9. MARCO TEORICO
9.2.2. Extreme Programming
COMPENSATION OF PORTFOLIO MANAGERS. The discussion below describes the portfolio managers’ compensation as of
December 31, 2014.
BlackRock’s financial arrangements with its portfolio managers, its competitive compensation and its career path emphasis at all levels reflect the value senior management places on key resources. Compensation may include a variety of components and may vary from year to year based on a number of factors. The principal components of compensation include a base salary, a performance-based discretionary bonus, participation in various benefits programs and one or more of the incentive compensation programs established by BlackRock.
Base compensation.Generally, portfolio managers receive base compensation based on their position with the firm. Discretionary Incentive Compensation
Discretionary incentive compensation is a function of several components: the performance of BlackRock, Inc., the performance of the portfolio manager’s group within BlackRock, the investment performance, including risk-adjusted returns, of the firm’s assets under management or supervision by that portfolio manager, and the individual’s performance and contribution to the overall performance of these portfolios and BlackRock. Among other things, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officers make a subjective determination with respect to each portfolio manager’s compensation based on the performance of the Funds and other accounts managed by each portfolio manager. Performance of multi-asset class funds is generally measured on a pre-tax basis over various time periods including 1-, 3- and 5- year periods, as applicable. The performance of Messrs. Christofel, Fredericks and Shingler is not measured against a specific benchmark.
Distribution of Discretionary Incentive Compensation.Discretionary incentive compensation is distributed to portfolio managers in a combination of cash and BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units which vest ratably over a number of years. For some portfolio
managers, discretionary incentive compensation is also distributed in deferred cash awards that notionally track the returns of select BlackRock investment products they manage and that vest ratably over a number of years. The BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units, upon vesting, will be settled in BlackRock, Inc. common stock. Typically, the cash portion of the discretionary incentive
compensation, when combined with base salary, represents more than 60% of total compensation for the portfolio managers. Paying a portion of discretionary incentive compensation in BlackRock, Inc. stock puts compensation earned by a portfolio manager for a given year “at risk” based on BlackRock’s ability to sustain and improve its performance over future periods. Providing a portion of
discretionary incentive compensation in deferred cash awards that notionally track the BlackRock investment products they manage provides direct alignment with investment product results.
Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards —From time to time long-term incentive equity awards are granted to certain key employees to aid
in retention, align their interests with long-term shareholder interests and motivate performance. Equity awards are generally granted in the form of BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units that, once vested, settle in BlackRock, Inc. common stock. Messrs. Fredericks and Shingler have unvested long-term incentive awards.
Deferred Compensation Program —A portion of the compensation paid to eligible United States-based BlackRock employees may be
voluntarily deferred at their election for defined periods of time into an account that tracks the performance of certain of the firm’s investment products. Any portfolio manager who is either a managing director or director at BlackRock with compensation above a specified threshold is eligible to participate in the deferred compensation program.
Other Compensation Benefits.In addition to base salary and discretionary incentive compensation, portfolio managers may be eligible to receive or participate in one or more of the following:
Incentive Savings Plans —BlackRock, Inc. has created a variety of incentive savings plans in which BlackRock employees are eligible
to participate, including a 401(k) plan, the BlackRock Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), and the BlackRock Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The employer contribution components of the RSP include a company match equal to 50% of the first 8% of eligible pay contributed to the plan capped at $5,000 per year, and a company retirement contribution equal to 3-5% of eligible compensation up to the Internal Revenue Service limit ($260,000 for 2014). The RSP offers a range of investment options, including registered
investment companies and collective investment funds managed by the firm. BlackRock contributions follow the investment direction set by participants for their own contributions or, absent participant investment direction, are invested into a target date fund that corresponds to, or is closest to, the year in which the participant attains age 65. The ESPP allows for investment in BlackRock common stock at a 5% discount on the fair market value of the stock on the purchase date. Annual participation in the ESPP is limited to the purchase of 1,000 shares of common stock or a dollar value of $25,000 based on its fair market value on the purchase date. All of the eligible portfolio managers are eligible to participate in these plans.
