Personal

A managed fund is a professionally managed fund where your money is pooled with other investors' and managed by a specialist fund manager.

There are many advantages to a managed fund. These include:

Greater buying power -- greater access

By pooling investors' money, a managed fund increases its buying power to invest in many different assets and asset classes: ones that most individuals may not be able to access on their own unless they have a large sum to invest.

Diversification

By spreading investments over a wide variety of industries, companies and regions the overall risk of the portfolio can be reduced.

Full-time professional management

Having a dedicated professional investment manager managing your money gives you peace of mind and relieves you of many of the day-to-day management and record keeping chores. Fund managers constantly research the market making qualified and informed decisions -- a job that takes time and expertise -- which most of us do not have.

Modest capital outlay

A managed fund usually requires a relatively low initial investment to be made by the investor, usually between $1,000 and $5,000, and additional units can be purchased in small quantities.

Service

Fund managers provide many services to investors to make investing easy and stress-free, such as automatic reinvestment, regular savings plans and regular withdrawal plans. Most managed funds also provide investors with access to their investment professionals to discuss any queries or concerns that the investor may have.

Convenience

Managed funds are easy to use, handle all of the record keeping and paperwork and provide investors access to investments which they may not readily have access to individually. The unit prices of managed funds are widely quoted and it is generally possible to invest relatively small amounts of money.

If you have any further queries about managed funds, please speak to your licensed financial adviser. If you don't have a financial adviser, but would like to speak to one, please contact United Investor Services on freecall 1800 333 700.

United Funds Management Limited (United) ABN 65 073 186 419 AFSL No 240973

Part of Australian Wealth Management

This article has been provided as a general guide only and does not take into account your individual circumstances. You should consider contacting your financial adviser before making any financial decisions. All United products are offered by Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) only, copies of which can be obtained from United's website at www.united.com.au or by contacting United.