Common Types of Investment Vehicles

Introduction

You're deciding where to put money-maybe for a house, retirement, or spare cash-and need a quick way to compare options; an investment vehicle is simply the legal or financial wrapper that gives you access to return, takes on risk, and provides a level of liquidity (how fast you can get cash), so you pick based on what matters most; retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions all use the same types of vehicles-stocks, bonds, funds, cash equivalents, and alternatives-but for different goals and scale; Choose vehicles that match horizon, risk, and taxes.

Key Takeaways

• Choose investment vehicles to match your goal, time horizon, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, and tax situation.
• Cash and cash equivalents preserve capital and provide immediate liquidity but offer low yields-use for emergencies and short-term parking.
• Fixed income provides income and portfolio ballast; pay attention to coupon, yield, duration, and tax status (e.g., munis).
• Equities offer long-term growth and inflation protection with higher volatility; decide active vs. passive exposure based on cost and conviction.
• Pooled vehicles and alternatives trade liquidity, fees, and complexity for diversification and return potential-set a target allocation, review fees, and implement via a broker or advisor.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

You're keeping cash because you need safety, access, or a short-term parking spot for capital - this section shows practical choices, exact steps, and guardrails so you don't lose optionality or insurance coverage.

Quick takeaway: keep a clearly sized liquidity bucket in insured deposits, short-term Treasuries, or money-market funds and implement simple ladders and limits.

Bank savings, CDs, money market funds, Treasury bills

Start by naming the instruments: bank savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), money market funds (MMFs), and Treasury bills (T-bills). Each serves liquidity and capital preservation but differs in access, yield, and insurance.

Practical steps:

• Calculate monthly expenses
• Pick target months of coverage
• Choose instruments by access needs
• Split across banks to stay insured
• Use a CD ladder if yield matters

Best practices and specifics:

• Use FDIC insurance: $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category.
• CD ladder example: with $50,000, buy five CDs of $10,000 maturing in 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 months - reinvest or use proceeds as rates change.
• T-bill terms: available at 4, 8, 13, 26, and 52 weeks; settlement via TreasuryDirect or broker.
• Money-market funds: choose government MMFs for lower credit risk; prime MMFs may have minimal additional yield but small credit risk and liquidity gates in stress.

One-liner: pick the simplest account that meets your access and insurance needs - defintely avoid concentration above FDIC limits.

Use cases: emergency fund, short-term parking, capital preservation

Map needs to vehicle: emergency fund (immediate access), short-term parking (weeks-12 months), and capital preservation (hold until redeployment). Be explicit about timing and amount.

Actionable guidance:

• Emergency fund: target 3-6 months of essential expenses (6-12 months if variable income).
• Short-term parking: use MMFs or 4-13 week T-bills for 2-12 week horizons.
• Preservation with slightly higher yield: CD ladder or 26-52 week T-bills for 3-12 month horizons.

Here's the quick math: if monthly essentials are $3,000, keep $9,000-$18,000 in immediately accessible cash; put any extra short-term cash into a ladder or T-bills to earn a bit more.

Operational tips:

• Keep one account for immediate withdrawals
• Use a separate account for the ladder
• Automate transfers to rebuild after a withdrawal

One-liner: match time horizon to instrument liquidity - don't use 3-year CDs for a 6-month need.

Tradeoffs: near-zero volatility, low yield, high liquidity

Cash equivalents trade return for stability: minimal price volatility, quick access, but lower expected returns than stocks or long bonds. Know what you give up.

Key considerations and steps:

• Inflation risk: real purchasing power can erode if rates lag inflation.
• Opportunity cost: holding large cash blocks means missing higher expected returns elsewhere.
• Rate sensitivity: short-term yields reprice quickly; prefer short maturities when you expect rates to rise.
• Tax treatment: interest is ordinary income; T-bill interest is exempt from state/local tax.

Quick decision rule: if you need money inside 12 months, favor cash equivalents; otherwise shift surplus to higher-return assets.

Implementation checklist:

• Recalculate emergency target quarterly
• Maintain FDIC diversification plan
• Build a CD ladder with staggered maturities
• Use T-bills for predictable short-term funding
• Prefer government MMFs for worst-case liquidity

One-liner: liquidity is expensive but often necessary - balance cost with the certainty you need.

