Success Story

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group Decides on Tamarac

The carrying capacity of any investment strategy automation software is measured by its ability to support specific needs and fulfill differing business objectives. For many registered investment advisors, Tamarac Advisor's breadth of utility makes it an outstanding purchase.

A fast, efficient Investment Strategy Management platform that allows investment advisors to integrate customized data for individual accounts or across a family of accounts, Tamarac also factors in tax efficiencies, client preferences, risk tolerance, and restrictions on legacy positions. The latest feature upgrade includes the ability to support margin positions (including separate margin and non-margin cash positions in the same account) and automate family account asset allocation and location—via three different scenarios.

But when the Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group* (MPMG) chose Tamarac Advisor, they took a narrower focus: Were Tamarac's trade order generation capabilities robust enough for their needs?

"The capabilities Tamarac Advisor has are immense—we knew we'd probably use less than 20% of its full potential," said Harrison Grodnick, MPMG principal and senior portfolio manager. "But that 20% was going to be critical to our business operations and to our success."

A Laser-like Focus on Value

"We're always trying to buy a dollar's worth for 50 cents," said Grodnick. "With our investment model, we operate more like a laser than a shotgun. We're looking for where the particular bargains are—in asset classes, in world markets, and especially in individual companies—because at a low enough valuation, excess market risks may already be minimized. We're poring over Price-to-Sales, Price-to-Cash Flow, Price-to-Book and Price-to-Future Earnings ratios. That's where our focus is, not on managing a complicated order process. Tamarac factors in all our preset parameters, gives us a trade order to review, and then it's go or no-go."

MPMG has over 1800 accounts, relying on a staff of seven. Its portfolio managers, who have more than 50-years of combined Wall Street experience, have an impressive track record. MPMG has made a positive difference in the lives of its clients through professional and effective portfolio management. The firm manages assets for high net-worth individuals and families, as well as corporations and institutions.

"We have a single product: an All-Cap Value composite," Grodnick explained. "We needed to find a platform that could generate complex trade orders quickly and efficiently. We're paid to find opportunities, and in this business, windows open fast and close faster. We needed technology that had the speed to keep up with us. We found it in Tamarac."

When new clients arrive at MPMG, there's an initial rebalancing of their portfolio, allocating their previous investments into the 20–25 companies that MPMG is investing in at any given time. After that, the MPMG portfolio moves as senior portfolio managers Phillip and Harrison Grodnick direct.

Since its 2004 founding as an independent entity, the firm has seen tremendous growth, moving from $190 million under management to more than $700 million. Grodnick expects to surpass $1 billion later this year.

"When we move to take a position, our whole portfolio moves," said Grodnick. "It's that simple. I have to have perfect confidence in my technology, because so much is riding on each trade. With Tamarac Advisor, I have that level of certainty."

Once one decision is made, Grodnick and his team are on to the next opportunity. With an account minimum of $500,000 per client, MPMG is expected to set a higher standard with ROI and client care. That fast-paced decision-making and front-end service is made possible by efficiencies on the back end, provided by Tamarac Advisor.

The Business Sense Behind the Buy

Before selecting Tamarac, MPMG conducted a two-year search for a software solution that supported their existing operations, could add to their efficiency, and, naturally, was a good value.

"We shopped around," said Grodnick. "Schwab Institutional recommended that we look into Tamarac. We did our due diligence, spoke with other customers, and talked with the management. We liked that they were a smaller, nimble company, like us, and could deliver a more hands-on, personal touch—again, like us."

Compared to their previous software platform, said Grodnick, Tamarac is "faster, easier, more user-friendly. We didn't have to change the way we did business to use Tamarac Advisor. During the set-up, they customized their system functionality to meet our needs."

Most importantly, Tamarac allows MPMG to spend more time on their portfolio. With Tamarac, they can focus on what to buy and sell, and when, rather than the process of buying or selling itself.

"It's frictionless, which I think is key," concluded Grodnick. "Look, if you've got software that's complicated, that slows you down. Over time, that time and effort erects a subconscious roadblock to running the numbers one more time, a different way. With Tamarac that customization is automated—when we want to take action, we move."