Everything you need to know about asset and liability management

Financial terms like assets, liabilities, investments and more can be scary and confusing to understand. Manoeuvring the world of finance is scary mainly because each business decision can have a big monetary impact, whether for good or for bad. This is why it’s okay to take your time and learn the basics before jumping into the more complicated terms. Before understanding the concept of asset and liability management, let’s first understand what exactly asset and liability means.

 

In simple terms, an asset can be defined as anything which is of value that can be converted to cash. Assets can be tangible or even intangible. Furthermore, these assets can be divided into the categories of current and fixed assets. The correct value of a company’s asset is recorded in the balance sheet of the company. On the other hand, liability is something that a person or company owes to another entity. It is the financial obligation of a company over another. It is legally paid to the person in the future, either in the form of an asset or service.

 

Asset and liability management means managing the financial risks of a company that can arise due to a mismatch in the company’s assets and liabilities. It is a practice of maximizing profits and mitigating risks of liquidity and change in interest rates. While traditionally, finance companies in India only concerned themselves with liquidity and interest rate risks, the concept of asset and liability management has now broadened to include foreign exchange and capital market risks as well. ALM is adopted across various financial organizations including banks, insurance companies, asset managers and more. Adoption of ALM can help organizations prepare for future risks in a better way. This is because they’ll be in a better position to manage their liabilities strategically. More and more companies today have adopted ALM strategies with the help of financial firms and consultants.

Understanding hedge funds

Time and again, we have been hearing about different kinds of hedge funds whenever someone talk about investment. Let’s look into and try understanding what hedge funds actually and what they do. A hedge fund is nothing but an avenue of investment where pools of investments from different investors is formed and then invested in different financial products. This is done by putting the risk management techniques to good use. How is this different from investment banking? Well, investment banking is a financial institute that aims to provide advice on services to different kinds of businesses so as to raise capital and provide credit solutions as well.

Also, hedge funds are not available to just any body. It is mostly for people who are high-net worth individuals and also institutional investors as they do contain high risk. Hedge funds are actually considered as an alternative investment.

Since it required to offer more returns to the investors, the management style that is adopted for hedge funds is quite aggressive too. Plus, since hedge funds are more open ended, which means that investors get an advantage of withdrawing capital depending on the value of the funds. Also remember that the hedge funds are not restricted with any kinds of limitation, though they are put under certain regulatory framework since the 2008 economic crisis.

To help you with the hedge funds and to understand the functioning of asset management better, you need to hire an asset management company. Make sure that you choose them wisely and do a thorough research before you go ahead with them. This is a lot of money that we deal with and hence it is an absolute must that you are sure about the company that you are choosing to help you with this. Look for them online, read reviews and so on.

The importance of a good asset and wealth manager

In the time of crisis, you might have heard from some of the top asset management companies in India that many investors are panic selling as the markets are going down and also the investors are in a way losing their patience at this time of the crisis. There is also a school of investors who chose to not sell their shares as it also formed a major part of their assets and even reaped high benefits over a long period of time. However, it is important to note that the difference between these two types of investors is not just about the difference in the level of patience, but mostly also about the guidance that they might be receiving from their wealth or asset manager.

It has however, always been reiterated that when the markets are down, it is actually the best time to buy those shares because they are available are a lower or a cheaper rate and it will only see a growth in the future.

Unfortunately, however, not all wealth or asset managers are always capable of making their clients understand this concept. When this happens, then the investor ultimately looses out on the profits that they were going to gain had they got the proper guidance for the same. This then brings us to the main point of the blog, of having a good wealth manager. A wealth manager is not just someone who managers your account but also someone who plans out and strategizes the growth of your wealth for you. He or she needs to also make you aware of the different concepts such as ESG funds, long shorts funds in India, different kinds of mutual funds, and so on. They need to inform and educate you about what actually is best for your financial portfolio and even disadvantages of the rest.