A life insurance company required a lead manager for its core investments and a system to oversee multiple portfolios of its specialty managers. Standish developed a unique investment infrastructure for managing this complex mandate. The comprehensive solution included asset/liability analysis; management of core and credit portfolios; performance attribution and reporting for multiple managers; structuring of asset and liability duration targets and post-trade compliance.

A highly leveraged manufacturer facing lean profit years asked for a total pension strategy that would protect current funding and reduce financial risk. Standish created a customized active bond strategy whose target duration was geared to the firm's financial, operating, and HR environment. We used a moderate amount of commingled equity funds from an affiliate to meet risk/return targets, periodically adjusting asset allocation and bond portfolio duration together to control overall plan interest rate sensitivity.

A high tech firm with a fluctuating tax rate needed to increase its after-tax return on corporate cash flow. Standish structured a short duration, high quality portfolio to maximize the client’s after-tax position. We looked to the 12-24 month sector of the taxable yield curve, where the taxable/tax exempt spread was most advantageous, to augment tax exempt holdings that include general obligation, essential service revenue, insured and pre-refunded bonds.

A tax-sensitive, high-net-worth individual had just transitioned out of a risky asset class and needed a short term strategy that would preserve capital and maximize after-tax total return. The client was averse to credit risk and concerned about a rising interest rate environment. Standish structured a tax exempt one-year duration portfolio, concentrating of single-A credits, using taxable securities opportunistically.