FAQs

What is a Separately Managed Account?

A Separately Managed Account is an individual investment account where the investor owns securities outright, distinct from a mutual fund where the investor owns units in a co-mingled investment vehicle.

What is the minimum investment for a Separately Managed Account?

$250,000

What are the fees for Separately Managed Accounts?

Grey Owl’s fees for advisory services vary depending on the total amount of a Client’s assets managed by Grey Owl. With limited exceptions, fees are individually negotiated and can range from 1.60% for accounts at our minimum investment level to 0.50% for very large accounts.

How are fees charged?

Fees are charged quarterly and in arrears based on the average value of the account’s daily balances. For accounts opening during the quarter, fees are prorated.

Where will my assets be held and how do I know they are secure?

Grey Owl Asset Management, LLC custodies client assets with Fidelity. As of June 30, 2013, Fidelity was custodian for more than $4 Trillion in assets. Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services (the Fidelity business unit we work with) custodies over $660B in assets for more than 3,200 investment boutiques. Your assets are segregated from the firm’s assets and Fidelity carries standard SIPC insurance, as well as a rider from Lloyd’s of London. Unlike large broker-dealers and investment banks, Fidelity does not undertake proprietary trading that can put the firm at risk and potentially encumber your assets for a period of time (ala the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy). Finally, we carry our own errors & omissions insurance to protect you further. More information can be found on the Safeguarding Your Accounts portion of the Fidelity website.

Who “supervises” Grey Owl Capital Management?

Grey Owl Capital Management is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with the Commonwealth of Virginia. As such, we file a form ADV, have compliance and disaster recovery systems and manuals in place, and are open to examinations by state regulators. Clients receive copies of our form ADV II and our privacy policy. Perhaps most importantly, as holders of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, we are subject to the CFA Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. These can be found here. In the wake of the Madoff scandal, it is worth pointing out that Madoff’s firm was both investment advisor and asset custodian (he had his own broker/dealer). Distinctly, Fidelity will be the custodian for your assets and provide you online access to your account statements.