Managed investing is an approach to managing your investment portfolio that involves entrusting your money to professional investors. The guiding hand of an experienced manager can improve your overall financial wellbeing in many ways, including helping you save money on fees and boost your returns.
Most financial services firms offer managed account options with a range of models, such as high-yield, balanced, global small cap and strategic fixed income. These models can be a good place to start, but they’re not the only options. Many firms also offer separately managed accounts, or SMAs, that can be customized to your needs and goals.
An investment manager will first work with you to identify your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon and then develop a portfolio strategy that can help you reach your financial objectives. The manager will identify the best mix of investments for your unique situation, and then regularly adjust that mix to ensure it stays in line with your goals.
Often, wealth managers can access opportunities that you’d be hard-pressed to find on your own. This may include private investments that aren’t available to retail investors or funds that tend to be limited to very wealthy people. Alternatively, they can purchase alternative assets, such as hedge funds, on your behalf. Their industry contacts, training and experience enable them to confidently invest in instruments that may not be readily available to those who follow a self-directed approach.
Another advantage of managed investing is that the professionals behind it can make use of tax efficiency techniques. These can be designed to offset capital gains and losses by selling assets at times when they’ll result in the lowest possible tax liability. Depending on your situation, this could be especially helpful in reducing your tax bill.
Lastly, an experienced investment manager can help you diversify your portfolio to reduce your exposure to risk. They can do this by holding a range of different investments in your portfolio and by limiting how much you invest in each of those investments.
Managed investing can provide many benefits, but it’s important to remember that all investments carry some degree of risk. If you’re not comfortable with taking a certain amount of risk, it’s probably best to steer clear of managed investing and stick with more self-directed options. Managed investing