Asset Management
Asset management is the professional management of various securities, including shares, bonds and other securities and other assets, such as proprty, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investor. Investors may be institutions; insurance companies, pension funds, corporations etc or private investors, both directly via investment contracts and more commonly via collective investment schemes, eg. mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.
The term asset management is often used to refer to the investment management of collective investments, whilst the more generic fund management may refer to all forms of institutional investment as well as investment management for private investors.
Investment managers who specialize in advisory or discretionary management on behalf of (normally wealthy) private investors may often refer to their services as wealth management or portfolio management often within the context of so-called private banking.
The provision of investment management services includes elements of financial statement analysis, asset selection, stock selection, plan implementation and ongoing monitoring of investments. Investment management is a large and important global industry in its own right responsible for caretaking of trillions of won, dollars, euro, pounds and yen. Coming under the remit of financial services many of the world's largest companies are at least in part investment managers and employ millions of staff and create billions in revenue.
Finance
There are numerous finance products on the market from an equally broad range of financial services providers. For consumers there are savings accounts, current accounts, ISA accounts, trusts, child bonds, loans, mortgages, credit cards and so many more. For corporate customers there are a broad range of financial products for managing and investing funds. Finance products are available for short term funding and long term investing, like pensions.
Insurance
Insurance is an essential part of our financial planning. It is required for transportation, whether by car, bike, boat or to cover associated vehicles like caravans. Insurance is part of business, covering commercial premises like shops & restaurants, company cars and protection like public liability insurance. Tradesman and businessmen are wise to protect themselves with adequate business insurance. It is also a growing part of our family healthcare such as health insurance, dental cover or even life insurance.