PFM ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC


Public Financial Management, Inc. (PFM, Inc.) was founded in 1975 to provide independent financial advisory services to the public sector. PFM, Inc. began providing investment advisory services to public entities in 1980. In 2001, PFM Asset Management LLC (PFMAM) was created as the entity through which investment advisory services are provided. Effective June 1, 2016, financial advisory services historically offered through PFM, Inc. are being offered through a new operating company, PFM Financial Advisors LLC (PFMFA). PFM, Inc., PFMFA, PFMAM and certain other affiliated companies are collectively referred to as “PFM”.

PFMAM and the other related businesses within PFM are organized in a holding company structure, and are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of the holding company, named PFM I, LLC.

PFMAM is a Delaware limited liability company.

As of December 31, 2018, the amount of client assets we managed on a discretionary basis was $94,103,777,992.80 and the amount we managed on a nondiscretionary basis was $1,207,414,365.91. In addition, as of December 31, 2018, we provided investment consulting services with respect to assets in the amount of $40,837,028,192.22.

We offer the following types of investment advice:

1. Discretionary Advice.

We offer discretionary advisory services for government, nonprofit and other institutional investors who invest in fixed-income and multi-asset class strategies. When a client gives us investment discretion, we have the authority to determine, without obtaining specific approval, (1) overall asset allocation, (2) the manager or sub- adviser to be utilized for the portfolio, (3) the specific securities to be bought and sold, (4) the amount of securities to be bought and sold and (5) the broker or dealer through which the securities are bought or sold. These decisions are subject to limitations of law and any other restrictions in the contract with our client and limitations in our client’s written investment policies. Under these types of engagements, we assume day-to-day management responsibility for the assets covered by the investment advisory agreement. Examples of the securities we may recommend include U.S. Treasury securities, Federal Agency securities, high-grade corporate obligations, mortgage and asset backed securities, municipal securities, institutional mutual funds, and money market instruments. We arrange for the purchase and sale of these securities to meet the investment objectives and cash flow requirements of each client.

We manage fixed-income portfolios, often on a total return basis. We also implement liability-driven strategies that seek to generate cash flows from a portfolio of fixed-income securities to match specific liabilities such as bond-funded defeasance accounts, construction accounts or insurance liabilities. We also provide services to the PFM Multi-Manager Series Trust (MMST or the Trust), a registered open- end investment company, utilizing a manager-of-managers structure. The Trust offers different funds (MMST Funds), with each MMST Fund having specific investment objectives, policies, and restrictions. We are responsible for, among other overall management services, determining investment strategies, selecting and monitoring unaffiliated investment sub-advisers for each MMST Fund and for allocating and reallocating assets among the sub- advisers consistent with each MMST Fund’s investment objective and strategies. For some of our clients, including trusts, pension plans, endowments, foundations, other post-employment benefits (OPEB) plans or other similar asset pools, we serve as a discretionary manager to invest a client’s assets in multiple types of investments. Generally these accounts include a variety of asset classes, which may include domestic equity, international equity, fixed-income, and alternative asset classes, including shares of MMST Funds. We provide multi-asset class investment services in two forms. One form is a wrap fee program known as the Managed Accounts Program (MAP), where we charge a single fee to include investment advisory, third-party custody and administrative services. We are no longer marketing MAP to new clients. The other is a general discretionary form where we unbundle some of the service fees, which allows the client to separately negotiate these fees (for example, custody fees). This form of multi-asset class management is referred to as a fund of funds approach. It may also be described as outsourced CIO, implemented consulting and a variety of other generic terms. In each of these two general forms of management, we work with the client to determine a target asset allocation based on a variety of risk and return characteristics. We then implement the asset allocation, either by buying shares of mutual funds (including ETF’s) and/or pooled funds or other investment vehicles (collectively, Funds), or by selecting separate account managers who will manage separate accounts of specific asset classes and/or strategies, including the MMST sub-advisers (Investment Sub-Advisers). Shares may include those of the MMST Funds.

Under this approach, we have discretion to make the initial selection of the Funds or Investment Sub- Advisers. We also provide ongoing periodic monitoring services by evaluating the Fund’s or the Investment Sub- Adviser's portfolio management philosophy, policies, processes, controls, personnel and investment performance. Clients who hire us give us authority to change, drop or add Funds or Investment Sub-Advisers. The client generally gives the Investment Sub-Advisers both investment and brokerage discretion in managing its portion of the portfolio. We give these clients periodic reports on the investment performance of the various Funds, Investment Sub-Advisers and the portfolio as a whole.

We assist clients in establishing the basis for asset allocation by preparing a written investment strategy. These clients give us authority to re-allocate assets and to change, eliminate or add managers or investments within the scope of the investment strategy.

2. Services to Registered Investment Companies and Local Government Investment Pools

PFMAM currently provides investment advisory and/or administrative services to 17 pooled investment programs (generally known as local government investment pools) across 15 states, as well as to two registered investment companies whose series or classes are registered in multiple states. We generally, but not always, provide administration services and an affiliate generally provides distribution services as described in this document. Where PFMAM is the investment adviser to a pooled investment vehicle, investment objectives, guidelines and any investment restrictions are not tailored to the needs of individual investors in those vehicles, but rather are described in the relevant offering documents for the vehicle.
3. Nondiscretionary Advice

We also may provide advice on a nondiscretionary basis where we offer clients investment recommendations, subject to their specific approval and further execution instructions. In this case our client makes trades directly or specifically approves our purchase or sale of specific securities, including certificates of deposit.
4. Consulting Services
We also provide nondiscretionary investment consulting services to:  governmental entities;  public, Taft-Hartley and corporate pension funds;  hospital endowments and foundations;  trusts;  OPEB plans; and  other similar institutional investors. For certain of our clients, these consulting services may consist of providing general portfolio and management assistance, in which we assist the client in reviewing its investment policy and providing advice on management of broker and banking relationships. We may also assist in areas such as cash flow reviews, analysis of the characteristics of client’s portfolio, market commentary, portfolio analytics, portfolio reporting, and credit analysis support.