Next step: You: calculate your monthly essentials and fund 3-6 months in an accessible account by Friday; Finance: set up a CD ladder for any extra short-term cash.

Fixed Income (Bonds)

You want predictable income and lower portfolio volatility; bonds deliver both when you pick the right type and duration for your horizon and taxes. Match the bond type to credit, liquidity, and tax needs, and manage interest-rate risk explicitly.

Types: Treasury, municipal, corporate, agency, bond funds

Treasuries: issued by the US Treasury, minimal credit risk, different buckets-T-bills <1 year, notes 2-10 years, bonds 20-30 years. Use Treasuries for capital preservation, collateral, or short-term parking; Treasuries defintely belong in a safety sleeve.

• Step: pick Treasury maturity to match cash need; use T-bills for cash reserves.
• Best practice: hold Treasuries in taxable accounts if you need clean, low-credit-risk income.

Municipal bonds (munis): interest often exempt from federal tax and sometimes state tax. Use munis if you are in a higher tax bracket and invest in a taxable account.

• Consideration: check state residency and alternative minimum tax (AMT) exposure.
• Step: compute tax-equivalent yield before choosing a muni-see metrics section for formula.

Corporate bonds: issued by companies, span investment-grade (lower default risk) to high-yield (higher default risk). Use corporates if you need higher pre-tax income and accept credit risk.

• Best practice: review S&P/Moody's/Fitch ratings and recent covenant documentation.
• Step: allocate corporates to taxable accounts unless they're tax-advantaged issues.

Agency securities: issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) or federal agencies. Slightly more credit risk than Treasuries but often more yield; watch for prepayment risk in MBS (mortgage-backed securities).

• Consideration: prepayment and extension risk; use in intermediate-term sleeves with active monitoring.

Bond funds (mutual funds and ETFs): pooled diversification and active or passive management. They offer instant diversification and liquidity but the fund has no maturity date-so principal value fluctuates with rates and spreads.

• Step: choose individual bonds to hold to maturity for principal certainty; choose funds for diversification or operational ease.
• Best practice: prefer ETFs for intra-day liquidity; prefer low-turnover funds for tax efficiency.

One-liner: pick Treasuries for safety, munis for tax-sensitive income, corporates for yield-funds for convenience.

Key metrics: coupon, yield, duration (interest-rate sensitivity)

Coupon: the fixed annual interest paid, expressed as a percent of face value. Example: a 5% coupon on a $1,000 bond pays $50/year. Coupon alone doesn't tell you yield if price differs from face.

• Step: check the coupon and current price before assuming income level.

Yield: multiple measures-current yield (annual coupon divided by price), yield to maturity (YTM: total return if held to maturity), and yield to worst (assumes earliest call). Example: $1,000 face, $50 coupon, price $950 → current yield = 50/950 = 5.26%. Use YTM for apples-to-apples comparisons.

• Best practice: use yield to worst for callable bonds to avoid surprise price moves.

Duration: measures sensitivity of bond price to interest-rate changes; modified duration approximates percent price change per 1 percentage-point (100 bps) move in yields. Quick math: Price change ≈ -Duration × ΔYield. Example: a bond with modified duration 6 will fall roughly 6% if yields rise 100 bps.

• Step: match portfolio duration to your time horizon-shorter horizon → lower duration.
• Consideration: factor convexity for large rate moves; duration is a linear approximation.

One-liner: focus on YTM and duration, not coupon alone-those two drive income and rate risk.

Use cases: income, portfolio ballast, tax-advantaged income

Income: bonds provide predictable cash flow. If you need $20,000 annual income and expect a portfolio yield of 3%, you need about $667,000 of principal (20,000/0.03). What this estimate hides: taxes, inflation, fees, and reinvestment risk.

• Step: set target income, pick tax status (taxable vs tax-free), then choose bond mix to meet yield.
• Best practice: run a 3-scenario cash-flow stress test: rates up, rates down, credit stress.

Portfolio ballast: use bonds to reduce equity volatility and fund near-term liabilities. Practical ranges: conservative portfolios often hold 60-80% bonds, balanced 30-50%, growth 0-20%. Adjust based on goals, not age alone.

• Step: set target allocation, then decide between ETFs/funds (liquid) vs individual bonds (hold-to-maturity certainty).
• Consideration: in rising-rate regimes shorten duration; in income-seeking regimes accept modest duration and credit exposure.