PORTFOLIO MANAGER POTENTIAL MATERIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. BlackRock has built a professional working environment,
firm-wide compliance culture and compliance procedures and systems designed to protect against potential incentives that may favor one account over another. BlackRock has adopted policies and procedures that address the allocation of investment opportunities, execution of portfolio transactions, personal trading by employees and other potential conflicts of interest that are designed to ensure that all client accounts are treated equitably over time. Nevertheless, BlackRock furnishes investment management and advisory services to numerous clients in addition to the Fund, and BlackRock may, consistent with applicable law, make investment
recommendations to other clients or accounts (including accounts which are hedge funds or have performance or higher fees paid to BlackRock, or in which portfolio managers have a personal interest in the receipt of such fees), which may be the same as or different from those made to the Fund. In addition, BlackRock, its affiliates and significant shareholders and any officer, director, shareholder or employee may or may not have an interest in the securities whose purchase and sale BlackRock recommends to the Fund. BlackRock, or any of its affiliates or significant shareholders, or any officer, director, shareholder, employee or any member of their families may take different actions than those recommended to the Fund by BlackRock with respect to the same securities. Moreover, BlackRock may refrain from rendering any advice or services concerning securities of companies of which any of BlackRock’s (or its affiliates’ or significant shareholders’) officers, directors or employees are directors or officers, or companies as to which BlackRock or any of its affiliates or significant shareholders or the officers, directors and employees of any of them has any substantial economic interest or possesses material non-public information. Certain portfolio managers also may manage accounts whose investment strategies may at times be opposed to the strategy utilized for a fund. It should also be noted that a portfolio manager may be managing hedge fund and/or long only accounts, or may be part of a team managing hedge fund and/or long only accounts, subject to incentive fees. Such portfolio managers may therefore be entitled to receive a portion of any incentive fees earned on such accounts. Currently, the portfolio managers of this fund are not entitled to receive a portion of incentive fees of other accounts.
securities for more than one account, the trades must be allocated in a manner consistent with its fiduciary duties. BlackRock attempts to allocate investments in a fair and equitable manner among client accounts, with no account receiving preferential treatment. To this end, BlackRock has adopted policies that are intended to ensure reasonable efficiency in client transactions and provide BlackRock with sufficient flexibility to allocate investments in a manner that is consistent with the particular investment discipline and client base, as appropriate.
Brown Advisory, LLC.
COMPENSATION. Brown Advisory compensates its portfolio managers with a compensation package that includes a base salary and
variable incentive bonus. The incentive bonus is subjective. It takes into consideration a number of factors including but not limited to performance, client satisfaction and service and the profitability of the business. Portfolio managers who are members of Brown Advisory’s management team may maintain a significant equity interest in the Brown Advisory enterprise. When evaluating a portfolio manager’s performance, Brown Advisory compares the pre-tax performance of a portfolio manager’s accounts to a relative
broad-based market index over a trailing 1-, 3- and 5-year time period. The performance bonus is distributed at calendar year-end based on, among other things, the pre-tax investment return over the prior 1-, 3- and 5-year periods.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Brown Advisory may manage accounts in addition to the Portfolio, including proprietary accounts,
employee accounts, separate accounts, private funds, long-short funds and other pooled investment vehicles. Such accounts may have different fee arrangements than the Portfolio, including performance-based fees. Management of such accounts may create conflicts of interest including but not limited to the bunching and allocation of transactions and allocation of investment opportunities. Brown Advisory may give advice and take action with respect to any of its other clients which may differ from advice given, or the timing or nature of action taken, with respect to the Portfolio; however, Brown Advisory seeks as a matter of policy, to achieve best execution and to the extent practical, to allocate investment opportunities over a period of time on a fair and equitable basis. Brown Advisory has adopted a Code of Ethics and other policies and procedures which we believe to be reasonably designed to ensure that clients are not harmed by potential or actual conflicts of interest; however, no policy or procedures can guarantee detection, avoidance or amelioration for every situation where a potential or actual conflict of interest may arise.
