Personal Account Management: Understanding Managed Accounts and How They Work
What Managed Account Actually Is?
A managed account is an investment account owned by an individual but managed by a financial manager. This is often referred to as Personal Account Management, where professionals handle investment decisions on behalf of clients. The manager has the authority to make investment decisions and must act in the client’s best interest. These accounts are generally meant for high-net-worth individuals and often have minimum investment requirements. Managed accounts are customized for the account owner, offering more personalized investment management, similar to a managed trading account in financial markets.
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Understanding the Mechanics of Managed Accounts
A managed account may contain financial assets, cash, or titles to property. The money or investment manager has the authority to buy and sell assets without the client’s prior approval, as long as they act according to the client’s objectives. This structure closely resembles account management trading, where decision-making is delegated to professionals.
Because a managed account involves fiduciary duty, the manager must act in the best interest of the client or potentially face civil or criminal penalties. The investment manager will typically supply the client with regular reports on the account’s performance and holdings.
Money managers often have minimum dollar amounts on the accounts they will manage, meaning a client must have a certain amount of funds to invest. Many minimums start at $250,000, though some managers will accept $100,000 and even $50,000 accounts.
Managers will usually charge an annual fee for their services, calculated as a percentage of the assets under management (AUM). Compensation fees range greatly, but most average around 1% to 2% of AUM.
A new innovation to managed accounts aimed at lay investors is the so-called robo-advisor. Robo-advisors are digital platforms that provide automated, algorithmically-driven portfolio management with little to no human supervision.
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Comparing Managed Accounts to Mutual Funds
Managed accounts and mutual funds both represent actively managed portfolios or pools of money that invest in a variety of assets or asset classes.
Mutual funds are a type of managed account. A fund company hires a manager to oversee and adjust the fund’s holdings according to its objectives.
When mutual funds began to be marketed in earnest in the 1950s, they were touted as a way for the “little guy” to benefit from professional money management.
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Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- Managed account trades can be timed to reduce taxes
- Investing in or withdrawing from managed accounts can take days
- Customized managed accounts address the account holder’s needs
- Managed account-holders have full transparency and control
Disadvantages
- Mutual fund investors can’t control when capital gains occur
- Mutual fund shares can be bought or sold daily
- Mutual funds invest according to the fund’s objectives
- Managed account managers tend to charge high annual fees
Key Management Factors in Account Choices
Both managed accounts and mutual funds are managed by professionals. Managed accounts are tailored to the account holder’s risks, goals, and needs. Mutual funds are managed to meet the investment and return objectives for all investors.
With a managed account, the investor allocates funds, and the manager purchases and places physical shares of securities into the account portfolio. The account holder owns the securities and may direct the manager to trade them as desired. This flexibility is especially useful for those who want to manage multiple trading accounts efficiently.
In contrast, mutual funds are classified by investors’ risk tolerance and the funds’ investment objectives.
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Transactional Aspects of Managed Accounts and Mutual Funds
Transactions in a managed account might take longer, as it can take days to fully invest or liquidate assets.
Conversely, shares of mutual funds may typically be purchased and redeemed daily.
The professional guiding a managed account may attempt to offset gains and losses by buying and selling assets when it is most tax beneficial. In contrast, mutual fund shareholders have no control over when portfolio managers sell the underlying securities.
ForexDrift’s managed trading account services are designed to optimize trade timing and improve overall efficiency.
Important Considerations for Institutional Investors
In July 2016, managed funds were in the news, as several institutional investors simultaneously opted for them over hedge funds.
The investors wanted broader platforms, customized strategies, full control over their separate accounts, daily valuation, lower fees, and full transparency.
This shift highlights the growing demand for personalized solutions such as forex trading account management services, especially among large-scale investors.
ForexDrift delivers institutional-grade Personal Account Management solutions with transparency, performance focus, and risk control. For more information on the forex market, join our Telegram channel.