Tax-advantaged income: munis for federal tax-exempt income; taxable-equivalent yield = muni yield / (1 - marginal tax rate). Example: muni yield 3.00%, marginal tax rate 32% → taxable-equivalent yield = 3.00% / (1-0.32) = 4.41%. Use this to compare munis to corporates or Treasuries.

• Step: calculate taxable-equivalent yields before buying muni funds or individual munis.
• Best practice: use munis in taxable accounts if your combined federal+state rate is high; avoid munis in tax-deferred accounts.

Actionable next step: Finance: build a 5-10 year ladder and a matching-duration sleeve, then run a tax-equivalent yield comparison for munis versus corporates by Friday. Owner: You.

Equities (Stocks)

Forms: individual shares, ADRs, index and sector ETFs, mutual funds

You want exposure to companies, but the way you get it matters - individual stocks give control and concentration, pooled products give diversification and ease.

Individual shares: buy direct for control over position size, tax lots, and dividend capture. Steps: open a broker account, set limit orders, size positions so no single stock exceeds 3-5% of risky capital, and use stop rules or option overlays to manage downside. What to watch: company earnings, free cash flow, ownership changes, and insider activity.

ADRs (American Depositary Receipts): use ADRs to access foreign firms in USD with US trading hours and settlement. Prefer ADRs when you need easier tax reporting and lower currency friction; confirm dividend withholding tax treatment before you buy.

Index and sector ETFs: choose broad-market ETFs for the core (low cost, instant diversification) and sector ETFs for tactical tilts. Best practices: prefer ETFs with high average daily volume, tight bid-ask spreads, and low tracking error. Target ETFs with expense ratios near or below 0.05-0.20% for core exposure.

Mutual funds: use for automatic investing, dollar-cost averaging, or when you need active management not available in ETFs. Watch share-class fees and load structure; compare net expense ratio and 5-year alpha net of fees.

One-liner: Pick the form that matches control, tax needs, and the time you'll spend managing it.

Returns: capital appreciation and dividends; volatility higher

Direct answer: equities provide long-term capital growth plus dividends but come with higher short-term volatility and drawdown risk.

Expected long-run returns: use the equity risk premium approach - add expected premium to a current risk-free rate. For example, if the 10-year Treasury yield is ~4.0% and your equity premium assumption is ~4.5%, expected nominal return is about 8.5%. Here's the quick math: 10y Treasury 4.0% + ERP 4.5% = 8.5%.

Dividend contribution: dividends typically add 1-3% annually for large-cap U.S. indices; they reduce volatility of long-term total return. What this estimate hides: sector mix and payout policy change dividend yield materially.

Volatility and downside: plan for annualized volatility commonly in the 15-25% range for diversified equity portfolios and potential multi-year drawdowns of 30-50% in stressed cycles. Use position sizing, diversification, and rebalancing to manage that risk.

One-liner: Expect higher returns over time, but build cushions for higher swings along the way.

Use cases: long-term growth, inflation hedge, active vs passive choices

Direct answer: use equities primarily for long-horizon growth and partial inflation protection; choose active only if manager skill justifies fees.

Long-term growth: allocate equities when your horizon is >5-7 years. Steps: set a target equity allocation tied to goals (retirement, college). Rebalance annually or when allocation drifts by >5 percentage points. Example: if your target is 60% equities and market rises to 68%, sell equities back to 60% or buy underweights.

Inflation hedge: prefer equities with pricing power - quality cyclicals, commodities-linked sectors, and real-asset owners like REITs. Include companies with strong cash flow and pricing flexibility to preserve real purchasing power.

Active vs passive: use passive ETFs for the core to keep fees low; use active funds or stock picks as satellites where you have conviction or tax-advantaged placement. Evaluate active managers by 5- and 10-year excess return after fees and volatility-adjusted alpha. If fee drag exceeds expected alpha, choose passive.

Tax and account placement: hold tax-inefficient active funds, REITs, and high-turnover strategies in IRAs/401(k)s; keep tax-efficient ETFs and long-term individual stocks in taxable accounts. Remember wash-sale rules when harvesting losses.

One-liner: Make equities your growth engine, but park risky bets in satellites and put tax-inefficient holdings where they belong.

