# Turnkey Asset Management Programs (TAMPs): Overview and Examples

## What Is a Turnkey Asset Management Program (TAMP)?

Turnkey asset management programs (TAMPs) provide [financial advisers](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-advisor.asp), broker-dealers, and other professionals with an efficient platform to manage client investment accounts. By utilizing these fee-based services, advisors save time on asset management tasks such as investment research and [portfolio](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/portfolio.asp) allocation, allowing them to concentrate on delivering expert service and attracting new clients. This delegation not only supports profitability but also offers comprehensive account management, including billing and reporting.

### Key Takeaways

*   Turnkey asset management programs (TAMPs) provide financial advisors with a fee-based platform to manage client investments, often enhancing efficiency and focus.
*   TAMPs offer various services, including technology and back-office support, allowing firms to delegate asset management tasks and save time.
*   By outsourcing to a TAMP, financial professionals can mitigate risks associated with investment performance, as the responsibility shifts partly to the TAMP.
*   TAMPs come in several types, such as mutual fund wrap accounts, ETF wrap accounts, separately managed accounts, unified managed accounts, and unified managed households.
*   While TAMPs can reduce costs and improve service, they also entail fees and may limit an advisor’s control over investment strategies.  
    

## How Turnkey Asset Management Programs (TAMPs) Work

Delegating asset management to a TAMP can increase profitability by freeing time for attracting and meeting clients. TAMPs can save money as building a proprietary [asset management](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/assetmanagement.asp) system is costly, especially without an existing one. TAMPs also handle account administration, billing, and reporting.

TAMPs help wealth advisers limit liability for poor [investment performance](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/08/performance-measure.asp) by outsourcing management and transferring risk. Major turnkey asset management program providers include Envestnet, SEI, AssetMark Investment Services, Brinker Capital, and Orion Portfolio Solutions.

## Exploring Different Types of Turnkey Asset Management Programs (TAMPs)

[Mutual fund wraps](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mutual-fund-wrap.asp), exchange traded fund wraps, separately managed accounts, unified managed accounts, and unified managed households are five types of turnkey asset management programs.

### 1\. Mutual Fund Wrap Accounts

A mutual fund wrap account is a TAMP that offers many mutual funds with the fees encompassing "wrapping around" all of the investor's mutual fund trading, rather than having to pay individual fees for each mutual fund, thereby reducing overall fees.

### 2\. Exchange Traded Fund Wrap Accounts

[Exchange traded fund](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.asp) (ETF) wrap accounts work in the same manner as mutual fund wrap accounts but investment choices are limited only to ETFs as opposed to mutual funds.

### 3\. Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs)

Separately managed accounts (SMA) are geared to high-level investors—those with a significant amount of capital available for investing. SMAs operate similarly to mutual funds except where a mutual fund is owned by pooled investors, a separately managed account is owned only by one investor.

### 4\. Unified Managed Accounts (UMAs)

[Unified managed accounts](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/uma.asp) hold a variety of different investments that are allocated to their own bucket. One bucket would have stocks, for example, while another bucket would have bonds, and another would have derivatives. UMAs aggregate the entirety of an investor's assets but allow them to be managed separately.

### 5\. Unified Managed Household (UMH)

As the name implies, a UMH is designed to handle the investments of multiple individuals of one household. This would include parents and children and possibly grandparents if they are in the same household.

## Key Factors to Consider in Turnkey Asset Management Programs (TAMPs)

TAMPs are available in both off-the-shelf and customized varieties. They are often privately labeled, meaning that it is not apparent to clients that a third party is handling their investments. In addition, these programs serve all types of investors, from mass-market, lower net worth clients to ultra-[high-net-worth individuals](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hnwi.asp).

TAMPs provide base technology and additional “[back office](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/backoffice.asp)” support, such as setting up automated alerts, asset tracking and reporting, and other dashboard features. The service might also include supplying proposals, wealth management tools, [compliance services](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/compliancedepartment.asp), investment policy statements, and might also conduct a risk analysis.

> **Fast Fact**
>
> TAMP services usually cost between 0.45% and 2.5%.

These benefits can greatly improve an investment advisory firm, but they come with costs, and managers need to determine whether that additional cost is worth what they get in return, which includes time saved to be able to generate more business.

## Benefits and Drawbacks of Turnkey Asset Management Programs (TAMPs)

TAMPs provide a significant advantage to advisors as they allow for the outsourcing of a variety of functions, such as reporting, that frees up a significant amount of time for an advisor that they can use to gain more clients or spend more time focusing on their client's investments, which benefits the client in the end.

TAMPs can also be cost-effective. By outsourcing functions to a TAMP, an advisor will avoid the cost of having to set up such functions in-house, which can include hiring more employees, providing more benefits, and so on. In the end, this could reduce their overhead; savings that they can technically pass onto their clients.

As an investor, it's important to understand your fee structure. If your advisor uses a TAMP, check to see if the fees they pay are passed onto you or not. If so, that could be a disadvantage, making your investments more costly.

When an advisor uses a TAMP, the advisor has less control of the investment strategy. It's important to check if the TAMPs investment strategy mirrors that of your [risk tolerance](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/risktolerance.asp) and investment goals.

## What Are the Largest TAMPs?

The largest TAMPs are Mount Yale Capital Group, Adhesion Wealth, Matson Money, Sawtooth Solutions, Orion Portfolio, Brinker Capital, Buckingham Strategic Partners, AssetMark, Independent Advisor Solution by SEI, and Envestnet.

## How Do You Pick a TAMP?

Choosing the right TAMP as an advisor is based on a lot of factors. Consider how the TAMP aligns with your investment strategy, the type of relationship the TAMP will have with your custodian, the fees the TAMP charges, if the TAMP works on your internal platform, what additional services does the TAMP provide, what is their support management like, and do they offer additional technology.

## When Did Turnkey Asset Management Programs Start?

Turnkey asset management programs started in the early 1980s.

## The Bottom Line

Turnkey asset management programs (TAMPs) offer financial professionals a comprehensive, fee-based solution to delegate asset management tasks and focus on client service. By outsourcing investment management, advisors can reduce overhead and mitigate risks while enabling more time to expand their client base.

However, advisors should evaluate the costs, service offerings, and alignment with their investment strategies and client needs before selecting a TAMP to ensure it effectively enhances their practice.  

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  U.S. News and World Report. "[What Is a TAMP and How to Choose One](https://money.usnews.com/financial-advisors/articles/what-is-a-tamp-and-how-to-choose-one)."
>     
> 2.  InvestmentNews. "[10 Largest Tamps by Assets](https://www.investmentnews.com/galleries/10-largest-tamps-by-assets/image/1)."
>     
> 3.  Kitces. "[Why TAMPs and Outsourced Investment Management Are the Future for Most Advisors](https://www.kitces.com/blog/tamp-turnkey-asset-management-platform-sub-advisor-outsourced-third-party-manager/)."