Weigh the benefits and costs of separate accounts against those of pooled investment vehicles

A separate account holds securities directly in the client's name. Its benefits are ownership and transparency, customisation such as exclusions or tax-lot management, and freedom from other investors' flows; its costs are higher minimums, more administration and monitoring, and, for smaller mandates, higher fees. A pooled vehicle, such as a mutual fund or limited partnership, spreads costs across many investors, accepts small amounts and is simple to hold, but allows little customisation, may offer less transparency, and exposes each investor to others' subscriptions and redemptions, which generate trading costs and, in taxable funds, unwanted realised or embedded gains. The choice turns on asset size, tax status, the need for customisation and liquidity, and the investor's capacity to oversee an account.