These consulting services consist of overseeing a client’s portfolio where we have not been given authority to buy or sell securities in the portfolio. We typically begin these services by assessing the client's investment objectives, time horizon and risk tolerance. Using this information, we then propose asset allocation models within the investment guidelines which the client gives us. We may also assist in writing an investment policy which provides details about the objectives, diversification, quality and performance measurement of the portfolio. We also make recommendations on the selection of money managers, pooled trusts or mutual funds to carry out the client’s investment strategy. Once our client puts the investment policy into place, we report quarterly to the client on the investment performance. We also report on whether an investment manager chosen follows its particular style, and whether our client’s portfolio complies with its investment policy.

We also provide consulting services to OPEB plans and pension plans. These services involve financial reporting, analyzing cash flow implications of different funding strategies, and other matters relating to the OPEB benefits or pension benefits and funding arrangements. Often we perform these services by cooperating with our client’s other professional advisors, such as the client’s accountant or actuary.
5. Structured Products

We also provide analytical services for designing and procuring portfolios in connection with the current or advance refunding of municipal bonds and the investment of bond proceeds. For these engagements we arrange for purchases of specific securities that are generally government obligations or structured investments such as forward delivery agreements. On our client’s behalf we arrange these purchases by obtaining bids on a competitive basis or in rare instances by negotiating on behalf of our client.
6. Treasury Consulting Services

We also provide clients with services to assist with the design and procurement of banking and custody services. For each client, we conduct a detailed assessment of current banking arrangements. We evaluate the client’s needs, analyze existing banking relationships, review how bank services fit into cash management and investment systems, and make specific recommendations to improve certain systems.
7. Services for Banking and Other Similarly Chartered Financial Institutions
We also offer discretionary and nondiscretionary advice tailored for banks and other similarly chartered financial institutions which invest in fixed-income securities. These services are tailored to the particular investment needs, restrictions and requirements which apply to these types of clients. These decisions are subject to limitations of banking regulatory requirements, and any other restrictions in the contract with our client and limitations in our client’s written investment policies. Examples of the securities we may recommend include U.S. Treasury securities, Federal Agency securities, high-grade corporate obligations, mortgage and asset backed securities, institutional mutual funds, and money market instruments. We arrange for or recommend the purchase and sale of these securities to meet the investment objective, strategies, and risk position of each of these types of client.
8. Stable Value Management
We also offer stable value strategies that typically include fixed-income investments and benefit-responsive wrap contracts or "wrappers" offered by banks and insurance companies with an overall objective of seeking capital preservation and current income. Stable value strategies are generally offered to defined contribution retirement plans either as a separately managed account (which we presently offer) or as a commingled fund. These structures may utilize any of the following types of investments, which we refer to as “Stable Value Contracts”:  Guaranteed Investment Contracts (GIC): This is a stable value investment contract issued by an insurance company that pays a specified rate of return for a specified period of time and is backed by the financial strength of the issuing entity. The underlying securities are typically held on the issuing insurer’s balance sheet in either a general or separate account.  Synthetic GIC: A synthetic GIC is a contract that simulates the performance of a traditional GIC through the use of financial instruments. The underlying assets associated with a synthetic GIC are held in trust for the benefit of the investing plan’s participants. Those assets typically include high- quality fixed-income securities which we manage. To enable the policyholder to realize a specific known value for the assets if it needs to liquidate them, synthetic GICs utilize a benefit-responsive "wrapper" contract that is designed to provide market and cash flow risk protection to the policyholder.  Separate Account GIC: A stable value investment contract issued by an insurance company. The underlying assets which we manage are owned by the issuing insurance company but held in a separate account for the benefit of participating plan or plans. For client stable value accounts, Synthetic and Separate Account GICs typically require that we manage the account(s) within specified investment guidelines as a part of the underwriting and contract process of the issuer of the GIC. These additional guidelines may serve to limit the scope or types of investments otherwise included within a client portfolio, which could result in a lower return to investors. As part of a stable value strategy for the assets we manage, we will make allocations to various underlying strategies, monitor and maintain portfolio duration, and coordinate the resources of various investment, legal and compliance professionals as well as potentially third-party managers. An ongoing review of portfolio structure, cash flow history, guidelines and objectives for each client will occur. We may provide a full range of services for particular stable value clients, or services may be focused on a subset of stable value management such as advising on overall structure or third-party manager asset allocation. Entering into Stable Value Contracts is an important aspect of stable value management. We will identify and select, or assist in the selection of, the financial organizations issuing Stable Value Contracts and negotiate contracts on behalf of clients.
9. General Approach to Advisory Services
We tailor our advisory services taking into account following factors:
 the services that the client has requested;  the client’s investment objective;  the client’s investment policy;  the client’s time horizon; and  the client’s risk tolerance.

A client may impose additional restrictions on the types of securities in which we can invest, or on the maturity of securities. We adhere to any investment restrictions provided by the client. please register to get more info

Open Brochure from SEC website
Assets
Pooled Investment Vehicles $32,702,453,991
Discretionary $113,146,791,747
Non-Discretionary $1,128,644,585
Registered Web Sites

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