Hillman's longest-tenured portfolio management is worth mentioning, which boasts 28 years of average tenure. In general, seasoned teams tend to have more experience in both up and down markets. Fees on open-end and exchange-traded funds are a weakness of the firm, contributing negatively to the rating. On average, expenses on its funds are within the second most-expensive quintile compared with category peers. With the current market environment of fee compression, this is cause for concern, as investors may flock over time to alternate asset managers to get a better deal.
Hillman has some investor-friendly attributes, but other attributes warrant caution, leading to an Average Parent Pillar rating.