Asset management

Asset management, broadly defined, refers to any system that monitors and maintains things of value to an entity or group. It may apply to both tangible assets such as buildings and to intangible assets such as human capital, intellectual property, and goodwill and financial assets. Asset management is a systematic process of deploying, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets cost-effectively.

The term is most commonly used in the financial world to describe people and companies that manage investments on behalf of others. These include, for example, investment managers that manage the assets of a pension fund.

Alternative views of asset management in the engineering environment are: the practice of managing assets to achieve the greatest return (particularly useful for productive assets such as plant and equipment), and the process of monitoring and maintaining facilities systems, with the objective of providing the best possible service to users (appropriate for public infrastructure assets).

Management

Management in businesses and organizations is the function that coordinates the efforts of people to accomplish goals and objectives by using available resources efficiently and effectively.

Management includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization to accomplish the goal or target. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources. Management is also an academic discipline, a social science whose objective is to study social organization.

Etymology

The English verb "manage" comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle, especially tools), which derives from the two Latin words manus (hand) and agere (to act).

The French word for housekeeping, ménagerie, derived from ménager ("to keep house"; compare ménage for "household"), also encompasses taking care of domestic animals. The French word mesnagement (or ménagement) influenced the semantic development of the English word management in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Ciara: The Evolution

Ciara: The Evolution (simply known as The Evolution) is the second studio album by American recording artist Ciara, released on December 5, 2006, by LaFace Records. The album is separated into five sections, with each showcasing a different side of Ciara's artistry. The first features crunk&B and uptempo records, which mainly deal with feminine independence, while its successor, entitled The Evolution of Music features ballads dealing with the positives and struggles of love. The Evolution of Dance features dance tracks, The Evolution of Fashion deals with self-expression, while the last, entitled The Evolution of C, features tracks that discuss how Ciara has evolved as a person since the start of her career.

The album was seen as a coming of age project for the singer, as it featured songs with more substance than her last effort. It deals with Ciara's experiences after being in the public eye for the two years prior to the album's release. The tracks are also said to be geared toward a more urban audience. Ciara was the executive producer of the album and enlisted production from Phillana Williams, Antwoine Collins, Brian Kennedy, Bryan-Michael Cox, Calvo Da Gr8, Dallas Austin, Jazze Pha, Kendrick Dean, Lil Jon, Mr. Collipark, The Neptunes, Polow da Don, Rodney Jerkins, The Clutch, will.i.am, among others, and featured guest appearances from 50 Cent and Chamillionaire. Ciara also co-wrote and co-produces most of the songs.

Chief investment officer

The chief investment officer (CIO) is a job title for the board level head of investments within an organization. The CIO's purpose is to understand, manage, and monitor their organization's portfolio of assets, devise strategies for growth, act as the liaison with investors, and recognize and avoid serious risks, including those never before encountered.

Usage in the United States of America

According to a press release on October 22, 2008 the United States Treasury Department named James H. Lambright to serve as the interim Chief Investment Officer for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. "He will provide counsel to Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Interim Assistant Secretary for the Office of Financial Stability Neel Kashkari as they develop and implement the program."

Whenever the role of the chief investment officer is active within an insurance company (either life or non-life) and/or pension fund, the role is to manage and coordinate the investment, liquidity (treasury) and/or asset liability management (ALM) in order to optimize investment performance within the risk appetite as defined by actuarial studies ('Asset Liability Management' (ALM)) of risk management guidelines. The role of a chief investment officer within a corporate pension organization is similar, although the end-goal for the chief investment officer is often not profit, but matching the organization's pension assets with its pension liabilities. Chief investment officers at endowments and foundations also consider the liabilities of the organization, with an added focus on liquidity and alternative assets.