You: draft allocation and execution plan this week - Finance: set rebalancing thresholds and account placement by Friday.

Pooled Vehicles and Managed Strategies - quick takeaway

You're picking between pooled funds and managed strategies to scale exposure without buying every asset yourself. The direct takeaway: use ETFs for low-cost, intraday trading; use mutual funds for dollar-costing and institutional-share classes; choose private or closed strategies when you need concentration and higher target returns but can accept illiquidity and accreditation requirements.

Mutual funds versus ETFs - structure, trading, tax efficiency, fees

If you want broad exposure with low friction, ETFs usually win on cost and tax efficiency; if you want dollar-cost averaging, automatic reinvestment, or institutional share classes, mutual funds make sense. One-liner: pick ETFs for cheap, tax-friendly beta; pick mutual funds for convenience and payroll-style investing.

Practical steps

• Compare net expense ratio - index ETFs: often 0.03%-0.50%; active mutual funds: commonly 0.50%-1.50%
• Check bid-ask spread and average daily volume for ETFs - keep spread 0.05% of NAV for liquid ETFs
• Use mutual funds if you need automatic investments, fractional shares, or no-commission SIPPs at a workplace plan
• Prefer ETFs for taxable accounts when the fund holds appreciated securities - ETFs use in-kind creation to limit capital gains
• Watch trading costs - market impact and commissions can offset a low expense ratio for small, illiquid ETFs

Best practices and considerations

• Match structure to tax situation - ETFs for taxable, mutual funds for tax-advantaged accounts often OK
• Review total cost of ownership: expense ratio + trading spread + platform fees
• Validate tracking error for index products - target tracking error < 0.50% for core exposures
• Beware of synthetic ETFs that use swaps - check counterparty and collateral rules

Quick math example: if you invest $100,000 in an ETF at 0.10% versus a mutual fund at 0.80%, you save $700 per year before trading costs. What this estimate hides: bid-ask and tax drag can change the outcome for smaller or shorter-term positions.

Closed-end funds, hedge funds, private equity - liquidity and accreditation

These vehicles give access to specialized strategies and leverage, but they trade off liquidity, transparency, and accessibility. One-liner: expect higher target returns, longer lockups, and accreditation checks.

Key rules of thumb

• Closed-end funds (CEFs): trade on exchanges; market price can diverge from NAV - discounts/premiums common
• Hedge funds: often require accredited investor status, lockups of 1-3 years, and performance fees (commonly 20% carry) plus management fees (commonly 1%-2%)
• Private equity and private credit: typical fund life 7-12 years, capital calls, and illiquidity during the term

Actionable due diligence steps

• Check liquidity terms: redemption windows, notice periods, secondary market depth
• Review fee waterfall: management fee, carried interest, hurdle rates, catch-up
• Model cash flow timing: create a 5-10 year capital call and distribution projection before committing
• Assess concentration: top 10 holdings exposure and sector concentration limits
• Confirm accreditation and KYC requirements early to avoid delays

Best practices: limit private allocations to a clear percentage of investable assets (commonly 5%-15% depending on risk tolerance), reserve liquidity for capital calls, and plan for tax complexity at exit. If you can't tolerate a 3-10 year lockup, don't commit - defintely avoid chasing yield without matching liquidity needs.

Manager role - active alpha, passive beta, fee and concentration tradeoffs

Managers either aim to beat the market (active, alpha) or cheaply deliver market returns (passive, beta); your choice should reflect expected skill, fees, and diversification. One-liner: pay active fees only when you have conviction in manager skill and concentration is justified.

Concrete evaluation steps

• Calculate net-of-fee outperformance needed: if fee = 1.50%, manager must beat benchmark by > 1.50% annually to justify cost
• Check multi-year track record across market cycles - require at least 5-10 years of live data
• Analyze active share (how different the portfolio is from the index) and turnover
• Stress-test concentration: model a 30% drawdown in top 5 holdings and its impact on NAV

Portfolio construction guidance

• Use passive funds for core exposures - lower fees and predictable risk
• Allocate to active managers for satellite positions where inefficiencies exist (small caps, emerging markets, credit niches)
• Set cap for active manager fees: total active allocation fees should not exceed the expected incremental return budget
• Monitor manager capacity - some strategies degrade as AUM grows

Practical governance steps

• Require quarterly performance attribution and a yearly operational due diligence review
• Set stop-loss or re-evaluation triggers - e.g., underperformance > 100 bps vs benchmark for 24 months
• Negotiate fee structures: consider tiered management fees or performance fee thresholds

Here's the quick math: if a manager charges 1.20% and you expect active alpha of 0.80%, net result is negative 0.40% - don't pay for alpha you won't likely receive. What this estimate hides: higher alpha periods can offset fees, but persistence is rare; always test for skill persistence and capacity constraints.

