Who is Main Management?
Main Management LLC is a California Limited Liability Company formed in August 2002. We are a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are able to transact business throughout the United States. Our headquarters are located in San Francisco, California. As of September 30, 2010, Main Management has $450 million under management in Separately Managed Accounts for Family Offices, Foundations, Pension Plans, Trusts and Individuals. The employees of the Company have a combined 145 years of Wall Street experience at the highest levels. > view biographies

Why should I choose Main Management as my investment manager?
There are currently over 800 ETFs in circulation, requiring a specialized knowledge of the ETF landscape. Main Management provides a dynamic team of respected investment professionals with over145 years of combined Wall Street experience at the highest levels. They have been using ETFs since before the firm’s inception in 2002. Couple our knowledge and experience with the growing product lineup in the ETF space and we are able to provide our clients with superior risk adjusted net returns. Main Management has an impressive five year track record, a relatively long time for managers devoted to this strategy.

Do you have a 401(K) Plan?
Yes. Main Management offers a unique professionally managed 401(k) plan. Our cutting edge plan, the Simplified 401(K) Plan or SkPlan, offers significant cost and performance advantages over traditional participant directed plans. For more information contact Jim McMichael, Director of Main's Retirement Consulting Group at (415) 217-5806.

What is your minimum account size and management fee?
Our minimum account size is $2,000,000 although exceptions can be made based on several factors. Services include quarterly reviews, portfolio rebalancing and tax-management strategy. Management fees range from 0.45% to 0.75% of net assets per annum depending on the size of the client's account.

What other expenses are there?
Commissions on trades assessed at institutional rates through our relationship with the custodians of your assets.

Withdrawals? Termination?
Minimum notice is required.

What Type of Reports or Contact will I have with Main Management?
You can call anytime. Main Management furnishes a Quarterly Performance Report which includes a detailed analysis of account performance, asset allocation, positions, IRR. Clients receive Monthly Account statements from the Custodian (a brokerage account statement.) which includes trade information, cost basis and other information.

What brokerage firms do you use?
Currently, client assets are held at TDAmeritrade and Charles Schwab. We do not have custody of your assets; the individual brokerage firm designated by the client holds them. We cannot disburse money from your accounts. Accounts at these firms are insured by the SIPC and additional private insurance.

The custodian provides account services including monthly statements, year end tax statements, realized gains and losses reporting, account access through the internet. Institutional trade execution and commission rates.

Are the investments in my accounts safe?
We do not take custody of your funds. They are held at securities brokerage firms as custodians. These accounts are insured by the SIPC and private insurance. All account assets are held in your name or in trusts and retirement plan entities. No one can access or distribute funds from the accounts without your permission and knowledge.

Does Main Management require trading discretion?
Yes, however all initial trades when setting up your account will be discussed with you. You can choose to have contact before any rebalancing or tactical trades are made in your account. Also, to better serve you regarding tax planning, contact should be maintained to update your tax situation regarding taking advantage of unrealized gains or losses to minimize taxes paid.

Do you offer tax and estate planning or advice on insurance in addition to financial planning and portfolio management?
Main Management's Investment Committee has a strong knowledge of these areas and incorporates these matters into investment strategies. However, it is recommended that our clients use specialists in each area estate planning with a Trust and Estates attorney, tax related matters with a C.P.A., and insurance with a qualified insurance agent.

Gross Returns versus Net Returns? Pre-tax After Tax?
We believe investors are always better served by minimizing the differential between gross returns and returns realized pre-tax and after-tax. Investors should be concerned with what they get to keep at the end of the day. ETFs are the elegant solution—diversified, low cost, low turnover and tax efficient.

Why is an active ETF approach to investing superior to stock-picking?
About 70% of active managers under perform the indexes against which their performance is measured over a five year time frame. As a result, the odds of picking the right stock-picking managers that outperform market (benchmark) averages are not in the client’s favor. Indexes outperform active managers by about 2% per year. That 2% is essentially the costs of active trading and market timing strategies—commissions and trading spreads, and marketing expenses—sales loads and 12b-1 fees paid by investors. Also, stock-picking in taxable accounts is usually not tax efficient because of the constant turnover of assets in the desire to achieve higher returns which creates capital gains taxes paid by the investor each year.

Active ETF investment strategies can not only produce superior risk adjusted returns relative to stock-picking, but are particularly advantageous in taxable accounts, which are subject each year to capital gains taxes. Stock-picking managers must "turn over" money far more rapidly than active ETF managers as they try to boost performance by trading stocks or timing markets. Consequently, investors in stock-picking managed funds or portfolios are usually subject to far higher capital gains taxes than passive and index investors.

Why is rebalancing important?
Rebalancing a portfolio maintains the original investment strategy and risk profile. CAN ADJUST AS YOUR SITUATION WARRANTS. Over time, certain asset classes will outperform other asset classes. Annual rebalancing shifts exposure from assets overvalued due to market performance to undervalued investments. This is consistent with a buy low, sell high strategy. We rebalance only when asset classes, and particularly, the equity/fixed income ratio, gets out of balance far enough to produce a significant expected difference in returns and volatility.

What are the benefits of ETFs?
There are many benefits to utilizing ETFs versus mutual funds or individual securities including:
- Ease of Diversification
- Tax and Cost Efficiency
- Low Turnover
- Low Expense Ratios
- Small Capital Gains Distributions
- Liquidity and Pricing

Press Kit / Media
Our investment professionals are widely quoted by media sources. Main Management has been featured in investment and personal finance publications such as Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Businessweek and The New York Times. We are available to provide media sources with information and quotes on subjects concerning ETFs, Investment Theory, and Money Management.

How do I become a client of Main Management?
It is helpful to begin on the telephone or with a face-to-face meeting. This initial contact allows us to begin to understand and analyze your unique financial situation. If we decide to move forward, we will e-mail or mail you our ADVII, current client references, and documents for establishing a business relationship as well as documents for setting up and transferring brokerage accounts, if necessary.

We will oversee the account opening and transfer process, review your current holdings, discuss financial issues relevant to your investments, develop a plan, refine it if necessary, then implement it. We are also available for answering investment related questions, handling changes in accounts, and other investment matters on an ongoing basis.

An investment advisor disclosure document (ADV-II substitute) and current client references are available upon request.

Our contact information is as follows:
Direct: (415) 217-5800
Toll Free: (866) ETF-XPRT
Fax: (415) 217-5803
e-mail: docker@mainmgt.com