ClearBridge Investments, LLC
COMPENSATION.ClearBridge’s portfolio managers participate in a competitive compensation program that is designed to attract and
retain outstanding investment professionals and closely align the interests of its investment professionals with those of its clients and overall firm results. The total compensation program includes a significant incentive component that rewards high performance standards, integrity, and collaboration consistent with the firm’s values. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed and modified each year as appropriate to reflect changes in the market and to ensure the continued alignment with the goals stated above. ClearBridge’s portfolio managers and other investment professionals receive a combination of base compensation and discretionary compensation, comprising a cash incentive award and deferred incentive plans described below.
Base salary compensation. Base salary is fixed and primarily determined based on market factors and the experience and responsibilities of the investment professional within the firm.
Discretionary compensation. In addition to base compensation managers may receive discretionary compensation. Discretionary compensation can include:
䡲 Cash Incentive Award.
䡲 ClearBridge’s Deferred Incentive Plan (CDIP) – a mandatory program that typically defers 15% of discretionary year-end
compensation into ClearBridge managed products. For portfolio managers, one-third of this deferral tracks the performance of their primary managed product, one-third tracks the performance of a composite portfolio of the firm’s new products and one-third can be elected to track the performance of one or more of ClearBridge managed funds. Consequently, portfolio managers can have two-thirds of their CDIP award tracking the performance of their primary managed product.
䡲 For centralized research analysts, two-thirds of their deferral is elected to track the performance of one of more of ClearBridge managed funds, while one-third tracks the performance of the new product composite.
䡲 ClearBridge then makes a company investment in the proprietary managed funds equal to the deferral amounts by fund. This investment is a company asset held on the balance sheet and paid out to the employees in shares subject to vesting requirements.
䡲 Legg Mason Restricted Stock Deferral – a mandatory program that typically defers 5% of discretionary year-end compensation into Legg Mason restricted stock. The award is paid out to employees in shares subject to vesting requirements.
䡲 Legg Mason Restricted Stock and Stock Option Grants – a discretionary program that may be utilized as part of the total
compensation program. These special grants reward and recognize significant contributions to our clients, shareholders and the firm and aid in retaining key talent.
Several factors are considered by ClearBridge Senior Management when determining discretionary compensation for portfolio managers. These include but are not limited to:
䡲 Investment performance. A portfolio manager’s compensation is linked to the pre-tax investment performance of the fund/accounts managed by the portfolio manager. Investment performance is calculated for 1-, 3-, and 5-year periods measured against the applicable product benchmark (e.g., a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s Prospectus) and relative to applicable industry peer groups. The greatest weight is generally placed on 3- and 5-year performance;
䡲 Appropriate risk positioning that is consistent with ClearBridge’s investment philosophy and the Investment Committee/CIO approach to generation of alpha;
䡲 Overall firm profitability and performance;
䡲 Amount and nature of assets managed by the portfolio manager;
䡲 Contributions for asset retention, gathering and client satisfaction;
䡲 Contribution to mentoring, coaching and/or supervising;
䡲 Contribution and communication of investment ideas in ClearBridge’s Investment Committee meetings and on a day to day basis; and
䡲 Market compensation survey research by independent third parties.
POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.Potential conflicts of interest may arise when a fund’s portfolio manager has day-to-day
management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for certain of the portfolio managers listed in the table above.
The investment adviser and the fund(s) have adopted compliance policies and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the investment adviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, ClearBridge seeks to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. ClearBridge has also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee,
however, that the policies and procedures adopted by ClearBridge and the fund(s) will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.
These potential conflicts include:
Allocation of Limited Time and Attention.A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may
devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.
Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities.If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.
Pursuit of Differing Strategies.At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.
Variation in Compensation.A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment adviser’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher
management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment advisor and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain or raise assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager to lend preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the
used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might otherwise be available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the sub-adviser determines in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the sub-adviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.
Related Business Opportunities.The investment adviser or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or
recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.
CoreCommodity Management, LLC
COMPENSATION STRUCTURE
The portfolio manager’s compensation consists of the following: