Glenmede

Founded in 1956 as a trust company, Glenmede was formed to serve in perpetuity as the investment manager, fiduciary and trustee of the Pew family’s charitable interests —the Pew Trusts. Today we provide highly customized investment, fiduciary and wealth advisory services to large, multi-generational families, family offices, endowments, foundations and select institutional clients.
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This information provided by Glenmede

Who We Are

Glenmede is an independent, privately-held investment management and wealth advisory firm. Our independence ensures our interests are aligned with client objectives and provides an organizational stability uncommon in today’s financial industry.We are singularly focused on providing investment and wealth management advice with no competing priorities.Headquartered in Philadelphia, Glenmede has offices in New York, New York; Princeton and Morristown, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware; and Cleveland, Ohio. Two-thirds of our clientele are families and institutions seeking ‘large firm’ investment resources and capabilities combined with a ‘small firm’ employee to client service culture. Our unique position in the industry allows us to opportunistically act upon evolving opportunities while providing clients with direct access to seasoned industry expertise.Glenmede continues to be recognized for its client service and thoughtful innovation, and has steadily maintained year-over-year client retention rates of over 98%.

What We Do

Glenmede provides highly customized investment and wealth management services to large, multi-generational families. Each family is paired with a team of professionals led by a dedicated relationship manager. This professional, generally a highly seasoned and credentialed portfolio manager or wealth advisor, serves as a primary point of contact for the client and is accountable for all aspects of the relationship. Relationship managers focus exclusively on delivering exceptional client service and superior results, bringing to bear for each client the full breadth of Glenmede’s services and expertise. Specifically, relationship managers collaborate with families to define and establish short- and long-term wealth objectives. From this point, we develop a full, values-based wealth management plan addressing all aspects of a client’s financial concerns: investment management, fiduciary services, philanthropic advisory, family education and governance, reporting and other related matters. Glenmede’s internal resources, combined with a trusted network of industry experts, ensure all elements of a client’s financial life can be addressed and coordinated.

What's Special About Us?

With our distinct and enduring history, Glenmede has the privilege to serve families whose financial assets have been sustained over several generations, as well as those who have recently created their financial fortune and are just beginning the journey toward sustainable wealth. We have a track record of successfully guiding families through challenging market cycles and continue to earn the highest marks in client service and satisfaction from our clients. Approximately two-thirds of assets are managed on behalf of private families with assets exceeding $25 million and select endowment, foundation and institutional clients. The remaining one-third of assets under management represents families with less than $25 million invested with Glenmede.

See the Glossary for definitions of these metrics.

This information provided by Glenmede

How does your firm deliver integrated services and what does that mean for your clients?: 

We believe an asset allocation and investment strategy should wrap around a very clear understanding of a client’s financial plans, values and pertinent non-financial goals. More specifically, we begin with an understanding of each client’s lifestyle, legacy and charitable objectives.Relationship management teams work collaboratively with clients to develop a comprehensive understanding of the unique history, family relationships, spending and investing patterns, tolerance for risk, desire for return and degree of knowledge about investment and financial matters. This formal process, which memorializes information at the relationship, household and entity levels, is known as defining the client’s Wealth Objectives. Here we prioritize and build a blueprint to deliver innovative solutions and personalized service with results that are in alignment with short- and long-term objectives.

What core services do you provide for your average client profile?: 

Leveraging 56 years of experience serving as advisor, fiduciary and investment manager to families and select institutions, Glenmede is uniquely positioned to provide a broad array of investment and wealth management services. The following describes our core services: Investment Management: Investment Strategy Portfolio Management Open Architecture (alternative assets, manager research and ongoing due diligence) Proprietary Investment Management (equity management, fixed income, risk management strategies) Consolidated Reporting (custom performance reporting, online statements) Wealth Advice: Financial Planning (balance sheet analysis, cash flow forecasting, retirement planning, legacy and charitable planning) Fiduciary Services (trust administration, will and trust review, estate settlement) Tax Services (integrated tax planning, tax return preparation) Family Philanthropy Services (personal giving programs, private foundation management) Intergenerational Wealth Education (beneficiary education, legacy planning and education) Information Management (consolidated net worth reporting, integrated financial reporting, online statements)

What is your firm's investment philosophy?: 

Glenmede’s investment philosophy seeks to preserve capital and provide for the real growth of the investment portfolio. This is done by constructing portfolios that reduce risk and maximize expected returns through diversification by asset class, strategy and manager. Further, we leverage our considerable history, size and industry contacts to provide access to areas of the market inaccessible in the public domain — private equity, real asset partnerships and hedge funds. Our investment philosophy recognizes that asset valuations and security risk premiums periodically fluctuate with market sentiment. When this occurs, otherwise solid investments can become vulnerable to temporary discounts due to fear, complexity, illiquidity or lack of a long-term view of growth potential. We seek to leverage these opportunities either by investing directly ourselves or by partnering with specialist managers with a demonstrated track record.

