Are you looking for a diversified portfolio and to have the final say on your investments, but you don’t have time to research the many stocks, bonds, and funds that are out there? If so, it might be time to call your financial advisor and ask him to find you a money manager.
If you already have a financial advisor, why do you need a money manager?
Whereas a financial advisor helps you plan your retirement, a money manager, which is often a professional investment firm, handles the day-to-day transactions in your portfolio. The focus is somewhat different and more specific, and very often both professionals work together.
Here are three reasons why a money manager is useful:
1. Take the headache out of investing
While you may be happy to have more of a say in your investments, you don’t necessarily want the headache that goes along with managing them on a day-to-day basis. In your everyday life, you don’t have the time to sit down and pore over market reports, charts, and other relevant information. And even if you did, unless you are a part of the financial world yourself, you would probably find it hard to interpret them correctly enough to benefit your situation. For this reason, it’s worthwhile to use a money manager, whose extensive knowledge and resources are now at your disposal.
2. A money manager can give you more of a say
A money manager can put your money into an SMA, or separately managed account. Once upon a time SMAs were strictly for the very rich, but they can now be opened with a starting sum beginning at $50,000.
Unlike a mutual fund, where you own a part of the fund controlling your investments, an SMA gives you the opportunity to become an actual owner of the stocks that are in your portfolio. This is more direct, and it gives you more of a say. Directly owning the individual shares (as opposed to owning shares in a mutual fund) can be beneficial when selling for tax purposes.
Learn more about SMAs and if they might be appropriate for you, by watching a short movie.
3. Widen your horizons
The great thing about using money managers is they provide you with greater financial resources than if you were on your own. Many money managers follow a policy of “open architecture,” which means that there can be a wider variety of investment accounts than in the average mutual fund. And with all of the information and expertise at their fingertips, a money manager can help you to build a portfolio that is more tailored to your specific needs, with the right balance for you of large cap or small cap stocks, bonds, or foreign stocks, and more.
To find out whether you need a money manager or an SMA, call your financial advisor today.