What is a separately managed account and why do family offices prefer it?

A separately managed account (SMA) is a portfolio managed on behalf of a single client where the client directly owns the underlying securities. Family offices favour SMAs for full look-through transparency, customisable tax-loss harvesting, and the ability to impose ESG or concentration screens without requiring fund-level consent.

How does the All-Weather strategy differ from the Tactical Select strategy?

The All-Weather strategy seeks consistent exposure across multiple market regimes by diversifying factor exposures to limit drawdown. The Tactical Select strategy takes higher-conviction, signal-driven positions that accept more short-term volatility in pursuit of stronger directional returns.

Why is third-party performance verification such as Zephyr PSN important for family office due diligence?

Third-party databases like Zephyr's PSN provide standardised, independently verified performance attribution, reducing the risk of presentation bias inherent in manager-produced composites. Insisting on such data during RFP processes is a recognised governance best practice for family office investment committees.

Which regulators are relevant when a family office in Asia uses SMA mandates?

MAS in Singapore and the SFC in Hong Kong are the primary regulators. MAS family office conditions, including the 13O and 13U incentive schemes, may impose look-through and reporting obligations that SMAs satisfy more readily than commingled fund structures.

What fee components should family offices scrutinise in an SMA mandate?

Principals should examine management fees, transaction or brokerage costs at the individual security level, any performance allocation or high-water mark provisions, and custody fees — all of which are typically more visible in an SMA than in a pooled vehicle.

How does SMA governance support next-generation family office principals?

Direct ownership of securities with auditable transaction records and clear look-through reporting gives next-generation principals and their advisers a verifiable record of investment decisions, supporting both fiduciary accountability and educational engagement with the portfolio.

SMA Strategies for Family Offices: All-Weather and Tactical

TL;DR

Stansberry Asset Management's Mario Valente has detailed two SMA strategies, All-Weather and Tactical Select, that illustrate how rules-based, separately managed account mandates can meet the look-through reporting and governance standards increasingly required by Asia-Pacific family offices and their regulators.

Stansberry Asset Management's Mario Valente has outlined two separately managed account strategies, All-Weather and Tactical Select, that the firm positions as core allocation tools for advisers and institutional clients seeking differentiated, rules-based equity exposure. For Asia-Pacific family offices evaluating liquid alternatives within their public-markets sleeve, the construction logic behind both strategies offers a useful reference point as principals reassess portfolio resilience in a higher-volatility rate environment.

Family office CIOs in the region increasingly favour SMAs over commingled vehicles for their transparency, tax efficiency, and direct ownership of underlying securities, features that matter acutely when governance committees require full look-through reporting or when trustees need to demonstrate fiduciary compliance to regulators such as MAS or the SFC. Valente's discussion of Stansberry's approach is therefore relevant not as a product pitch but as a case study in how systematic strategies can be packaged inside SMA wrappers to meet institutional due-diligence standards.

The All-Weather strategy is designed to hold positioning across multiple market regimes, drawing on diversified factor exposures intended to reduce drawdown without sacrificing long-term compounding. The Tactical Select strategy, by contrast, concentrates on higher-conviction positions that shift based on market signals, accepting more near-term volatility in exchange for the potential for stronger directional returns. Both approaches reflect a broader industry move away from static model portfolios toward adaptive frameworks that can be stress-tested against scenario analysis, a capability that resonates with family offices running formal investment policy statements and annual asset-liability reviews. Key structural considerations for principals evaluating SMA mandates include:

Look-through reporting requirements under MAS family office conditions or SFC licensing frameworks
Custodian compatibility and whether the SMA manager accepts third-party prime brokers
Fee transparency, including management fees, transaction costs, and any performance allocation
Tax treatment of realised gains at the individual security level versus fund-level distributions
Alignment of rebalancing frequency with the family office's liquidity policy and cash-flow schedule

Stansberry Asset Management's use of Zephyr's PSN database to present its track record also signals a growing expectation among allocators that managers provide standardised, third-party-verified performance attribution, not internal composites alone. For family offices conducting manager selection, insisting on PSN or eVestment data as part of the RFP process is a practical governance step that reduces the risk of performance-presentation bias.

Why it matters: Asia-Pacific family offices expanding their liquid alternatives allocation in 2026 should treat the SMA structure not merely as an operational preference but as a governance instrument. The ability to own securities directly, enforce custom ESG screens, and receive auditable look-through data strengthens the principal's position in conversations with regulators, co-investors, and next-generation beneficiaries who demand accountability at the holding level, not just at the fund level.