Contacts: Joan Lensing – 610-430-7684
[email protected]

Newton Lamson – 212-751-6126
[email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 5, 2012 — The Money Management Institute (MMI) today announced the formation of a Board of Governors-level Model Standards Task Force to oversee and support the MMI Managed Account Solutions Standards (MASS) Committee’s participation in the creation of an industry standard for the delivery of portfolio models by investment managers and overlay portfolio managers to program sponsors.

In keeping with MMI’s commitment to the managed solutions industry, the joint goal of the board-level task force and the MASS committee is to help create the quickest and most effective path to the adoption of standardized protocols and messaging for portfolio models by the financial services industry. When in place, these standards will help minimize risk, create a more efficient operating environment, and reduce costs for industry participants.

The newly formed Model Standards Task Force is comprised of members of the MMI Board of Governors and also includes a representative from The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC):

• Jason Ainsworth, Neuberger Berman

• Ann Bergin, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation

• William Broderick, Edward Jones

• William Golden, Legg Mason

• Patty Loepker, Wells Fargo Advisors

• Gene Mulligan, Merrill Lynch

• Roger Paradiso, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Task Force Chairman)

• Joseph Schultz, Goldman Sachs

The task force is working with the MASS Committee to help define its goals, monitor progress and review and approve final output. This approach is in keeping with the MMI Board of Governors’ goal of providing a better focus on and communications about the industry-wide initiatives that its committees support. The task force is also charged with ensuring that there is sufficient participation in the model standards project among the MMI membership and offering whatever support is needed to help the committee reach its objectives.

To date, the board-level task force has reviewed the committee structure and has prioritized the objectives for the three sub-committees on reporting, model maintenance and trading. It is in the process of establishing a regular reporting system, time lines, and deliverables for each subcommittee.

“We have an opportunity as an industry to put in place standards for the delivery of models, and the board-level task force is focused on making that a reality,” said task force chairman Roger Paradiso, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Private Portfolio Group. “This is a project that everyone in the industry is getting behind, and progress was accelerated when Merrill Lynch committed to joining the DTCC Model Management Xchange (MMX) and when DTCC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney recently completed initial testing of the model standards ahead of the successful production release on May 18th.”

“DTCC has a long and successful history of collaborating with MMI and other industry partners to drive technological, administrative and operational efficiencies in the financial services industry,” stated Ann Bergin, Managing Director and General Manager of DTCC’s Wealth Management Services, who is also a member of the Model Standards Task Force. “I look forward to participating in this MMI board-level task force and building on the momentum generated by release 1.0 of the standard model messages with a goal of continuing to improve and expand these capabilities.”