This guide is derived from the author's notes for the two-day course of the same name that he presents for the Securities and Investment Institute. It is neither a transcript of the course, nor a fully comprehensive work of reference. Rather, it is intended as an introductory text for those new to or unfamiliar with investments and asset management. It provides a broad and practical description of investment funds and fund management from a number of perspectives and aims to stimulate further, more detailed study. Starting with the general economic background and rationale for the existence of funds, it moves through a description of the features and characteristics of different types of funds, and the associated regulatory and investor protection mechanisms, to the process of establishing a fund. It then addresses the topic from the perspective of the portfolio manager, by providing an overview of the principal investment strategies and styles deployed in the construction of portfolios, and of their administration, before covering investor administration and, finally, the mathematics and methods of performance measurement. Your own understanding of fund management after reading this guide will depend upon your interest and aspirations, your appetite for and approach to learning, and, of course, your expectations of the guide, which, please note, is an introduction to the subject; it will not make you an expert!

Ray Russell has been a consultant and trainer within the financial services industry since 1988. Prior to this he spent 25 years in investment banking. Operating as GCR Management Services he has served as a director of a fund management firm for 10 years and has developed introductory training for the SII and fund management firms in the UK and Ireland. He also created a week long course for the compliance Institute.

Preface. About the author. 1 INTRODUCTION. Economic background. 'Money makes the world go round'. 'Money doesn't grow on trees'. Risks and rewards. Considerations. Markets 10 Investment instruments. 'Neither a borrower nor a lender be'. 2 ROLE OF FUNDS. Definitions. Investment businesses. Types of fund. Open-ended and closed-ended funds. Uses of funds. Associated packaging. Features and characteristics. Purpose, providers and players. Costs, benefits and comparisons. How to invest. Sales, marketing and disclosure. Categories, sectors and statistics. Investor protection. 'Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty . . .'. Regulation in practice. Establishing a fund. Who wants one and why?. Options and approaches. Documents and authorisations. Launching the fund. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT. Strategies, styles, objectives and policies. Meeting investors' requirements. Risks to be managed. Hedging. 'Please don't ask for credit . . .'. 'You can't do that!'. Asset allocation versus stock selection. Choosing the investments. 'First, pick your markets'. Portfolio weightings and profiles. Income and growth. Liquidity. Evaluating alternatives. Data, ratios and measurements. Dealing with events. News and announcements. New issues and underwriting. Rights, splits and scrip. Breaches of regulations. PORTFOLIO ADMINISTRATION. 'Day by day in every way . . .'. Buying and selling. Delivery and settlement. Registration. Custody. Use of nominees. Stock exchange reporting. Records and regulations. Portfolio accounting and controls. Profits, income and taxation. Valuation and pricing. INVESTOR ADMINISTRATION. Agents, agreements and delegation. Investor transactions. Registration. Communicating with investors. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT. Sector comparisons - 'my fund is better than your fund'. Yields and returns. Time- and money-weighted returns. Indices and benchmarking. Volatility and risk adjustments. INVESTMENT MATHEMATICS. The arithmetic of indices. Standard deviation. Capital Asset Pricing Model. Glossary. List of abbreviations. Index.