Abstract
Various assets or types of investment (stocks, bonds and cash equivalents) held and/or managed directly by investors, constitute a portfolio. In order to build up a coherence between risk tolerance and the investing objectives, investors favor large cap value stocks based on index funds if their strategy is conservative, an aggressive stock position if they are risk-takers (risky markets : real estates, futures, international investments). The choice of the strategy and its implementation is what is called portfolio management. Investopedia gives the following definition of portfolio management: "The art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance." Investment Management concerns the professional management of various securities and assets. The managers' aim is to meet the defined investment goals for the benefit of their investors. They can also mange portfolios on behalf of private investors. This is called "private banking". Basically, their job is to perform financial analysis, asset selection, stock selection, plan implementation and monitoring of investments.
