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url: /glossary/discretionary-manager.md
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## Discretionary manager

Defines the allocation and distributes the invested amounts among different asset classes or financial instruments according to the mandate given to them (such as funds, equities, bonds, etc.).

Synonyms :

* Portfolio Allocator
* Investment Allocator
* Discretionary manager
* Portfolio manager

*Note* :
The French term `allocataire` refers to the professional — asset manager, banker or adviser — to whom the policyholder delegates a switching mandate (discretionary management). The `allocataire` is therefore the party who receives the mandate and makes the asset allocation decisions.
In English-language finance — particularly in the US and UK pension fund world — the term "allocator" carries the exact opposite meaning: it refers to the investor or institution that assigns capital to third-party managers and decides how to distribute it among them. In other words, the English "allocator" maps to the French "souscripteur" (the policyholder), not to the `allocataire`.