We believe in the value of investment advice and the power of using risk-managed balanced portfolios to enhance the investor experience. We believe that risk budgeting is the best approach to risk management. We deliver innovative ETF-focused investment options for investors in all life stages. Our strategies are available directly, on wealth management platforms, and through retirement plans. We partner with independent investment advisors and offer full, direct access to our experienced portfolio management, sales, and service teams. CLS Investments, LLC (CLS) is a third party investment manager, ETF strategist, and long-time trusted partner in the financial industry. CLS s active asset allocation approach, customizable strategy offerings, and extensive risk management experience have led financial professionals to entrust their clients portfolios to CLS since 1989. Today, more than 35,000 investors depend on CLS to manage their investment portfolios and help them reach their financial objectives. Since many financial advisors find their strengths lie in cultivating relationships and creating an overall financial strategy for their clients, they often choose to outsource the portfolio management function of their role to CLS. The advisor maintains the direct relationship with the client, while CLS s portfolio management and analytics teams take on the day-to-day research, trading, and operations. CLS also stays in regular contact with our investor clients, allowing us to keep updated on their financial situations and evolving needs.
WHERE WE'VE BEEN a history of CLS CLS is founded. CLS confirms its commitment to open, honest & ethical practices and claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS )* CLS purchases its first Exchange Traded Fund. Qualified retirement plan participants gain access to CLS professional management. CLS establishes its 200th broker-dealer relationship. CLS client account maintenance and access gets faster & simpler through the CLS mobile app. CLS introduces 10 new strategies utilizing Strategic & Active portfolio management methodologies. NorthStar celebrates its 10-year anniversary and reaches $212 billion in assets under management & administration. ** 1989 1997 1998 2000 2002 2003 2005 2007 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Investors gain diversification & efficiency through CLS s new proprietary mutual funds. NorthStar Financial Services Group is formed. Investors gain access to CLS professional management for their individual stock and bond portfolios. CLS's portfolio management & analytics teams continue to expand. CLS introduces its adaptive and disciplined risk budgeting portfolio management methodology. Investors & advisors gain expanded access to CLS through sub-advisory & investment research relationships. * To obtain a copy of a fully compliant presentation and/or a list of composite descriptions, contact us at 888-455-4244. * * as of 12/31/2013 CLS's proprietary fund offerings grows to 10.
1989. CLS is founded. CLS was founded with one specific mission, which has endured as our guiding principle: to be a trusted partner with financial advisors and deliver innovative investment solutions and reliable portfolio management to individual investors. Veteran financial professional W. Patrick Clarke left the stockbroker business in 1975 to focus on developing highly customized financial plans and investment management options for individual investors. When other financial planners began expressing a need for this individualized approach, he began to partner with them as a third party asset manager and created the organization that would later become CLS. CLS s partnership business model gives advisors time to create meaningful relationships with their clients and learn important details about their total financial standing, investing time horizon, and specific investment objectives. When the advisor gives this information to CLS, we can accordingly make timely active asset allocation decisions within the client s portfolio. Through this mutually beneficial connection, CLS can enhance an advisor s service to investors.
CLS purchases its first Exchange Traded Fund. 1997. Investors gain diversification & efficiency through CLS s proprietary mutual funds. CLS began purchasing Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as they were just gaining popularity. Three months after CLS purchased its first ETF for its proprietary growth fund, they represented over 20 percent of the fund. By 2003, all of the CLS-managed funds included ETFs, making them among the first funds of ETFs available. Today, members of CLS s portfolio management and investment research teams have extensive experience managing ETF portfolios. CLS boasts a verifiable ETF management track record and dedicates significant time and resources to turning over more rocks within the ETF landscape. The CLS-managed funds were created as the fundamental building blocks of many CLS strategies and are used within individual investors' accounts in a variety of ways based on efficiency optimization, account size, and client preference. CLS created the funds to allow us access to markets and assets that were previously unavailable to us solely in a portfolio manager capacity. The introduction of these funds also allowed CLS to be more efficient in managing accounts of all sizes.
Qualified retirement plan participants gain access to CLS management. 2002 CLS introduces its risk budgeting methodology. Risk budgeting is a risk-based active asset allocation approach that incorporates the discipline of strategic asset allocation with the flexibility of tactical asset allocation. Through this methodology, portfolio risk is targeted to the level the investor specifies based on his or her financial goals and investment time horizon. We enhance portfolio return potential through active asset allocation, through which we make moves within the portfolio to take advantage of areas we believe show opportunity. Risk budgeting allows CLS to provide investment expertise parallel to that typically only received by high net worth investors and large pension funds. Although their qualified retirement plan account may be their largest asset, many investors do not have the time, emotional discipline, or knowledge needed to manage it. CLS seeks to eliminate these roadblocks to making prudent investment decisions by working with financial advisors, third party administrators, and record keepers to offer actively-managed ETF account options within 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans. These partnerships allow CLS to offer fiduciary assistance to plan sponsors, plan participants, or both, as well as to provide ongoing plan maintenance support to the advisor. 2002 CLS confirms its commitment to open, honest & ethical practices. Standardized investment performance reporting gives investors the transparency they need to compare and evaluate investment managers. GIPS standards are a rigorous set of investment performance measurement standards recognized worldwide for their credibility, integrity, scope, and uniformity. CLS claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS ) *. CLS voluntarily demonstrates a commitment to business ethics and transparency, as well as adherence to comprehensive rules governing input data, calculation methodology, composite construction, disclosures, and reporting. * To obtain a copy of a fully compliant presentation and/or a list of composite descriptions, contact us at 888-455-4244.