What are your firm's mission,vision and values?: 

Glenmede steadfastly believes that all stakeholders — clients, employees and shareholders — are best served by our continued independence, stability and a culture where client interests take precedence. Our mission is best demonstrated in the expression of our corporate values: SERVICE - We should know our clients’ goals, anticipate their needs, and deliver the same level of ongoing care that we would want for our own families and institutions. THOUGHTFUL INNOVATION- We discern and implement lasting innovation rather than passing fad. FOCUS- Our sole means of rewarding our shareholders, serving our clients and providing a rewarding employee workplace is to focus all of our energies to being the best investment and wealth manager. COLLABORATIVE BEHAVIOR- We achieve results in an amiable, approachable, and cooperative manner which bonds clients and employees to our firm. FAIR PRICING- The right price should strike the right balance between a good value to our clients and an attractive rate of return to our stakeholders. INTEGRITY- The right decision does not require a complex explanation. EFFECTIVE EXECUTION- Delivering consistently on commitments to clients differentiates us in our industry.

How are your client teams structured to deliver services to their clients?: 

Each of our client families is paired with a team of professionals, led by a dedicated relationship manager. This professional, generally a highly seasoned and credentialed portfolio manager or wealth advisor, serves as a primary point of contact and is accountable for all aspects of the relationship. Relationship managers focus exclusively on delivering exceptional client service and superior results, bringing to bear for clients the full breadth of Glenmede’s services and expertise. Relationship manager will also coordinate with your external advisors (e.g., accounts and attorneys) to ensure a cohesive, seamless advisory and management experience.

How would you describe your ideal client?: 

Glenmede is well suited to investors seeking a small firm client-to-employee service culture with access to large firm resources and capabilities. We serve families, institutions and individuals across the 50 states and international borders. Clients include entrepreneurs, corporate executives, private business owners, family offices, family foundations and inheritors of wealth, who look to Glenmede for discretionary investment (outsourced CIO) and wealth management services. Founded to serve as the investment manager, fiduciary and trustee of a now multi-billion dollar charitable trust, we leverage considerable resources to benefit clients of diverse backgrounds, circumstances, needs and complexities. As a national trust company fully regulated as a limited purpose bank by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Glenmede is required to act as a fiduciary in the performance of our duties for our clients and the safekeeping of their accounts.

What are the top three characteristics that distinguish your firm the most from your competitors?: 

Family Office Experience— Founded by the Pew family, Glenmede has a history of working with multi-generational families, family offices and select institutions. Our services and capabilities were specifically designed to meet complex investment management, fiduciary,financial, legacy and philanthropic planning needs. Amidst extraordinary and turbulent market cycles, Glenmede has maintained a client retention rate of 98%. Founded as a Fiduciary—Glenmede was founded to serve in perpetuity as a fiduciary. This fiduciary mindset is a core value which drives our singular focus on serving clients and their best interests. It ensures our objectivity and guarantees impartial advice. Dedicated Relationship Management Team and Customized Advice—Clients are paired with a team of senior professionals, led by a dedicated relationship manager who is accountable for managing and coordinating the client’s experience with Glenmede. Relationship managers are typically a CFA or a JD/CPA level professional who oversees a team comprised of a senior portfolio manager and wealth professional trained in fiduciary and tax management. This core team is augmented with our full breadth of specialty services, including philanthropic advisory, specialized information management and reporting, and access to private equity and alternative investments. In addition, we coordinate with a client’s outside advisors (e.g. accountants and attorneys). Investment and wealth advice is fully customized to the needs of each individual client.

What communication methods have you used with your clients?: 

Ongoing and timely communications are a cornerstone of our service offering. We will provide access to conference calls, webinars, seminars and written material authored by Glenmede professionals. Customary reviews are provided on a quarterly basis as scheduled by your family/committee. The Glenmede team is accustomed to providing in-person updates between meetings and we find this highly desirable given the volatility and fragility of the capital markets. In addition to your dedicated portfolio manager, any of our investment professionals are available to consult with the Committee, should you be interested. For example, members of our manager selection, equity research or private equity teams are available to further address your questions or concerns. We believe this level of access to expertise further differentiates Glenmede.

