Hamlin registered with the SEC in 2002 and is primarily owned by Lucy and Mark Stitzer. As of
December 31, 2023, Hamlin managed $7,086 million on a discretionary basis on behalf of
separately managed accounts, two pooled investment vehicles (the “Private Funds”), and the
Hamlin High Dividend Equity Fund (the “Mutual Fund”), an open-end management investment
company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Private Funds and Mutual
Fund are collectively referred to herein as the “Funds.” Hamlin draws some of its investment
history from its predecessor firm, RRH Capital Management, Inc. (“RRH”), founded in 1984.
Hamlin and RRH merged in 2004.
Hamlin offers equity and debt security investment advice for a fee through separately managed
accounts and the Funds. Fees are described in Item 5 Fees and Compensation below.
Hamlin manages its clients’ assets based on the individual needs of each client. At the onset of a
client relationship, Hamlin identifies client-specific investment objectives and/or restrictions,
mutually agreed upon asset allocation between equities, debt securities, and cash or cash
equivalents, and the types of investments that will be held by the client. Clients may impose
restrictions on their account based on specific securities, security type, bond term, or industry type,
among others.
Hamlin’s approach to asset management emphasizes current income. High-yield equities and
high-yield municipal and taxable bonds constitute a majority of a client’s Hamlin portfolio. The
high-yield municipal bond strategy (the “Bond Strategy”) is also available with long term, short
term, ultra-short term, and taxable bond mandates. The balance of a client’s portfolio generally
will be invested in government instruments, money market funds, and cash or cash instruments.
Hamlin’s investment supervisory services include transactions in certificates of participation,
which are fixed-income investments that have a very similar structure to the municipal bonds
managed by Hamlin. The primary difference between certificates of participation and municipal
bond investments is that the typical certificate of participation gives the lender a lien on a lease
while the typical municipal bond structure gives the lender a lien on property. With respect to the
Private Funds and the Mutual Fund, this Brochure is qualified in its entirety by the respective
product’s offering memorandum, operating or limited partnership agreement, prospectus,
statement of additional information, or similar disclosure
and governing documents.
Hamlin serves as a portfolio manager and sub-advisor for several clients who have been introduced
to Hamlin by unaffiliated third-party advisers. Hamlin has entered into a sub-advisory agreement
with many of the advisers and does not maintain separate investment management agreements
with sub-advisory clients. Accordingly, Hamlin is relying on the advisers’ assessment to
determine whether Hamlin’s investment strategy is suitable and appropriate for such clients. In
some instances, the sub-advisory relationship specifies that Hamlin only provide a model portfolio
to the adviser that sponsors the program and the sponsor, in addition to suitability, will also be
responsible for all trading and anti-money laundering requirements (“Model Delivery Sub-
Advisory”). For all Model Delivery Sub-Advisory relationships, the sponsor will retain
investment discretion and be responsible for the timing and magnitude of purchase/sale decisions
within the portfolio to implement Hamlin’s recommendations. As a result, Hamlin does not
include Model Delivery Sub-Advisory clients in calculations of assets under management. Please
see Item 12 Brokerage Practices below for more information.
In addition, Hamlin participates in wrap fee programs sponsored by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company,
Inc., Summit Trail Advisors, LLC, Morgan Stanley, New Edge Wealth, and UBS Financial
Services, Inc. by providing portfolio management services. As part of the wrap fee programs,
Hamlin manages the debt security allocation of certain clients’ accounts and receives a portion of
the wrap fee for its advisory services which is paid by the client to the sponsor of the wrap fee
program. Hamlin generally trades away the sponsor for fixed income clients in wrap fee programs.
Hamlin has certain clients that have retained Hamlin’s services to liquidate accounts where a third
party selected the initial purchase of securities (the “Third Party Mandate”). Hamlin engages in
reduced due diligence for these third party securities and does not recommend the purchase of new
securities into these accounts.
Hamlin does not make recommendations to clients regarding the types of accounts they should
open and/or maintain, such as recommendations that involve the roll over or transfer of assets from
one type of account to another. Clients should consult with other financial professionals regarding
account recommendations.
Finally, please see the discussion in Item 5 below regarding Hamlin’s services as Bondholder
Representative.