Dimensional is helping advisors reach a new level of portfolio flexibility as it takes its first steps into the world of UMAs.
On Tuesday, Dimensional Fund Advisors announced that it has launched a unified managed account platform aimed at helping independent advisors scale their operations and customize investments with greater flexibility.
The UMA platform, which evolved from Dimensional’s previous separately managed accounts platform, now includes over a thousand non-Dimensional ETFs in addition to Dimensional’s 38 ETFs and SMAs.
With the expanded capability, the asset manager is empowering more advisors to create personalized asset allocations with a blend of ETFs and direct individual securities, all managed within a single account.
Dave Butler, Dimensional co-chief executive officer, said the move builds on the firm’s 30-year history of helping independent financial advisors deliver better investment experiences while growing their businesses.
“Transforming our SMA platform into a UMA platform supports advisors by reducing operational burdens and increasing their capacity to deepen client relationships at scale,” Butler said in a statement.
The new UMA platform allows advisors to build ETF-only portfolios or combine ETFs with other securities within one account, while Dimensional helps facilitate portfolio management by managing daily asset allocation, tax considerations, and cash balances.
Dimensional’s UMA offering also provides advisors with the tools to create diverse and personalized asset allocations by blending various investment structures. Allocations can be tailored to an investor’s specific needs, including equity and fixed income allocations, regional focus, and expected returns.
Additionally, the SMAs within the platform can be adjusted for individual tax management, ESG values, and preferences regarding specific stocks, industries, sectors, or countries.
“With UMAs, financial advisors can customize and scale by combining different asset classes, securities, and vehicles in a single account,” said Savina Rizova, Dimensional’s co-chief investment officer and global head of research.
The firm’s UMAs also create opportunities for tax efficient investing, Rizova said, by considering all holdings at the tax lot level during portfolio rebalancing, loss harvesting, and addressing specific client situations such as cash raises and gifting. Users can expect enhancements to the UMA platform in the near future, Dimensional said, with plans to introduce mutual fund capabilities and expanded model management functionality.
Most firms think they are ready for the ultra high net worth market. Most are not.
Stifel has paid or is on the hook for close to a staggering $200 million in damages and settlements to former clients of Chuck Roberts.
UBS also expanded in the Southeast with six advisors overseeing more than $2 billion, while Osaic lured a $300 million family-led practice from Wells Fargo's FiNet.
The new AI workspace rollout promises to automate the full advisor workflow just as third-party tools wage a turf war for central control of wealth firms' tech stacks.
Mega-RIA picks up $250M advisor, while three firms head for &Partners.
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
As $84 trillion prepares to change hands, advisors who treat estate planning as peripheral are quietly building a sieve, not a book.
