The Technology Fund, another specialized portfolio in Fidelity Select, declined 16.9percentt in value in 1984 and rose only 7.5percentt in the bull market of 1985.
He described his firm as having a "hub and spokes" structure, with him at the center, pulling in information, while his specialized portfolio managers ran their accounts with a degree of autonomy.
A few places do want specialized portfolios.
Richard A. Davies, an executive at Alliance Capital who oversees the nationwide marketing campaign for Rhode Island's 529 plan, for example, said investors shouldn't bet too heavily on his firm's tech fund or on its other specialized portfolios.
Unable to find enough qualified firms that managed real estate, oil and gas properties and other classes of alternative assets, the Yale investment office under Mr. Swensen has put "18 to 20 firms into business" managing portions of its specialized portfolios.
Looking for new revenue streams, ETF vendors have been getting creative and invented specialized portfolios with higher fees.
But if there are destined to be any crumbs left for managers of specialized portfolios, Mebane Faber, the cofounder and principal owner of Cambria Investment Management, aims to pick them up.
As you veer off into specialized portfolios (such as one tracking the Dow Jones Islamic Market or one owning a basket of commodities), costs climb, and often an ETF is your only option.
Motif Investing, a vehicle that allows you to invest in ideas, is expanding its offerings today to include the ability to invest in 10 new fixed income "motifs," which are specialized portfolios of bond ETFs tied to certain macro-economic trends.
Some companies offer specialized portfolios for retirement investors.
Tennessee-based Eastman Chemical Co has put together a new specialized product portfolio of nine performance additives and speciality polymers for thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounds.
