Fund management is very essential as investors, both
institutional and retail, depend on them for achieving their investment goals.
The fund management companies work round the clock to evaluate the financial
position of the investment assets to help the investors’ financial objectives
in a timely manner. The financial objectives might be an education fund for
children, a retirement fund, etc.
Damian Maggio says
that fund management is associated with managing the cash flows of a financial
institution. The liability of the fund manager is to evaluate the maturity
schedules of the deposits received and loans given to maintain the
asset-liability framework. As the flow of money is continuous and dynamic, it
is of critical significance that asset-liability mismatch can be prevented. It
is vital for the financial health of the entire banking industry is dependent,
which in turn has an impact on the overall economy of the country.
The kinds of Fund Management can be classified by the Client
type, Investment type, or the method used for management. The several types of
investments managed by fund management professionals include:
- Trust Fund
- Mutual Funds
- Pension Funds
- Equity fund management
- Hedge Fund
There are various fund management styles and approaches as
per Damian Maggio
- The Growth at Reasonable
Price style will use a mix of Growth and Value investing for constructing
the portfolio. This portfolio will typically include a limited number of
securities that are showing consistent performance. The sector
constituents of such portfolios could be somewhat different from that of
the benchmark index to take benefit of growth prospects from these
selected sectors as their ability can be maximized under particular conditions.
- The managers using growth
style have a lot of stress on the current and future Corporate Earnings.
They are even prepared to pay a premium on securities having powerful
growth potential. The growth stocks are usually the cash-cows and are
expected to be sold at prices in the northern direction.
- Fundamental style is the
basic and one of the most defensive styles which aspire to match the
returns of the benchmark index by replicating its sector breakdown and
capitalization. The managers will strive to add value to the current
portfolio. Such styles are generally adopted by mutual funds to maintain a
cautious approach as several retail investors with restricted
investments expect an essential return on their overall investment.
Some of the key advantages of fund management are as
follows:
- It enables
the investors to access a diversified portfolio that consist of investment
in different sectors through different asset classes.
- It
facilitates wealth creation over a period of time with the correct mix of
risk and return.
These are some of the key advantages of fund management.