Segregated mandate

In a segregated mandate, a manager invests one client’s assets as a separate portfolio. The manager acts under an investment management agreement, and the limits sit in the client’s own investment guidelines. The client sets those limits and can change them by agreement.

In a pooled fund, many investors own units of one fund, and no single investor sets its limits. For a UK authorised fund, the prospectus states its investment objectives and policy and any limits on that policy (FCA COLL 4.2.5R). The choice weighs control and transparency against cost and the size a separate portfolio needs.

Trustees in England and Wales must put the agreement in writing, with a duty to follow their policy statement (Trustee Act 2000 s15). In Acclimetry, each guideline of a segregated mandate becomes a versioned rule linked to its clause. A pooled fund held in a portfolio is one position, measured directly or through its composition (look-through).