As open-architecture platforms continue to expand the menu of investment options available to plan participants, value-added services are required to integrated these options seamlessly on recordkeeping platforms. MG Trust and MSCS provides Customers with unitization services: an accounting process that translates a portfolio, either of a single security of multiple securities, into a unit price for daily valuation purposes eliminating different settlement issues.


Unitized services are required to allow plan participants the ability to perform same day exchanges across fund options when the asset being unitized cannot be settled on a Trade date plus one (T+1) basis as is the standard for mutual fund trades. The value of our unitization services becomes clear when you consider what occurs when mutual fund trades settle on a T+1 basis and common stocks settle on a T+3 basis; without them, a participant selling a common stock and purchasing a mutual fund would have un-invested cash for three business days waiting for the common stock proceeds to be available before they could be reinvested into the mutual fund of his or her choice. This process further complicates the reconciliation process for the plan provider.


MSCS provides unitization to allow retirement plan participants true same day exchanges among all the plans investment options.


Types of assets that can be unitized:

  • Company stock (publicly traded having adequate liquidity)
  • Actively managed model portfolios (mutual funds in an asset allocation portfolio as a plan investment option);
  • Actively managed Stable Value portfolios (managed single or multiple GIC securities as a plan investment option);
  • Actively managed stock and bond portfolios; and
  • Actively or passively managed ETFs as a plan investment option.

Features of Unitization

  • The unit price is made up of the securities’ (typically equities and/or bonds) market value and cash value
  • Unit values are determined daily
  • Participant have ready access to their interest/values without extensive “blackout” periods (typically T+1)
  • Dividends from securities are paid into cash and are reflected in the unit price
  • Security purchases are made by Investment Manager when the cash value percentage is outside of required amount