PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 38

modern investment menu / back office
" It's helpful to have an overall approach with extremely
limited conflicts of interest, " Milovancev says. " We are truly
serving our clients as investment advisers and benefits
consultants. Of course, we derive additional revenue via our
third-party administration business and through other pathways
unrelated to investment advice, but our model gives our
advisers a lot of confidence that we're all on the same side of
the table-the advisers, the clients and everyone here. "
Felton says the team strives to be methodical about how it
takes feedback from the advisers in the field.
" Given our scale, we always run the risk of getting too
much information back and of being overwhelmed by it, "
he observes. " It is a bit of an art, interpreting the information
we're getting and ensuring that we pull out the most
important and effective information that we can apply to our
central investment process. "
In terms of how the office of the CIO functions, it is organized
into various operating committees, each with a defined
area of expertise and a particular client type or investment
function in mind. The committee members are pulled from
the firm's most senior professionals, and there are supporting
analysts and researchers inside the apparatus as well.
" I don't know if this makes our committee unique or not,
but we don't necessarily have make-or-break votes as much
as we engage in debates to create consensus and reach agreement, "
Milovancev notes.
Looking to the future and the firm's anticipated growth,
Milovancev and Felton say, CBIZ's central investment team
and the firm's advisers are optimistic about
adviser managed account solutions.
leveraging
" Matt and his team are driving the analysis for the assetallocation
theory underlying this new approach, " Milovancev
says. " It's fair to say that our leadership thinks this approach
will explode in the near future, and the advisers love what
they are able to deliver to the individual participants. "
SageView's Decentralized
Investment Structure
As explained by Todd Stewart, managing director of investment
research and chair of SageView Advisory Group's
national investment committee, the firm's approach to delivering
investment advice at scale is somewhat unique in that
it is decentralized and not managed out of one home office.
" The individual committee members are located all across
the field offices of SageView, " says Stewart, who is based in
Knoxville, Tennessee. " It may give you some insight to know
that our committee was using Zoom and working remotely
since well before the COVID-19 pandemic. We have taken this
approach intentionally, so the committee members can still
continue to have consulting responsibilities. "
To begin with, continuing to act as a client-facing
consultant in a particular geography ensures that an
investment committee member understands how clients
are affected by the centralized investment decisions,
Stewart says. The members can see the emerging trends
in the marketplace that they might otherwise not see as
" The individual committee
members are located all
across the field offices of
SageView. "
-Todd Stewart
" But ensuring the clientfacing
group is wellrepresented
on the
committee has been
beneficial for us. "
-Jon Upham
quickly-if at all, he notes.
" We don't want to take an ivory tower approach and base
everything in the home office, " Stewart says. " We believe this
approach distinguishes us, and it makes us better as a firm.
It has been fun and rewarding to integrate the new firms we
have acquired into this approach. It's one they can see the
value in, and each new firm adds to the collective expertise. "
The committee itself is composed of 18 rotating members,
who each pledge to serve a two-year term. Of the 18, seven
have the power to vote on decisions. Jon Upham, a principal
in the SageView Advisory Group, says the accessibility and
the client-facing work of the committee members generate a
great deal of trust and confidence among the advisers who do
not work directly on the committee.
" With a segregated approach, the view is that you may
run the risk of having an analysis team that doesn't see
things practically, from the client's point of view, " Upham
says. " Of course, we do have some specialist experts who
aren't serving the clients directly, and they may instead focus
on doing research and working on tools. But ensuring the
client-facing group is well-represented on the committee has
been beneficial for us. In fact, this environment has allowed
us to find success bringing in new firms via acquisition and
making the integration process very smooth. "
Upham says clients appreciate the way SageView makes
and communicates its investment decisions, and this has
resulted in strong client retention and organic growth.
" Our leading investment professionals attend finals meetings.
When the clients hear that these are the specific professionals
who will be serving them and whom they'll have
direct access to-that's a clear advantage for us, " he says.
Reflecting on the experience of smaller acquired firms
and their advisers, Upham says the vast majority find the
committee-based, unified approach to be a great relief.
" They are used to spending so much time and energy on
the investment reporting and the due diligence, " he says.
" From day one with SageView, they get to see the disciplined
approach we have and the efficiency we can bring to
them. " -John Manganaro
38 | planadviser.com May-June 2022
http://www.planadviser.com

PLANADVISER -May/June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER -May/June 2022

PLANADVISER Industry Leaders Awards
Paving the Way
2022 DCIO Survey
Fool's Gold for 401(k)s?
Design and Stability
A Collective Effort
Cryptocurrency In DC Plans
Real Estate Fund Investments
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Cover1
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Cover2
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 1
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 2
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 3
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 4
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 5
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 6
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 7
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 8
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 9
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - PLANADVISER Industry Leaders Awards
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 11
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 12
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 13
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 14
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 15
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 16
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 17
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 18
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 19
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Paving the Way
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 21
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 22
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 23
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 2022 DCIO Survey
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 25
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 26
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 27
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 28
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 29
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Fool's Gold for 401(k)s?
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 31
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 32
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 33
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Design and Stability
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 35
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - A Collective Effort
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 37
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 38
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Cryptocurrency In DC Plans
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Real Estate Fund Investments
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Cover3
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - Cover4
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https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/november_december_2022
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/september_october_2022
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/july_august_2022
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/may_june_2022
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/industry_leader_awards_2022
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/march_april_2022
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https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/september_october_2021
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https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/january_february_2021
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/november_december_2020
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/september_october_2020
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https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/march_april_2020
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/january_february_2020
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/november_december_2019
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/september_october_2019
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/july_august_2019
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/may_june_2019
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/march_april_2019
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/january_february_2019
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/november_december_2018
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/september_october_2018
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/july_august_2018
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/may_june_2018
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/march_april_2018
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/january_february_2018
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/november_december_2017
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/september_october_2017
https://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/july_august_2017
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