Managed Accounts: Building For Today – And What Comes Next

Financial Newswire Contributor

30 March 2026

In a market defined by the diversity of needs rather than a single client journey, the ability to meet investors where they are and adapt as they move forward may be one of the most valuable outcomes managed accounts can deliver.

Advisers are not only managing individual clients, but entire families spanning multiple generations. Accumulators focused on building wealth, pre‑retirees navigating sequencing risk and retirees seeking income certainty now sit side‑by‑side on advice books.

Against a backdrop of ongoing market volatility and shifting investor behaviour, advisers are under pressure to deliver their clients investment solutions that are flexible enough to evolve over time, while also remaining efficient, transparent and well governed. Now used by three in five advisers, managed accounts have become a key part of that response. No longer viewed purely as an efficiency tool, they are increasingly being used by advisers seeking consistent performance and value for clients across different life stages.

A generational lens – not a single solution

The traditional idea of a linear investment journey is becoming less relevant. Investors now move between phases more fluidly – often adjusting risk, income and capital priorities in response to market conditions, lifestyle changes or family dynamics.

For advisers, this has sharpened the focus on portfolio frameworks that help support this evolution. Rather than relying on disconnected solutions, there is growing demand for managed account ecosystems that enable clients to adjust their investments while also maintaining consistency of governance, reporting and oversight.

This is where breadth of offering matters. At CFS, the team offers a multi-platform solution with CFS Edge and CFS FirstChoice – both of which feature comprehensive menu options. A diversified managed accounts menu enables advisers to align portfolios more closely to client needs at each stage, while still operating within a single, familiar framework.

Helping clients accelerate wealth accumulation

For clients in the accumulation phase, portfolio design is deliberately focused on long-term capital growth, broad diversification and the ability to compound returns over time. Managed accounts in this phase are constructed to take advantage of longer investment horizons, accepting short-term volatility in exchange for stronger expected outcomes, while maintaining a disciplined approach to diversification and fees to support net returns.

Indeed, perceived value can play an important role in how advisers select managed accounts for their clients – that is, they often seek portfolios with leaner fee-budgets that don’t compromise on choice, expertise or quality. With this in mind, the CFS Accelerate Series was created – helping fee-sensitive clients access well-designed portfolios through a competitively priced menu, while also reducing overall platform administration costs.

Accumulation portfolios tend to prioritise long-term growth and diversification today. However, as they approach retirement or begin engaging in wealth transfer planning, clients require a considered pathway and complimentary strategies to help them meet their goals.

Retirement isn’t one portfolio – it’s a journey

If accumulation is about building wealth, then retirement is about managing multiple, often competing objectives. Today’s retirees may spend decades in drawdown, moving from a focus on income reliability in early retirement to capital preservation later in life.

In response, CFS has broadened its retirement-focused offering to include the Elston Income Series SMAs – designed for investors seeking more certainty in income and built with a dynamic approach that combines active management of Australian equities with unitised and ETF strategies.

CFS has also added retirement income SMAs from Betashares – offering access to ETF-based portfolios aiming to deliver both capital growth and enhanced income, while maintaining similar risk-adjusted return characteristics to more traditional income-focused portfolios.

For advisers, this evolution reflects the expanding range and sophistication of retirement portfolio options, recognising the need for ongoing management and governance throughout retirement. By expanding its retirement offering, CFS aims to support income needs without turning retirement into a reactive, event-driven investment experience.

Matching portfolio designs to client preference

One of the defining features of modern advice is the need to accommodate different investment preferences – even among clients at similar life stages. While some investors prioritise cost efficiency and market exposure, others are more comfortable taking on a higher degree of active management in pursuit of their investment goals.

One example of how this diversity is reflected in practice is through CFS’s in‑house managed portfolios. These range from Index Portfolios which offer cost efficient, index-based solutions with active asset allocation, to CFS Flex Portfolios which offer the full ‘toolkit’ by blending active, enhanced/smart beta and map cap index exposures, and CFS Apex Portfolios which support clients seeking an actively managed multi-asset solution that has exposure to the ASX Top 20 to capitalise on the benefits of franking credits.

This flexibility supports advisers in efficiently and confidently meeting diverse client needs as preferences or risk tolerances change – while also maintaining consistency of philosophy, platform, reporting and governance.

Meeting investors where they are

Spanning generations is not about offering more products – it is about designing solutions that recognise how clients’ needs change over time.

As advisers navigate the role of financial steward the also identify client needs, managed accounts that support choice, and the needs of clients as they progress through different aspects of their lives, are becoming an essential part of advice delivery.

In a market defined by the diversity of needs rather than a single client journey, CFS believes that managed accounts are a powerful tool for advisers in helping advisers build for today – and what comes next.

Disclaimer

Avanteos Investments Limited ABN 20 096 259 979, AFSL 245531 (AIL) is the trustee of the Avanteos Superannuation Trust ABN 38 876 896 681 and issuer of CFS Edge Super and Pension. Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFSL 232468 (CFSIL) is the Investor Directed Portfolio Service (IDPS) operator, administrator and custodian of the Avanteos Wrap Account Service and issuer of CFS Edge Investments. CFSIL is also the administrator and custodian of the Colonial First State Managed Account ARSN 167 425 649 and ARSN 618 390 051. Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFSL 232468 is the responsible entity for the Colonial First State Managed Account, available for investment through CFS Edge super, pension and investment products.

This article is based on current requirements and laws as at 31 March 2026. While all care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this document (using reliable and accurate sources), to the extent permitted by law, no one including AIL and/or CFSIL, nor any related parties, their employees or directors, accept responsibility for loss suffered by anyone from reliance on this information. This article may include general advice but does not consider your individual objectives, financial situation, needs or tax circumstances. You can find the Target Market Determinations (TMD) for our financial products at www.cfs.com.au/tmd, which include a description of who a financial product might suit. You should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Investor Directed Portfolio Service Guide (IDPS) and and Financial Services Guide (FSG) carefully, assess whether the information is appropriate for you, and consider talking to a financial adviser before making an investment decision. The IDPS Guide and FSG can be obtained from your adviser, cfs.com.au/cfsedge or by calling us on 1300 769 619.