What are Institutional Funds?

Financial markets make an intricate ecosystem consisting of several components. Within this web, there exists a myriad of participants. Some of them include a group of individual and other significant investors known as institutional investors.

Institutional investors play a critical role in the market. These may include companies, charities, and governments. Institutional investors invest in funds specifically designed for them known as institutional funds and have remarkably low expense ratios making them particularly appealing investments. Let’s dive deep into what institutional funding is.

What are Institutional Funds?

The definition of institutional funds reads as “a mutual fund that offers low charges and a very high minimum investment.” An institutional fund is marketed to institutional investors like pension funds, hedge funds, and high net-worth individuals.

Breaking that down, an institutional fund is a collective investment vehicle available exclusively to institutional investors. Comprehensive portfolios are curated within these funds that offer varying market objectives and purpose diversification – educational endowments, nonprofit foundations, retirement plans, etc. Institutional funds are built to meet the unique demands and requirements of larger institutions. These funds typically entail a large minimum investment.

Institutional investors, by definition, have larger capital at their behest than the average individual investor. They usually also have longer time horizons, which provides a larger scope to invest in illiquid assets that can give rise to higher gains.

On the other end of the spectrum, institutions may face more limitations than retail or individual investors. Many non-profits may not be able to invest in companies that profit from activities that are perceivable as immoral. For instance, a religious charity might need to or want to avoid investing in an alcohol manufacturing company, whereas an environmental group might stay away from paper production.

Types of Institutional funds

There is more than one type of fund structure that is made specifically available to institutional investors. These funds are usually part of a pooled fund or a portfolio that is managed by finance professionals to achieve effective operations and cost efficiencies. Institutional fund offerings may include the following:

1. Institutional MF share

   Mutual funds offer institutional shares which have their specific investment requirements and fee structure. Generally, institutional shares have the lowest expense ratios of all the remaining share classes in a mutual fund. Generally, the minimum investment is remarkably high.

2. Institutional commingled funds

   Investment professionals may also create institutional commingled funds for their institutional clients. A commingled fund is a portfolio that consists of assets from several accounts blended. Institutional commingled funds generally have investing and fund requirements that are akin to institutional mutual fund share classes. Similarly, they may also have a specific fee structure, offering low expense ratios due to economies of scale, achieved from substantial investments.

3. Separate accounts

   Separate account management is also available to institutional investors. These are usually used when an institutional investor looks to manage assets outside the purview of established investment funds. Investment professionals may also be responsible for managing an entire portfolio of assets for an institutional investor in a significantly diversified separate account. Separate accounts are governed by their fee structures. Since managing these funds requires greater personalization and accountability, such fees or charges are usually higher compared to other institutional funds.

Final words

Institutional funds are created because large institutions naturally have very different investment objectives and need as compared to smaller retail investors. This allows a larger spectrum of people to invest in mutual funds in a way that they prefer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are institutional funds different from retail funds?

Institutional funds are low-expense investments intended primarily for large institutional investors whereas, a retail fund is an investment fund with capital primarily invested by individuals or otherwise called, retail investors.