Alternatives and Derivatives

You're deciding whether to move part of your portfolio into less-traditional assets or use options and futures to hedge or boost returns - here's the short takeaway: alternatives can raise expected returns and lower correlation, but they cost time, fees, and liquidity; derivatives can manage risk or add leverage, but they add complexity and operational risk.

Real assets: REITs, commodities, farmland, infrastructure

If you want income and inflation protection, real assets are the obvious place to look. Public REITs give listed exposure with daily liquidity; private infrastructure and farmland funds give cashflow plus scarcity value but require long holds.

Practical steps and best practices:

• Use public REIT ETFs for core income, and private deals for edge cases
• Target 4-7% yield in listed infrastructure/REITs for planning
• Cap allocations: 5-15% of total portfolio depending on liquidity needs
• Stress-test cashflow: assume a 10-20% drop in NOI (net operating income) in recession scenarios
• Hold horizon: expect 3-10 years for private infrastructure/farmland

Here's the quick math: if you fund a 10% allocation to REITs yielding 5%, expected portfolio income rises by 0.5 percentage points. What this estimate hides: REIT total return depends on cap-rate moves and rent growth.

Specific considerations:

• REITs - watch leverage (debt/EBITDA) and tenant concentration.
• Commodities - use ETFs or futures; expect high volatility and storage/carry costs for physical commodities.
• Farmland - revenue from crop rents and appreciation; monitor weather, input costs, and tax treatment.
• Infrastructure - look for long-term contracts or CPI-linked revenue to reduce demand risk.

One-liner: Use listed real assets for access and liquidity, private assets for yield and diversification, and size positions to your cash buffer so you're not forced sellers in a downturn.

Credit, private debt, venture capital: illiquidity and higher return target

These strategies chase higher yield or outsized returns by taking credit risk, illiquidity, or operational exposure. Expect higher headline yields but also longer lockups and manager selection risk.

Practical steps and best practices:

• Assess lockup: private equity/VC typical 7-10 years; private debt 3-7 years.
• Compare net return targets: private debt 8-12%, private equity gross 15-25% IRR, VC top-quartile higher but skewed.
• Vet managers: track record, realizations, LP (limited partner) liquidity provisions, and GP (general partner) alignment.
• Understand fees: expect 1.0-2.0% management fee plus 20% carry in many funds; negotiate where possible.
• Plan cashflow: keep a liquidity buffer equal to expected capital calls plus operating needs for 12-18 months.

Here's the quick math: a $100k commitment to a 10-year private fund with a projected gross IRR of 18% and 20% carry can produce a materially lower net IRR after fees and dilution - model fee drag explicitly. What this estimate hides: realized returns vary widely by vintage and entry price.

Risk controls and sourcing:

• Limit allocation by vintage-year exposure; avoid putting > 5-10% of portfolio into a single illiquid strategy.
• Use secondary markets or interval funds if you need some liquidity in private credit/equity exposure.
• Document downside scenarios: default rates, recovery assumptions, and exit multiple compression.

One-liner: Treat private credit and VC as patient capital - size them to your true liquidity tolerance and demand manager transparency on fees and exits.

Derivatives: options, futures for hedging or leverage; complexity risk

Derivatives let you hedge, synthetically change exposure, or add leverage with relatively small upfront cash, but they require active risk controls and operational readiness.

Concrete setup steps:

• Define objective: hedge, income, or directional leverage - not all strategies fit all goals.
• Set position limits: max notional exposure ≤ 3-10x of cash for futures; options premium paid ≤ 2-5% of portfolio for speculative buys.
• Use stop-loss and scenario tests: simulate margin calls and assignment over historical stress periods.
• Choose counterparties: prefer cleared futures and exchange-traded options to reduce counterparty risk.
• Monitor margin and collateral: maintain a cash buffer equal to expected initial margin × 2.

