What are Managed Funds?
Managed funds are when you add your money to a pool created by many other investors and pay a manager to do all the investing work for you. It is a way of investing money in stocks and shares for those people who don't have the skills or the time to do it themselves. Managed funds make share investments available to those with only a small amount of money, as the whole adds up to a significant amount.
People - such as retirees - who want to make a living from their savings often invest in managed funds. Not only retirees of course, anyone with some spare cash can invest in a managed fund. The person who manages the fund is usually an expert in this field and he takes a percentage of your profits as his fee. Managed funds can also be in the field of real estate, cash or international shares. They can also make up part of self managed super funds if you have DIY Super.
When choosing a managed fund to invest in, be sure to check out the reputation of the investment company. It is important that they be registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). To find this out you need to go to the ASIC website.