Mutual funds are an acceptable investment vehicle for investors in the mass-market. For larger sums of money, however, it may be prudent to consider the benefits of having your assets managed on a separate account basis. Basically, there are five reasons that you might choose separate account management for investments.

• CUSTOMIZED PORTFOLIOS provide the opportunity to interact directly with the money management firm and have your investments “tailored” to suit specific risk tolerances, return objectives, cash flow needs, social value criteria, etc.. Additionally, at the time of cash inflows, money that is managed on a separate-account basis is likely to be invested into stocks that the portfolio manager finds most attractive at that point in time.

• INVESTMENT REPORTS on a quarterly basis are customized for each client. All security holding information and return data is for your specific portfolio and reflects your actual capital contributions and withdrawals.

• INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX SITUATIONS can be analyzed for each clients when making portfolio decisions. Each security transaction can be used to establish a separate cost basis. This can be advantageous for minimizing tax liabilities by strategically recognizing capital gains and losses, gifting, and other unique tax situations.

• COST ADVANTAGES are realized through the utilization of a separate account. For example, not only are the investments not subject to loads and fees, but other costs (management, administration, trading, custody, etc.) are often minimized as well.

• INVESTMENT CASH FLOWS or significant cash positions are not needed, as they are with mutual funds, to satisfy potential shareholder liquidations. This avoids the adverse impact that the purchases and sales of other shareholders may have on your portfolio holdings.