Example trades and quick math:

• Hedge: buy put options on an equity ETF - premium cost is limited; if ETF drops 20%, puts can offset most losses depending on strike.
• Leverage: one futures contract can control a large notional with initial margin often 5-15%, so a 10x effective leverage is common - gains and losses are magnified.
• Income: covered calls generate premium but cap upside - calculate forgone upside vs premium collected over expected volatility.

What this estimate hides: implied volatility and liquidity can spike in stress, causing option prices and margins to move sharply; models must include tail-event scenarios. Operational checklist:

• Implement real-time P&L and margin dashboards.
• Run weekly greeks (delta, gamma, vega) for options books.
• Document approval and escalation rules for margin events.

One-liner: Use derivatives only with clear rules, small pilot sizes, and mandatory stress tests - they're powerful tools, not shortcuts.

You: draft allocation and execution plan this week; Finance: model cash buffer and margin scenarios by Friday.

Conclusion: Match vehicles to goals and act

You're deciding how to move cash and investments into a working portfolio; here's the bottom line: match the vehicle to your goal, horizon, tax situation, and liquidity needs, then turn that into a concrete allocation and execution plan this week.

Match vehicle to goal, horizon, taxes, and liquidity needs

Start by naming the goal and its timing: emergency cash (months), major purchase (1-5 years), retirement (10+ years). Map vehicles to those horizons: cash equivalents for 0-1 year, short-duration bonds for 1-5 years, equities and illiquid alternatives for 5+ years.

Use these concrete rules: hold an emergency fund of 3-12 months of essential expenses in savings, CDs, or Treasury bills; place high-yielding, taxable bonds like municipal bonds in taxable accounts for possible federal tax advantage; keep tax-deferred accounts (401k, IRA) for high-expected-return equities and tax-inefficient strategies.

Set risk tolerance numerically: pick a 1-10 score, then convert to a target equity weight. Rebalance when allocations drift by more than 5% or on an annual cadence. Here's the quick math: if target is 60/40 and equities become 70/30, sell 10 percentage points of equities to rebalance. What this estimate hides: trading costs and tax impact on gains.

One-liner: choose vehicles that match timeframe, tax bucket, and required liquidity, then lock a rebalance trigger.

Action: set target allocation, review fees, implement via broker or advisor

Step 1 - set allocation: pick a template and tweak for your situation. Conservative: 20/80; Balanced: 60/40; Growth: 80/20; Aggressive: 90/10. Translate to sub-allocations (domestic equity, international, core bonds, short-duration, alternatives) with specific % targets.

Step 2 - screen fees and tax efficiency. Use core ETFs with expense ratios typically 0.03-0.20% for index exposure; beware active mutual funds above 0.75% unless manager history supports alpha after fees. Advisory AUM fees should be in the range 0.25-1.00%; prefer fee-only advisors if you want transparent conflicts. Look at fund turnover and projected taxable distributions for tax drag.

Step 3 - implement. Choose a broker or advisor, place tax-aware assets in correct accounts (bonds in tax-advantaged, broad equity in taxable or tax-advantaged as appropriate), and decide execution pacing: lump-sum for long horizons, dollar-cost average over 3-6 months if volatility worries you. Set trade limits, slippage tolerances, and a trading window (30 days to implement the core plan).

Checklist (short):

• Define target allocation and tolerances
• Pick core funds with expense ratios 0.20% or lower
• Assign tax placement per asset class
• Set rebalance rule: > 5% drift or annual
• Execute within 30 days

One-liner: set your allocation, cap fees, place assets in the right account, then execute within a month.

One-liner owner: You: draft allocation and execution plan this week

Your immediate tasks this week: write a two-page allocation memo with goals, target weights, rebalancing rule, fee limits, and execution timeline; pick specific tickers or funds to hit each sleeve; and assign an owner for trades.

Suggested deadlines and owners:

• You: draft allocation memo by end of this week
• You/Advisor: shortlist funds (tickers, expense ratio, average daily volume) within 3 days
• Trading: execute core trades within 30 days
• Reporting: schedule quarterly review and rebalance alerts

One-liner: You: draft allocation and execution plan this week - then implement within 30 days; defintely assign the trade owner today.