A class of financial intermediary that hires professional investment managers to oversee aspects of a client's investment fund. More specifically, the MOM tracks the performance of each investment manager and has the power to fire ineffective managers and then hire replacements on a client's behalf. Using a MOM to handle investments funds is an alternative to hiring a single investment portfolio manager that makes all the asset management decisions.

|||For example, suppose that a teacher's union hires a MOM to invest in its pension fund. The MOM then hires a number of investment managers, such as a bond expert, a money market expert and a large-cap stock expert; each has the responsibility of managing the particular asset class in which he or she specializes.

Because no single manager is an expert at investing in all asset classes, using a MOM allows clients to have an expert asset manager working on each aspect of an investment at all times.