Gurtin Municipal Bond Management is a investment management firm with billions in client assets. Its headquarters are located in Solana Beach, California, with a second office in Chicago, Illinois. As its name indicates, the firm offers bond-centric investment strategies to its clients. The majority of its clients are individuals (both above and below the high-net-worth threshold), but they also work with corporations and charities, among other client types.
Gurtin is a fee-only firm. This means that all of the firm’s compensation comes from the management fees that clients pay. (This is different from a fee-based firm, which earns compensation through both client fees and other sources, like securities commissions.) By skipping such commission-based compensation, fee-only firms like Gurtin are able to avoid many conflicts of interest.
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management Background
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management has been providing investment advice since its founding in 2008. As of January 2019, Gurtin became a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), a large international investment management firm. Firm founder Bill Gurtin and chief risk officer Michael Johnson still run the firm day-to-day.
The firm employs a total of 27 advisors, six of whom are chartered financial analysts (CFAs).
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management Types of Clients and Minimum Account Sizes
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management is responsible for managing the accounts of thousands of clients, of whom the majority are high-net-worth individuals. The firm is also known to work with non-high-net-worth individuals, investment companies, pooled investment vehicles, corporations, charitable organizations, pensions and other retirement plans, government entities and insurance companies.
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management requires varying minimum account sizes that are largely dependent on the specific investment strategy fueling your account.
Services Offered by Gurtin Municipal Bond Management
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management offers asset management services to its clients on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. The firm specializes in constructing portfolios made up of municipal and U.S. government bonds. Gurtin offers several different investment strategies within these two categories.
Additionally, the firm periodically publishes reports and newsletters detailing the current state of the market. The firm also acts as a sub-advisor for other investment advisors and investment companies. Gurtin doesn’t offer financial planning services; if financial planning services are important to you, you might find one using SmartAsset's financial advisor matching tool.
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management Investment Philosophy
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management specializes in constructing bond-centric portfolios through either municipal or U.S. government bond securities. Each portfolio is heavily diversified, with liquidity considered to be a priority as well. The firm states that it generally invests in 30 to 40 bond issues for each portfolio.
When it comes specifically to portfolio construction, here’s what the firm’s Form ADV has to say: “In structuring our portfolios, we perform our own in-depth fundamental analysis to identify what we believe are the most resilient sectors based upon ability to generate revenue, financial flexibility and downside risk. We then perform granular research on the obligors within sectors to identify what we believe are the highest-quality bonds, followed by ongoing surveillance on all bonds in our portfolios.”
Fees Under Gurtin Municipal Bond Management
For investment advisory services, Gurtin charges fees as a percentage of each client’s assets under management (AUM). These rates vary depending on the investment strategy you choose and the capacity in which the firm is providing services. You can expect annual fees to fall within the following ranges:
- Advisory Clients
- Municipal Bonds: 0.05% - 0.45%
- Government Bonds: 0.04% - 0.15%
- Non-Advisory Clients
- Municipal Bonds: 0.05% - 0.50%
- Government Bonds: 0.05% - 0.18%
What to Watch Out For
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management focuses exclusively on managing the investment portfolios of its clients. That means it doesn’t offer financial planning services at any level. So if access to financial planning is a deal-breaker for you, then you might be better off looking elsewhere. You'll also want to look elsewhere if you're interested in a more equity-centric portfolio.
Gurtin Municipal Bond Management has three disclosures listed on its Form ADV. However, two of these are related to PIMCO, the firm’s parent company, while the other concerns Allianz SE, a former parent company of the firm.
Opening an Account With Gurtin Municipal Bond Management
To get in touch with Gurtin Municipal Bond Management, you can call the firm’s Solana Beach headquarters at (858) 436-2200 or visit the website's contact page. You can then speak with a firm representative about working with Gurtin.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for Retirement Planning
- Gurtin is a fairly specialized firm: Its portfolios are built around bonds, and it doesn't offer financial planning services. If you'd like a blended or equity-centric portfolio, or if you require financial planning services, you'll want to find a different financial advisor to work with. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Don’t forget to take Social Security payments into account when you formulate what kind of income you’ll need in retirement. If you don’t know what you’re in line to receive, check out SmartAsset’s Social Security calculator.