What formal and informal client education programs does your company provide?: 

Glenmede delivers a wide range of formal and informal educational programs. Our formal programs provide information on investment management, fiduciary topics and philanthropy, to name a few. They are delivered in numerous formats including seminars, conferences, webinars, and conference calls. We publish numerous newsletters during the year that provide timely and relevant information on the economy and the markets along with current trends and developments in estate and tax planning. Our informal programs are tailored to the individual needs of our clients and can be delivered in many formats ranging from one-on-one to large family meetings. Topics are varied and can include broad updates on the economy to detailed discussions on alternative investment options. Other topics of interest have included socially responsible investing, intergenerational education and family foundation management. Glenmede has also formed partnerships with industry experts who provide assistance with topics such as family conflict resolution and effective communication.

How do you approach risk analysis for your clients?: 

Risk analysis is performed at the relationship, household and entity levels, building integrated and customized plans that deploy assets in alignment with short- and long-term objectives. We work collaboratively to develop a comprehensive understanding, by listening and eliciting data, of each client’s unique history, family relationships, spending and investing patterns, tolerance for risk, desire for return, degree of knowledge about investment and financial matters and those aspects of life that are truly most important and affect a family’s myriad risks. These highly personal and complex dimensions are seamlessly incorporated into thoughtfully structured investment portfolios, relevant and timely advice and personalized service. Following, we provide two examples of the types of processes we employ in our approach to risk analysis: Development of Client Wealth Objectives—In this formal process, we prioritize and catalog the qualitative dimensions into a blueprint by which we deliver innovative solutions and personalized service on the relationship level, as well as the household and entity levels. Investment Policy Development—At the outset of the relationship, portfolio managers work collaboratively with clients to create an Investment Policy Statement or to review and (as necessary), revise an existing policy. This document defines how assets will be managed, reflecting risk, return and liquidity needs as well as the goals, mission and objectives (e.g., preservation of capital, real investment growth and reduced risk). This process memorializes and defines investment objectives, permissible asset classes, income needs and any special considerations and target asset allocations, taking into consideration a family’s other assets and businesses as appropriate.

What are the credentials and qualifications of your firm management and staff?: 

Glenmede’s stability and independence attracts and retains exceptional professionals. On average, individuals have 30 years of industry experience and 10 years of tenure with Glenmede. From the introductory period and throughout the relationship, clients have access to Executive Management as well as senior specialists. Of our client-facing professionals, 60 percent hold the following advanced degrees and accreditations: 48—CFA 24—JD 8—CPA 12—CFP 5—CTFA 1—CLU 1— ChFC

What is your firm's expertise with alternative investments?: 

Alternative assets are a key component of our asset allocation and investment strategy. Leveraging our relationships with the Pew Trusts, we provide access to otherwise inaccessible areas of the capital markets—private equity, real asset partnerships and hedge funds. Our Manager Research team is responsible for analyzing hedge funds while Glenmede’s Private Investment team managers our private equity and real asset funds. We approach alternative investments on a case-by-case basis and will incorporate these assets only if it is appropriate for the client. Factors we consider when determining if alternative investments are appropriate for our clients are: risk tolerance, expected return, liquidity needs, time horizon, any tax sensitivity (UBIT), any unique circumstances and the overall allocation of the investment portfolio itself. We manage internal fund-of-funds for hedge funds, private equity and real asset investments and maintain relationships with external fund-of-funds managers, giving us access to the full spectrum of the alternative investment universe.

See the Glossary for definitions of these metrics.

This information provided by Glenmede

Background

Year Firm Established: 
1956
Founding Family Name: 
Pew Family

Ownership

Management: 
35
Employees: 
65

Stats

As of date: 
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Currency: 
US Dollar
Assets Under Management (Mil): 
20,307
Assets Under Advisement (Mil): 
20,470
Average Client Assets Under Advisement (Mil): 
58.1
3-Year Compound Annual Growth Rate in Assets: 
4.3%
Average Client Investable Assets (Mil): 
58.1
Primary Generations Served: 
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5+
Total Employees: 
275
Number of Relationship Managers: 
70
Number of Investment Professionals: 
80
Average Clients Per Client Team : 
15
3-Year Employee Attrition Rate: 
5.5%
Frequency of Financial Reporting: 
Monthly
Quarterly
Annually
Do you provide consolidated financial reporting?: 
Yes
Footnotes: 
#20: Family-Included as 'Management' / Management-35%: (current Board of Directors and their families) / Employees-65%: (former & current employees and directors and their families) Average client investable size: Family Wealth Services, exclusive of Pew Trusts
Target Client Portfolio 000000 14

See the Glossary for definitions of these metrics.

Contact

Susan Mucciarone
Director of Wealth Advisory
215-419-6047

Headquarters

Headquarters: 
1650 Market Street
Suite 1200
Philadelphia  Pennsylvania  19103
United States

Other Office Locations

Other Office Locations: 
Cleveland, Ohio Morristown and Princeton, New Jersey New York, New York Wilmington, Delaware

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