CLS begins managing individual stock & bond portfolios. 2003. NorthStar is formed. CLS is a subsidiary of NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC (NorthStar), which was formed in 2003 to provide investment advisors access to a wide range of financial services under one roof. This synergistic structure allows the organization to empower investment advisors by helping them enhance their service to clients, increase their operational efficiencies, and expand their businesses. For clients seeking highly customized portfolios for existing or new investments, CLS offers separate accounts strategies. Designed to allow for broad customization and flexibility, these strategies incorporate ETFs, individual bonds, and individual stocks in order to accommodate very specific investment objectives and considerations, such as income or sensitivity to tax consequences. In response to changing market conditions, CLS portfolio managers can make timely adjustments to portfolio allocations between tens of thousands of investment products, providing a diversified approach under one account.
2010. CLS client account maintenance & access gets faster & simpler. 2007. CLS establishes its 200th broker-dealer relationship. CLS has a long history of innovation, both in terms of investment management and technology to support our partners and clients. In addition to a robust online account maintenance system accessible to advisors and individual investors, we launched a mobile app in 2010 that provides on-the-go access to account holdings, balances, performance, and more. CLS also offers the capability to expedite an investor s account setup process through esignature, as well as easily access and aggregate secure client data through partnerships with leading data and document management services. This demonstrates the trust leaders in our industry have in CLS to provide innovative investment management services through thousands of independent financial representatives to more than 35,000 individual investors.
2011 Expanded sub-advisory & investment research relationships give investors & advisors additional access to CLS. 2012. CLS's portfolio management & analytics teams continue to expand. CLS acts as a sub-advisor and investment research provider to many broker-dealer self-clearing platforms, brokerage custodians, Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and overlay portfolio management enterprises. These partnerships with financial institutions allow for a customized application of CLS offerings, other investment options, and technology tools in a way that best benefits an advisor's business and clients. The availability of CLS s models on overlay portfolio management platforms has greatly expanded access to CLS s professional money management for both advisors and clients. A seasoned and accomplished team of financial and investment professionals works together to analyze thousands of investment options in order to manage CLS s proprietary funds and build risk-budgeted portfolios for individual investors. Currently, the 12-member team has more than 160 years of combined experience. Four members are Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholders and five are candidates for the designation. Additionally, one team member holds a Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement and another holds the Chartered Market Technician designation. CLS enhances the breadth & depth of its proprietary fund offerings. 2011 CLS's proprietary funds cover a spectrum of fund objectives, including long-term growth, total return, principal protection, and income. They provide CLS an effective trading platform for flexible allocations to ETFs and allow us to bring the diversification and low cost of ETFs to small accounts where individual trading is not available.
2013 NorthStar celebrates its 10-year anniversary. On its 10th anniversary, NorthStar's subsidiary and affiliate companies were collectively managing and servicing more than $120 billion in assets. As of 12/31/2013, that number had grown to more than $212 billion. 2014. CLS introduces 10 new strategies utilizing strategic & active portfolio management methodologies. By expanding our strategy offerings to include those that appeal to investors seeking more strategic or active investment management approaches, CLS gives our advisor partners tools to meet a more diverse set of investor needs. Additionally, CLS s active portfolios empower advisors who prefer to participate in direct management of their client s accounts by giving them the control to accentuate a particular view, provide a simple hedge, and attempt to mitigate external risks.
The views expressed herein are exclusively those of CLS Investments, LLC, and are not meant as investment advice and are subject to change. No part of this report may be reproduced in any manner without the express written permission of CLS Investments, LLC. Information contained herein is derived from sources we believe to be reliable, however, we do not represent that this information is complete or accurate and it should not be relied upon as such. All opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. This information is prepared for general information only. It does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of any specific person who may receive this report. You should seek financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any security or investment strategy discussed or recom mended in this report and should understand that statements regarding fu ture prospects may not be realized. You should note that security values may fluctuate and that each security s price or value may rise or fall. Accordingly, investors may receive back less than originally invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Investing in any security involves certain unavoidable risks called non-diversifiable risks. These risks include market risk, interest-rate risk, inflation risk, and event risk. These risks are in addition to any specific, or diversifiable, risks associated with particular investment styles or strategies. CLS Investments, LLC ( CLS ) is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor and an affiliated company of Northern Lights Distributors, LLC. The services offered by CLS are wholesaled through licensed representatives of Northern Lights Distributors, LLC. Bonds are a type of debt instrument issued by a government or corporate entity which an investor loans money to the entity for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. Diversifiable risks include, but are not limited to, call risk, reinvestment risk, and credit risk. An ETF is a type of investment company whose investment objective is to achieve the same return as a particular market or commodity index, or a basket of assets. An ETF is similar to an index fund in that it will primarily invest in the securities of companies that are included in the selected index. An ETF will invest in either all of the securities or a representative sample of the securities included in the index. While ETFs tend to be lower in cost to other investment companies, such as mutual funds, there are costs that apply. Always research a particular ETF prior to investing in order to determine its fees. Diversifiable risks include, but are not limited to, business risk, regulatory risk, and capital risk A client s risk budget is derived from the client s specific answers to CLS s Confidential Client Profile questionnaire, which establishes the client s financial goals, ability to handle risk, and overall investment time horizon. The individual client risk budget is expressed as a percentage of the risk of a well diversified equity portfolio. 1844-CLS-6/15/2015 888.455.4244 CLSinvest.com Follow us: @clsinvestments A Company