Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers is a fee-based financial advisor firm. It employs a large team of financial advisors who work with individual investors and many different types of institutional investors. Neuberger Berman is an international firm headquartered in New York City, and its services center around asset and investment management.
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers Background
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers can trace its roots back to 1939, when it was called Neuberger & Berman. The firm has gone through a few name changes over the years. Its last name change was in in 2016, when the firm changed its name from Neuberger Berman Fixed Income, LLC to its current name. The firm is primarily owned by the holding company Neuberger Berman Group.
While it’s unclear exactly how many advisors hold certifications at Neuberger Berman, the firm does offer certified financial planners (CFPs) to all of its wealth analysis service clients.
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers is a massive firm, and it serves a wide range of clients. The firm works with individuals, high-net-worth individuals, banks, investment companies, businesses, pension plans, profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, foundations, endowment funds, government entities, investment advisors, insurance companies, trusts and federal agencies.
Your required minimum investment at Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers will depend on the type of service or portfolio model you select. The firm’s account minimums are as follows:
- Private asset management: $1 million
- PWM Advisory Program: $5 million
- Guided Portfolio Solutions (GPS) Program: $100,000 initial investment, then $5,000 for subsequent investments
- Wrap accounts
- Fixed income: $250,000
- Equity: $100,000
- Sub-advised accounts: Varies depending on the intermediary advisor
- Consulting and non-discretionary services: None
- Institutional accounts
- Equity
- Equity Income, Mid Cap Intrinsic Value, REIT, Small Cap Intrinsic Value, Sustainable Equity,
Large Cap Core, All Cap Core, All Cap Intrinsic Value and Global REIT mandate: $10 million - Small cap mandate: $100 million
- China Equity mandate: $50 million
- Equity Income, Mid Cap Intrinsic Value, REIT, Small Cap Intrinsic Value, Sustainable Equity,
- Fixed-income
- Municipal – Intermediate / Long Duration, Municipal – Cash / Short Duration, Diversified
Currency, CLO Equity and Diversified Currency High Alpha mandates: $25 million - U.S. High Yield, Short Duration High Yield, Senior Floating Rate Loans, Global High Yield,
Global High Yield Sustainable, European High Yield, Crossover Credit, Strategic Multi-
Sector Fixed Income, Global Opportunistic Bond, Multi-Sector Credit, Global Bond Absolute
Return, Emerging Market Debt – Asian Bond, Emerging Market Debt—Hard Currency,
Emerging Market Debt—Local Currency, Emerging Market Debt—Corporate, and
Emerging Market Debt—Short Duration mandatess: $100 million - Emerging market debt - blend mandate: $150 million
- Municipal – Intermediate / Long Duration, Municipal – Cash / Short Duration, Diversified
- Alternatives and multi-asset class
- S&P 500 PutWrite (OTM), Global PutWrite (OTM), and Emerging Markets PutWrite (ATM),
Russell 2000 Strangle, S&P 500 Strangle, and S&P 500 Iron Condor mandates: $10 million - S&P 500 (ATM), U.S. (ATM) and global (ATM) PutWrite mandates: $25 million
- Commodities, multi-asset class growth and multi-asset class income mandates: $50 million
- Risk premia 5% and 10% volatility; Dynamic Beta Navigator; multi-asset class global absolute and relative return; multi-style premia and velocity mandates: $100 million
- S&P 500 PutWrite (OTM), Global PutWrite (OTM), and Emerging Markets PutWrite (ATM),
- Equity
Services Offered By Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers’ client base includes a wide mix of individuals and institutions, and its service offerings reflect that. Below you’ll find the firm’s full list of offerings:
- Private asset management (separately managed accounts)
- Customized discretionary investment management
- Asset allocation
- Rebalances and investment monitoring
- Wealth analysis
- General financial planning education
- Investments
- Taxes
- Estates
- Trusts
- Insurance
- Investment goal determination
- General financial planning education
- Sub-advisory services
- Available for open-end investment companies, non-U.S. registered funds, separate accounts and private funds
- Proprietary registered investment companies
- Securities recommendations, including which to buy/sell and how many to buy
- Broker/dealer recommendations
- Consulting services
- One-time, periodic or ongoing investment policy, security, strategy and manager investment recommendation
- Written analysis for specific investments
- Proprietary equity, fixed income and alternative strategies
- Wrap fee programs
- Investment management and strategies
- Custodial services
- Trade execution
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers Investment Philosophy
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers typically uses one of four investment strategies for client accounts. These four strategies typically use the following investments:
- Fixed-income strategies: exchange-traded funds (ETFs), REITs, option contracts, short sales, over-the-counter securities, municipal/U.S. government securities, CDs, corporate debt securities, convertible bonds, preferred securities and warrants
- Equity strategies: common stocks, preferred stocks, ETFs, REITs, options, participatory notes, depositary receipts, mutual funds and convertible securities
- Alternative strategies: combination of equity and fixed-income investments
- Multi-asset mandates: equity and fixed-income investments with quantitative-based strategic asset allocation models
Although these investments are associated with the specific strategies above, Neuberger Berman also makes an effort to align investment choices with clients’ preferences and needs. So depending on your risk tolerance, time horizon, ultimate financial goals, liquidity needs and any other extenuating circumstances, your portfolio could be comprised of a different mix of investments than what’s listed above.
Fees Under Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers divides its fees in two ways: by service and by investment type used within this service. In other words, if you’re an institutional client, your fees will be based on the investment strategy used to meet your needs, like core bond, all cap core or global equity. In most cases, fees are charged to client accounts on quarterly schedule.
Neuberger Berman has an extensive fee schedule. For the purpose of this review, we have chosen to list one of the most common fee schedule for individual clients in the table below.
| GPS - Total Portfolio Solutions Fees | |
| Portfolio’s Market Value | Annual Fee |
| Less $500,000 | 1.40% |
| $500,000 - $1,000,000 | 1.30% |
| $1,000,000 - $5,000,000 | 1.20% |
| $5,000,000 - $10,000,000 | 1.10% |
| Over $10,000,000 | 1.00% |
There are hundreds of different fee schedules available at the firm. They apply to different types of asset levels and strategies. For more information, see the firm's Form ADV. For some of its account services, Neuberger Berman does charge performance-based fees. This applies to separate accounts, private funds, sub-advisory accounts and closed-end fund clients.
What to Watch Out For
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers lists one disclosure on its Form ADV, and this disclosure is attributed to one of the firm's affiliates, Neuberger Berman BD, LLC. This disclosure states that the advisory affiliate “has been involved in a violation of a self-regulatory organization or commodities exchange's rules.”
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers is a fee-based firm, which means that the firm and its advisors earn money from sources other than client fees. If an advisor introduces a client to the firm and the client stays on for investment management services, the advisor will receive a sales commission. Additionally, advisors may earn additional compensation from the sale of specific securities.
However, Berman is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and is therefore bound by fiduciary duty. This means the firm must act in clients’ best interests at all times.
Opening an Account With Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers
To become a client of Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers, you should get in touch with the branch located closest to you. You can find the phone numbers for the firm’s locations on the contact page on its website.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for Finding the Right Financial Advisor
- Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Research, research, research. No other task is more important when looking for a person to manage your entire financial life for you. Check out each firm’s Form ADV to learn everything you can prior to investing your money.
