The CFA Institute

Core investment management professionals are those individuals primarily involved in activities related to the investment decision-making process—generally portfolio managers, financial advisors, and research analysts on both the buy and sell side. The core investment management industry is comprised of firms (or larger firm business lines) primarily engaged in asset management (mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity, real estate investment, investment research and ratings, and investment advisory services), wealth management, fiduciary asset ownership (such as pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds), and their related regulators and standard setters.