Thornburg Investment Management is an investment management firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The firm mostly serves individual investors, but it also works with high-net-worth individuals. It has an institutional business as well, advising investment companies, pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities and other corporations.
Thornburg Investment Management Background
Thornburg Investment Management was founded by Garrett Thornburg in 1982. Before founding Thornburg, he worked at Bear, Stearns and Co. He still owns 100% of Thornburg. The firm prides itself on being located far from the financial centers of the United States, as it claims that this physical distance allows the firm to be more objective and look at financial trends with a broader view.
Thornburg Investment Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Thornburg offers separately managed accounts to high-net-worth investors. The firm also offers a fairly extensive menu of mutual fund options available to all investors. The mutual funds the firm owns are offered through Thornburg Investment Trust, which is a client of Thornburg Investment Management.
Additionally, the firm has a number of institutional investors as clients. It can serve the following types of institutional clients:
- Investment companies
- Pooled investment vehicles
- Pension and profit-sharing plans
- Charitable organizations
- State or municipal government entities
- Other corporations
At Thornburg, the minimum account size for a Private Client Equity Separate Account ranges from $100,000 to $500,000. The minimum account size for a Private Client Fixed Income Separate Account ranges from $1 million to $25 million, depending on the investment strategy selected.
For Institutional Equity Separate Accounts, the minimum investment required ranges from $10 million to $100 million. The minimum for Institutional Fixed Income Separate Accounts can be anywhere from $1 million to $50 million.
For individual investors who want to invest in a mutual fund offered by the firm, the required minimum investment depends on the fund the investor chooses to invest in and the class of the fund shares. For a Class A share investor, the minimum investment required tends to be $2,500.
Services Offered by Thornburg Investment Management
Thornburg Investment Management offers the following services:
- Separately managed accounts
- Mutual fund management
- Institutional investing
- Insight and commentary
The firm offers a wide range of institutional and private client separate accounts for customers to choose from. Additionally, it acts as the investment advisor and administrator for the Thornburg Investment Trust, which publicly offers a number of equity and fixed income funds.
Thornburg Investment Management Investment Philosophy
For investment management, there are a number of equity and fixed income strategies offered at Thornburg. These include:
- U.S. Equity
- All-Cap Growth
- International ADR
- International Growth ADR
- Limited-Term U.S. Government
- Limited-Term Income
- Limited-Term Municipal
- Intermediate Municipal
For mutual funds, Thornburg’s investment approach largely depends on which fund you choose to invest in. Across the board though, the firm focuses on making disciplined evaluations, looking at long-term value and minimizing tax liability. The firm is also strict about selling as soon as price targets are met or the firm’s investment theses start to break down. Notably, the firm’s fund managers invest in the funds they manage.
Equity funds at the firm are built on a stock-by-stock basis rather than by looking at broad sector trends. The firm believes that this ensures diversification and maximizes returns for investors.
Fees Under Thornburg Investment Management
For Thornburg’s separate accounts, fees range from 0.20% to 1.25%, depending on the investment strategy chosen and the total assets under management. Those with institutional and private client separate accounts may also have to pay third-party providers, including custodians, money managers and consultants, as well as brokerage and exchange fees.
The charts below show the varying fee schedules for the institutional and private client separate account strategies offered by Thornburg.
| International Equity, International Growth, and Multi-Asset Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| Up to $50,000,000 | 0.65% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.55% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.50% |
| Over $250,000,000 | Negotiable |
| International ADR, Internation Equity ESG, and International Growth ADR Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| Up to $50,000,000 | 0.60% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.50% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.45% |
| Over $250,000,000 | Negotiable |
| Small/Mid Cap Core, Small/Mid Cap Growth, and U.S. Equity Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| Up to $50,000,000 | 0.60% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.50% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.40% |
| Over $250,000,000 | Negotiable |
| Emerging Markets Equity, Emerging Markets ADR, and Emerging Markets ESG ADR Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| Up to $50,000,000 | 0.75% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.65% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.60% |
| Over $250,000,000 | Negotiable |
| Investment Income Builder, Equity Income Builder, Global Quality Dividend, and Global Opportunities Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| Up to $50,000,000 | 0.70% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.60% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.55% |
| Over $250,000,000 | Negotiable |
| High Yield, Multisector Opportunistic, and Strategic Municipal Income Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| $25,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.45% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.35% |
| $250,000,000 to $500,000,000 | 0.30% |
| Over $500,000,000 | Negotiable |
| Ultra Short Income Investment Strategy | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 0.22% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.18% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.15% |
| $250,000,000 to $500,000,000 | 0.12% |
| Above $500,000,000 | Negotiable |
| Corporate Bond, Limited Term Income, and Limited Term U.S. Government Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 0.30% |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 0.25% |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 0.20% |
| $250,000,000 to $500,000,000 | 0.15% |
| Above $500,000,000 | Negotiable |
| All Other Municipal Fixed Income Investment Strategies | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 | 0.25% |
| $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 | 0.22% |
| $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 | 0.20% |
| $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 0.18% |
| Above $50,000,000 | 0.15% / Negotiable |
For mutual fund investors, fees vary based on which fund you choose to invest in. Generally, the maximum sales charge for investing in a Thornburg fund is around 1.50%, while operating expenses tend to come out to around 0.90%. However, there are some variances based on what each fund charges in management fees and other expenses.
What to Watch Out For
It’s important to note that while Thornburg as a registered investment advisor, it isn’t a financial advisor in the way some other firms are. The firm doesn’t work with individual investors to provide financial planning and assist with estate planning, college savings planning or financially navigating other major life milestones. It is strictly an investment advisor, focusing on providing discretionary portfolio management and other investment-related services.
The firm is also fee-based, so some advisors can earn commissions from selling financial products to clients. Despite this being a potential conflict of interest, the firm sia fiduciary. This makes it legally obligated to act in the best interests of clients at all times.
Thornburg also has a disclosure on its Form ADV. This disclosure relates to an issue where the firm failed to file voting rights notifications.
Opening an Account with Thornburg Investment Management
If you want to open an account at Thornburg, you can call the firm or send an email. There is also a form on the website where you can fill in your information. Make sure to select “individual investor” from the initial drop-down menu. There is a section on the form where you can leave a message to let the firm know why you are interested in working with an advisor.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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