BOSTON, Oct. 1, 2007 /PRNewswire/ — Bank of America today launched a Unified Managed Account (UMA) Program designed for its wealthy and ultra-wealthy clients seeking a comprehensive, but tailored solution to their investment needs. The UMA Program provides clients with more customization through multiple, institutional-level separate account managers, exchange traded funds and mutual funds in one convenient account utilizing an active overlay portfolio manager.

The new fee-based investment solution expands Bank of America's unified managed account offerings to clients, building upon the launch of the Consulting Services Portfolio Strategies—Managed(TM) program for affluent brokerage clients in 2006. Total assets under management for all fee-based, investment advisory products administered by Bank of America's Consulting Services Group (CSG) surpassed $37 billion as of August 31, 2007 (Comprises Portfolio Edge and advisory programs).

"This new offering highlights Bank of America's continued innovation in the UMA space," said Dan McNamara, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) Investment Products executive at Bank of America. "The UMA Program is an industry-leading private-banking program that allows wealthy clients the convenience of building a customized, well-diversified portfolio through a single account, with a focus on tax-efficiency. Bank of America is committed to making fee-based advisory solutions available to clients across a range of investing levels."

The UMA Program offers clients a highly-personalized solution, through portfolio managers building customized asset allocations and then constructing portfolios using a combination of separate account investment managers. Clients have access to over 70 different investment managers, comprising a wide range of asset classes and styles, including large cap, small cap, mid cap, international, global, fixed income and high yield. In many cases, the accounts will be managed for tax efficiency by the overlay manager. Most investment managers that participate in Bank of America's separate account programs have agreed to participate in the new UMA platform.

Developed and administered by CSG, the new UMA will be rolled out to all U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management clients over the coming months, beginning with legacy Bank of America Private Bank clients.