Open Architecture Investment Services

For more than 70 years, William Blair & Company has built a reputation of identifying high-quality growth stocks, a reputation that is supported by the marketplace and by solid long-term performance through market peaks and troughs. Our core competency has expanded to encompass investing in international equities and fixed-income securities as well.

When clients require portfolio customization or tax-planning capabilities beyond these core competencies, we use an open-architecture approach to asset management. William Blair Select is an internal resource that, in collaboration with our financial advisors and investment counselors, provides our clients access to skilled managers in investment segments outside William Blair & Company. A rigorous process is followed for identifying and monitoring our relationships with top-performing managers at other firms.

Diversification options using external managers include:

• separately managed accounts
• mutual funds
• exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• private equity
• alternative investments

Investment Manager Research, Selection, and Ongoing Monitoring

We believe identifying effective managers within each asset class and style is the best way to help our clients meet their individual investment goals. Therefore, we place a high value on careful investment manager research and selection.

The goal of our research is to identify skilled managers whose characteristics complement the needs and desires of our investing clients. Every manager search begins with an investment thesis that guides the selection process. Our research process identifies managers within specific investment disciplines, and we use these managers as building blocks for our diversified portfolio recommendations.

The financial advisors and portfolio managers at William Blair & Company collaborate with William Blair Select to create an asset-allocation strategy based on a client’s unique objectives, risk tolerance, and financial profile. Once the strategy has been implemented, we continually evaluate performance and suitability of managers used in the portfolio.

Important Disclosure