FIRM DESCRIPTION
In 1987, Highland Associates, Inc. (“Highland”) was created specifically to assist not-for-profit
healthcare institutions in the development, implementation, and maintenance of treasury and
investment management programs. Our goal is to ensure that the investment portfolio reflects the
needs of the organization as a whole. The company was founded in Birmingham, AL, as an
independent, fee-based consulting firm. On August 1, 2019, Highland was acquired by Regions Bank
(“Regions”).
Our national client base consists of foundations and endowments, defined benefit plans, defined
contribution plans, insurance portfolios and non-profit healthcare operating entities.
PRINCIPAL OWNER
Effective August 1, 2019, Highland became a subsidiary of Regions Bank, which is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Regions Financial Corporation. Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a regional
financial holding company and is a publicly held reporting company under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
TYPES OF ADVISORY SERVICES
Since the inception of the firm, Highland’s focus has been to provide comprehensive consulting
services to institutional investors. Those services include:
Investment Services: Customized solutions crafted to lead our clients to desired goals based on their
respective investment resources. These services include:
• Determining portfolio and organizational objectives and constraints
• Investment policy design
• Asset allocation and investment manager recommendations
• Capital market research or other topical research areas of focus
• Traditional advisory consultant
• Discretionary outsourced manager of plan assets
Reporting Services: Serve to support and enhance our investment services including:
• Routine monthly & quarterly reporting
• Internal(staff) committee (governance) reporting
• Presentations, meetings, ad hoc reporting to assist with audit & rating agency reviews and
affiliate recommendations.
Business Services: Specialty services customized to meet each client’s specific needs. These are
typically defined as:
• Interactions with third party agencies
• Back-office administration tasks such as negotiating and preparing manager and subscription
agreements
• Interfacing with custodians to process client approved trades, reconcile client reports and
other operational duties and tasks
• Providing client specific education
Highland is pleased to offer our consulting services in three formats:
Implemented Consulting: Highland will provide operational support for the back office
administrative tasks of the client while maintaining a non-discretionary relationship. Implemented
consulting customers review and approve all major decisions for their portfolio. Implemented
consulting customers will implement investment decisions with their custodians and managers.
Discretionary Services: Highland is pleased to offer our services in a discretionary format. Highland will
work with each client to develop an Investment Policy Statement that serves as the overarching
framework for the portfolio. Within the policy statement there will be established ranges for each
approved asset class. Highland is then responsible for determining the target allocation within the
ranges based on our capital markets outlook.
Designated Investment Services: Highland is pleased to offer a discretionary relationship for a portion
of a client’s asset allocation. Under this agreement, a client would have access to Highland’s
commingled investment program. Highland would interface with custodians to affect the commingled
investment program transactions and provide performance measurement and reporting.
COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT TRUST
Highland provides investment advisory services to the Cahaba Partners Collective Investment Trust
(the “Cahaba Partners CIT”), for which Global Trust Company (“GTC”), a trust company organized
under the laws of Maine, acts as trustee. Highland manages the
assets of each fund established by
GTC (each a “Cahaba Partners CIT Fund”). Highland is responsible for constructing and monitoring the
asset allocation and portfolio strategies for each Cahaba Partners CIT Fund, consistent with each
Cahaba Partners CIT Fund’s investment objective, strategy, and risks. Highland believes that it is
possible to enhance shareholder value by using one or more sub-advisory firms to manage the assets
of each Cahaba Partners CIT Fund. Therefore, Highland manages each Cahaba Partners CIT Fund
using a “manager of managers” approach by selecting one or more sub-advisers to manage each
Cahaba Partners CIT Fund, based upon Highland’s evaluation of the sub-adviser’s expertise and
performance in managing the asset class in which such Cahaba Partners CIT Fund will invest. Each
client desiring to invest in a Cahaba Partners CIT Fund will be provided offering documents related to
the Cahaba Partners CIT, which will typically include a confidential private offering memorandum, a
participation agreement, and a copy of the Cahaba Partners CIT’s Declaration of Trust (collectively,
the “CIT Offering Documents”). Highland does not have authority to invest eligible plan assets into one
or more of the Cahaba Partners CIT Funds on a discretionary basis. In order to invest, the eligible plan’s
fiduciary must make the decision to invest in the Cahaba Partners CIT Fund. The eligible plan’s fiduciary
must make this decision on an independent basis, without using Highland as the primary source for
making such decisions.
LLC FUND
In addition to the above, Highland provides investment advisory services to the Cahaba Partners
Investment Fund LLC, a Delaware series limited liability company (the “Cahaba Partners LLC Fund”)
consisting of separate and distinct investment funds (each a “Cahaba Partners LLC Series”). GTC
serves as the manager of the Cahaba Partners LLC Fund. Highland has discretionary investment
authority over each Cahaba Partners LLC Series’ assets and is primarily responsible for the investment
selection and positioning of each Cahaba Partners LLC Series. Highland utilizes sub-advisers to
manage the assets of each Cahaba Partners LLC Series. Cahaba Partners LLC Series assets allocated
to a sub-adviser will be either invested directly in securities and other assets consistent with the
Cahaba Partners LLC Series’ investment objectives and guidelines or in an investment pool managed
by the sub-adviser that invests directly in securities and other assets consistent with the Cahaba Partners
LLC Series’ investment objectives and guidelines.
Each client desiring to invest in a Cahaba Partners LLC Series will be provided offering documents
related to such Cahaba Partners LLC Series, which will typically include a confidential private
placement memorandum, an investor questionnaire, a subscription agreement, and a copy of the
limited liability company agreement of the Cahaba Partners LLC Fund (collectively, the “Fund
Offering Documents”). Highland does not have authority to invest client assets into one or more of the
Cahaba Partners LLC Series on a discretionary basis. In order to invest, the client must make the
decision to invest in the Cahaba Partners LLC Series and how much of the client’s assets to invest. The
client must make those decisions on an independent basis, without using Highland as the primary
source for making such decisions.
ASSET MANAGEMENT
As of December 31, 2023, Highland managed $14,263,129,378 of client assets on a discretionary
basis and $9,311,587,458 of client assets on a non-discretionary basis. Assets managed on a
discretionary basis and assets managed on a non-discretionary basis are included in computing
“regulatory assets under management” required for Item 5F in Part 1A of Highland’s Form ADV. With
respect to assets managed on a non-discretionary basis, these assets are included in computing
“assets under management” because Highland has continuing or regular supervisory or
management responsibility.