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Professional licensed portfolio managers work on behalf of clients, while individuals may choose to build and manage their own portfolios. In either case, the portfolio manager's ultimate goal is to maximize the investments' expected return within an appropriate level of risk exposure.

Portfolio Management May Be Either Passive or Active In Nature.

• Passive management is a set-it-and-forget-it long-term strategy. It may involve investing in one or more exchange-traded (ETF) index funds. This is commonly referred to as indexing or index investing. Those who build Indexed portfolios may use modernportfolio theory (MPT) to help optimize the mix.


• Active management involves attempting to beat the performance of an index by actively buying and selling individual stocks and other assets. Closed-end funds are generally actively managed. Active managers may use any of a wide range of quantitative or qualitative models to aid in their evaluations of potential investments.

Key Takeaways

• Portfolio management involves building and overseeing a selection of investments that will meet the long-term financial goals and risk tolerance of an investor.
• Active portfolio management requires strategically buying and selling stocks and other assets in an effort to beat the broader market.
• Passive portfolio management seeks to match the returns of the market by mimicking the makeup of a particular index or index.