Understanding the world of finance and financial terms can be a bit confusing even for people who acquired substantial financial and real estate assets. The good news is that today, it is easy to learn more about financial terms and their meanings and importance via the internet. Two of the terms that can be a bit confusing are an asset manager and investment managers.

Defining Asset Managers

The overall job of an asset management firm is to operate, maintain, upgrade and sell assets when deemed necessary or desired by the owner of the asset(s) in an effective way. Proper asset and investment management ‘s top priority is to ensure the value of the assets they hold for their clients do not diminish unnecessarily.

For individuals, businesses and companies that have established a significant portfolio combination of financial and real estate assets, may be in the need of an asset manager. This will help them better manage and maintain their assets on a day to day basis.

The service of an asset manager usually requires an annual fee for work performed based on the amount of wealth being managed. There are times when there are other compensations involved and these are negotiated on a per contract basis. Overall, for high net-worth individuals, sovereign wealth funds, pensions and corporations that have a large amount of assets to manage, asset management companies are often a great service.

Since most people, companies and pension fund operatives are usually busy in their tasks of everyday productivity, the job of managing the actual assets can be daunting. Asset management firms can take away the stress of managing all types of assets and help to not only maintain but increase the value of certain assets.

Managed Assets Can Include:

• Financial Assets

• Building and Real Estate Assets

• Pension Funds

• Equipment

• Intellectual Property

Investment Managers

Asset managers are also known as investment managers in some cases. This is usually the case when a company manages investments for individuals, businesses and companies. This can include pension funds management.

Understanding Proper Asset Care

Individuals, businesses and companies who own large amounts of assets, often spend a significant amount of time in the ongoing acquisition and maintenance of their wealth through their business dealings. This can make the actual maintenance of the assets already acquired go on the back burner.

This can be a difficult problem that can sometimes go unnoticed until some of the value of the assets significantly diminish. When an individual, businesses or company’s assets are not a priority, they can easily fall into disarray and lose value. If the assets are substantial and not properly prioritized, the losses can be substantial.

In the case of real estate holdings, proper asset managers often protect and increases the value of the asset being held while it is being managed. While the same can apply to many types of different assets, real estate is certainly at the top of the list.

Real estate is a fluid marketplace and therefore, the proper maintenance and upkeep of any real estate property is directly linked to the overall value and sustaining of value of any property. Most investors know that real estate properties that are not properly maintained, quickly lose value. In some cases, such as commercial or large residential complexes the loss of value can be significant without proper upkeep.

Asset managers that handle real estate investments are usually quite savvy in the real estate market. Their job is stay in tune with any potential changes in the marketplace and be able to capitalize on those changes in the best way possible for their client.