It's time to hire an asset management firm. You have some money saved up, and you don't really know what to do with it. Fortunately, this isn't an insurmountable problem. There are a lot of asset management firms out there - you just need to find one that can deliver what you need. You'll want to ask about investment philosophy and past achievements. You'll also want to check out the company itself and its staff.

Check Out The Company and Staff

Before you decide on a maintenance management team, you should investigate the company and the staff. Take some time to check out the company's satellite office (or home office if it's near you). While past successes don't necessarily translate into future ones, a good management team is usually behind those past successes. It can be an indication that the investment team knows what the heck it's doing.

Asset management firms will also be able to provide information about their past investments. You should choose a company whose staff fits your own personality and psychology, is easy to get along with, and people who are both competent in their field and at communicating ideas.

Performance History

Performance history isn't the biggest deal in the world, but it's something you want to pay attention to. First, realise that no one can promise you any type of return outside of guaranteed investments. So, when an asset management company starts talking to you about interest rate returns, take it with a grain of salt.

You're more interested in the performance history and why the company made the decisions it made during that time. So, for example, when a company posted an annual gain of 24 per cent, that's impressive but you want to know why the management team chose the investments it did.

It had better be more than "we just knew those investments would perform." Good management teams investigate the companies or assets they invest in. They dig into the fundamentals and don't put too much stock in technical analysis.

Education and Experience In The Industry

How much education and experience does your asset management firm have? Many companies hire young brokers and investment managers out of school, but this isn't necessarily a good thing. What you want is a management team that's comprised of both senior and junior staff.

The senior staff have the experience behind them to make good investment decisions. The junior staff bring fresh ideas to the table.

Your Direct Contact

Do you know who your direct contact in the company is? It had better not be the front desk. Ask who your direct line will be to. The only right answer is someone on the management team - they are, after all, managing your money and assets. You want to be able to speak to them if you ever have questions.

Sometimes, what you'll get is a daytime contact number, but no evening contact. That's fine. As long as you have some kind of access that takes you past the front desk, you're good to go.

Philosophy and Strategy

There are a lot of investment strategies out there. Most asset management firms publish their own philosophy and investment strategy so you know, going in, what you're getting yourself into. For example, some firms focus heavily on technical analysis. This approach uses charts and historical data to predict future returns.

Fundamental analysis looks at news stories, company earnings, and underlying reasons for an assets valuation. Firms with this investment philosophy don't normally ride trends. They look for objective reasons why the asset is undervalued so that they can make decisions as to whether or not it makes sense to buy it.

Take your time investigating a company's philosophy. It's going to determine your long-term rate of return potential.