Manage Your Business
Our Investment Management Process
Our Professional Research and Technical Support Systems are designed as follows:
- Inside – As a member of the First Commonwealth family, we are able to draw upon the resources of our parent company – a financial company with assets of more than $6 billion. This includes the expertise of financial professionals with investment, economic, legal and accounting backgrounds … experts who can provide our clients with the tailored financial solutions they need – even as those needs change.
- Outside – By establishing contracted agreements with some of the top research and institutional advisory groups in the world, we have developed a team of professionals with domestic and international investment, economic, legal and accounting backgrounds, holding Ph.D., CFA, CFP, CLU, CPA, JD, ChFC and MBA qualifications.
- We can work in the selection of initial investment options, and will recommend the mapping of prior investments to new options that may be made. We engage in the continuous review of existing investment plan options and provide recommendations when appropriate to the replacement of an option that no longer meets the Investment Policy Statement’s selection criteria.
- Overall objectives are set to ensure that the manager/investment fund:
- Is managing assets in accordance with the stated guidelines and objectives
- Has not had any significant organizational changes or events
- Operates with care, skill & prudence in line with fiduciary responsibility
- A Fund/Investment may be "WatchListed" due to:
- The fund fails to meet standards &/or criteria as defined, particularly within the fund prospectus
- Better options are available (expenses, performance, risk measurements)
- Operational issues exist with fund (manager departures, regulatory changes)
- The initial implementation (set–up) of investment choices is very similar to the on–going due diligence process followed for monitoring investment choices.
- Overview of Process:
- Investment performance review through outside sources such as fi360 lens and Morningstar Fund Reports.
- Review investor objectives vs. the objectives of investment vehicle
- Monitor market commentary, news, events & other relevant fund materials
- Direct review of Fund Company information
- Annual review of prospectus
- Participate in manager conference calls as available
- Meetings with fund representatives
- Annual discussion with manager if conference calls are incomplete/unavailable
- Reporting Expectations: Monitoring of plan investments is provided to Trustees in a quarterly report and includes:
- On–going monitoring and quarterly reporting of Plan’s investment options, their performance and issues of concern. Phone conferences and meetings with managers on a periodic basis. Watchlisting of funds when warranted, elevated monitoring
- Regulatory oversight and implementation of all necessary actions for the plan’s continued compliance with relevant mandates
- Report on fund issues to Trustees and/or others as directed
- Overall objectives are set to ensure that the manager/investment fund:
