual funds, and collective investment trust funds, as well as a variety of
consultative services that complement its investment process. Founded in 1970,
we offer equity, fixed income and alternative strategies, as well as a range
of blended asset portfolios, such as life cycle funds. Headquartered in Fairport,
New York, we serve a diversified client base of high net worth individuals and
institutions, including 401(k) plans, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans ("Taft-Hartley"),
endowments and foundations.
Since our inception, we have taken the view that an active, team-based approach
to portfolio management is the best way to manage risk for clients as market
conditions change. Across our variety of equity, fixed income and blended asset
portfolios, our goal is to provide competitive absolute returns over full market
cycles. We employ disciplined processes that seek to avoid areas of speculation
by focusing on investments with strong fundamentals at reasonable prices or
stable fundamentals at attractive prices. To ensure a focus on absolute returns,
we employ a compensation structure for our research team that rewards positive
and above benchmark results and penalizes negative and below benchmark results.
This active, absolute-returns based approach requires flexibility to invest
where opportunities are and avoid speculation, regardless of the allocations
within a comparative benchmark.
Initially, this approach helped us build a client base of high net worth individuals,
small business owners and middle market institutions, and we maintain these
relationships in many targeted geographic regions. This foundation allowed us
to expand our business to serve the needs of larger institutions, investment
consultants and other intermediaries.
Our separate accounts are primarily distributed through our Direct Channel,
where our representatives form relationships with high net worth individuals,
middle market institutions or large institutions that are working with a consultant.
To a lesser extent, we also obtain a portion of our separate account distribution
via third parties, either through our Intermediary Channel where national brokerage
firm representatives or independent financial advisors select our separate account
strategies for their clients, or through our Platform/Sub-Advisory Channel,
where unaffiliated registered investment advisors approve our strategies for
their product platforms. Our separate account products are a primary driver
of our blended asset portfolios for high net worth and middle market institutional
clients and financial intermediaries. In contrast, larger institutions and unaffiliated
registered investment advisor platforms are a driver of our separate account
equity portfolios.
Maintain a Strong, Team-Based Research Engine
With a research department of over 70 investment professionals, we are committed
to a team-based approach to portfolio management to ensure that success can
be repeated over time. All of our investment products are managed by a team,
so that stability of process takes precedence over any individual personality.
Our Senior Research Group, which consists of long-tenured members of the research
department, maintains oversight responsibility for our investment disciplines
and policies. We take a home-grown approach to maintaining this strong research
engine. Analysts begin their employment with us as Research Assistants or Associates,
and progress to the Analyst level only after learning our process and disciplines
in a role that supports the portfolio management teams. We believe this ensures
consistency with our time-tested philosophies and also provides a source of
future analysts to address growth and turnover.
Over time and as product development warrants, we may add to our research team
or supplement that team with additional investment professionals through corporate
development activities. In 2014, we acquired an alternative investment manager
and integrated the research professionals into our existing team to enhance
our alternatives capabilities. In December of 2015, we announced our intention
to acquire a majority interest in Rainier in part to expand the product set
available to our clients. The investment teams of both Manning & Napier
and Rainier will remain autonomous, and the transaction will not result in changes
to either firms investment personnel or processes.
Broad, Multi Channel Distribution Team
We continue to focus on the depth of our multi-channel distribution structure,
which includes both direct and intermediary channels. Within our direct and
intermediary channels, we recognize the growing influence and specialization
of retirement plan advisors. To address this opportunity, we have established
a specific Defined Contribution Investment Only wholesaling team to focus their
sales efforts on retirement specialist advisors, who work with small-to-mid
market defined contribution plans. In these channels, we believe we have a competitive
advantage that allows us to offer our multi-asset class strategies, including
our life cycle and retirement target mutual fund and collective trust products.
Non-retirement plan advisors have and will continue to be focused on wealth
management investment solutions.
Within our direct channel, our high-touch distribution strategy has allowed
us to build strong relationships over time. We continuously look to opportunistically
enhance our direct distribution sales force domestically. Beyond deepening these
current channels and territories, we continue to look at ways to expand our
global distribution, including leveraging our current relationships in Europe
and expanding into new markets.
Innovative Product Development
We are committed to on-going development of products and consultative services
in response to current and prospective client needs. Todays market environment
presents new challenges for investors. Historically low yields on fixed income
securities, the potential for rising interest rates and future inflation, and
continued global uncertainty have created an investing landscape that requires
new solutions to meeting objectives. We understand that we must stay relevant
and competitive by ensuring that we are consistently providing innovative solutions
that address todays challenges.
We have approximately $30 million invested in seed capital to our investment
teams as of December 31, 2015 across more than fifteen products, including equity,
fixed income and alternative strategies. Over the last two years, we have seen
five of those seeded products reach a three year track record, including our
Emerging Markets and Global Quality equity strategies as well as our Global
Fixed Income, Strategic Income Conservative and Strategic Income Moderate strategies.
In addition, our intent to acquire a majority interest in Rainier during 2016
will add several equity products to our product set, including small-to-mid
cap, mid cap and large cap U.S. equity offerings as well as an international
small cap equity strategy.
Enhanced Consultative Services
Offering consultative services alongside our team-based, process-driven investment
management has been a source of both new business and client retention over
our history. Currently, we offer a variety of consultative services to individual
and institutional clients, including estate and tax planning, asset/liability
modeling for defined benefit pension plans, retirement and health plan design
analysis for employers, and donor relations and planned giving services for
endowment and foundation clients.
Many of these services are offered through our Client Analytics Group, which
consists of internal consultants whose primary responsibilities include working
with prospective and current clients to solve investment and planning-related
problems. This group includes several chartered financial analysts, certified
financial planners, an accredited investment fiduciary and professionals with
law and masters degrees.
We also offer practice management concepts and tools to both wealth advisors
and retirement plan advisors to assist in their new business and service efforts,
and certain technology-driven products and services aimed at the middle market
employer marketplace to assist both employers and employees with their health
and wealth planning.
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