An investment account that is owned by an individual investor and looked after by a hired professional money manager. In contrast to mutual funds (which are professionally managed on behalf of many mutual-fund holders), managed accounts are personalized investment portfolios tailored to the specific needs of the account holder. For example, if an investor buys ABC Mutual Funds, which invests in Company 1 and Company 2, and that investor wants to reduce the weighting of Company 1 in the fund, the fund company wouldn't allow it since the money manager looking after the fund cannot make investment decisions based on one investor's preferences. On the other hand, with managed accounts, investors are given the freedom and ability to do what they want with the investments within the portfolio, and any decision made by the money manager is based on the individual investor's goals and objectives. Thus, if an investor holds a managed account and wants to reduce holdings in Company 1, he or she could do so.
A type of mutual fund that mimics some of the trading strategies typically employed by a hedge fund. Unlike most mutual funds, long/short funds use leverage, derivatives and short positions in an attempt to maximize total returns, regardless of market conditions. The amount of leverage used and the number of derivatives and short positions that long/short funds may contain are limited by law. These funds invest primarily in stocks. Long/short funds are the mutual fund industry's attempt to bring some of the advantages of a hedge fund to the common investor. Most long/short funds feature higher liquidity than hedge funds, no lock-in period and lower fees. However, they still have higher fees and less liquidity than most mutual funds. Furthermore, unlike most mutual funds, long/short funds usually require a minimum investment of more than $1,000, although some do not. Long/short funds aren't allowed to use as many derivative and short positions nor as much leverage as hedge funds, but they do provide some diversification to the average investor in down markets.
A sales charge or commission charged to an investor when buying or redeeming shares in a mutual fund. The fee may be a one-time charge at the time the investor buys into the mutual fund (front-end load), when the investor redeems the mutual fund shares (back-end load), or on an annual basis as a 12b-1 fee. Watch: Mutual Funds A large number of mutual funds carry sales charges. These are paid directly by the investor in the case of the front-end and back-end variety, and indirectly through a deduction to the net assets of the investor's fund if of the 12b-1, or level-load, variety.Oftentimes, these sales charges will be waived if a load mutual fund is included as an investment option in an employer-sponsored retirement plan.Unlike 12b-1 fees, front-end and back-end loads are not included in the calculation of a fund's operating expenses.
The smallest dollar or share quantity that an investor can purchase when investing in a specific security or fund. Most often seen in relation to mutual funds, minimum investments are also found consistently in fixed-income securities hedge funds, collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO) and limited partnerships (LP) where $1,000 units is typically the smallest cut allowed. Minimum investment amounts for mutual funds can stretch anywhere from $0 all the way to $1 million or more for institutional share classes. Hedge fund minimum investments can be even larger, as can some LPs and unit investment trusts. For retail investors, there remains a large selection of funds that have modest minimum investments of a few hundred dollars. A big factor for a fund manager in determining a minimum investment size is the strategy and liquidity demands of the fund itself. By setting a high minimum investment, fund managers can effectively weed out short-term investors and regulate cash inflows to the fund, which can be helpful for day-to-day management of the assets.
A type of stock fund that invests in mid-sized companies. A company's size is determined by its market capitalization, with mid-sized firms generally ranging from $2 billion to $10 billion in market cap. Most stocks held in a mid-cap fund are firms with established businesses that are still considered developing companies. These funds tend to offer more growth than large-cap stocks and less volatility than the small-cap segment.The size restrictions for a mid-cap stock fluctuates between funds. The range of $2 billion to $10 billion is only an approximation, and it can change over time.
A collection of funds from individual investors that are pooled together in order to obtain wholesale prices and rates unavailable for regular investors. This is kind of like bulk shopping. When you offer to buy more securities, companies are willing to give a better rate. Therefore, a group of investors can combine their assets for greater leverage.
In general, an investment vehicle that enables individual investors to invest money into one or more underlying investments that are operated by professional managers. Master funds can generally be categorized into three types: discretionary funds, fund of funds, or feeder funds. With this last type, shares would be sold to the public only by the feeder fund, but invested through the corresponding master fund.
A strategy undertaken by an investor or an investment manager that seeks to profit from both increasing and decreasing prices in a single or numerous markets. Market-neutral strategies are often attained by taking matching long and short positions in different stocks to increase the return from making good stock selections and decreasing the return from broad market movements. Market neutral strategists may also use other tools such as merger arbitrage, shorting sectors, and so on. There is no single accepted method of employing a market-neutral strategy. Managers who hold a market-neutral position are able to exploit any momentum in the market. Hedge funds commonly take a market-neutral position because they are focused on absolute as opposed to relative returns.A market-neutral position may involve taking a 50% long, 50% short position in a particular industry, such as oil and gas, or taking the same position in the broader market.