Managed-portfolio service for life insurance in France: should you choose it?
Updated on 5 August 2026
In France, a managed-portfolio service in life insurance means handing your switches over to a manager or a robo-advisor, for higher fees than self-directed management. It suits savers who lack the time or the knowledge, but it ignores how your personal and financial situation evolves. Here is how it works, where it falls short, and how to choose.
- A collective managed-portfolio service applies the same asset allocation to every saver with the same risk profile, with no individual tailoring.
- Robo-advisors such as Nalo or Yomoni charge all-in fees of up to 1.6% to 1.65% per year depending on the risk profile.
- The individualised managed-portfolio service, reserved for private-bank clients with substantial assets, remains far more expensive than the collective version.
- Investing directly in ETFs under self-directed management remains the cheapest option for a saver who is autonomous and has the time.
- The managed-portfolio service is available on most French tax wrappers: PEA (a French tax-advantaged equity savings account), PER (France's retirement savings plan), life insurance, securities accounts and employee savings plans.
Definition of the managed-portfolio service
Also known as discretionary management, the managed-portfolio service consists of granting a manager power of attorney to carry out financial switches within a portfolio of assets (CTO, PEA, life insurance and so on). You therefore give them the power to buy and sell assets in your name and on your behalf. According to the AMF, a discretionary management mandate is “a written contract by which a client gives a manager the power to manage a portfolio including one or more financial instruments”.
Under a managed-portfolio service, the manager will establish your investor profile in order to set the broad strategic direction for your savings, but remains free to carry out the switches (such as selling ETFs) it judges useful without asking for your prior agreement. That is precisely what sets the managed-portfolio service apart from advisory management.
| Management style | Indicative annual fees | Involvement required | Tailoring | Target profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-directed management (ETFs) | Investment option fees only, usually under 0.5%/year | High: you select and switch yourself | Full | Autonomous saver with time available |
| Collective managed-portfolio service (robo-advisor) | From 1.6% to 1.65%/year all-in (Yomoni, Nalo) | Low: risk profile set once | Limited to the risk profile | Short of time or expertise |
| Individualised managed-portfolio service (private bank) | Higher, not standardised, varying by institution | Low, with personalised follow-up from an adviser | High but costly | Substantial assets |
What forms can a managed-portfolio service take?
A managed-portfolio service can take several forms:
- individualised or collective management
- investment in ETFs or collective investment schemes (investment funds, euro funds, equities...)
- a managed-portfolio service run by a robo-advisor (e.g. Nalo, Yomoni, cited for illustration only, not as a recommendation)
More capital invested
Non-contractual document for promotional purposes. Investment in unit-linked vehicles carries a risk of capital loss, since their value is subject to fluctuation, both upwards and downwards, depending in particular on developments in the financial markets. The insurer's commitment is to the number of unit-linked vehicles, not to their value, which it does not guarantee. The e-vie life insurance policy is an individual life insurance policy, denominated in euros and/or unit-linked vehicles, underwritten by Generali Vie, a company governed by the French Insurance Code. Finary SAS - 58 rue de Monceau 75380 Paris 8 - ORIAS no. 21001279
Individualised or collective managed-portfolio service?
A managed-portfolio service can be run collectively or individually. For most savers it is run collectively, meaning the manager defines broad investor profile categories and selects the matching asset allocation in advance.
For example, if you set your risk profile as cautious for a life insurance policy under a managed-portfolio service, it will consist mainly of euro funds and government bonds (through bond ETFs for example) in order to avoid short-term capital losses. With a collective managed-portfolio service, you end up with the same asset allocation as every other saver with the same risk profile.
As for the individualised managed-portfolio service, it is often reserved for clients of private banks who hold substantial savings. The allocation is therefore tailored, with the adviser closely involved in understanding your objectives. This approach comes close to private wealth management. Inevitably, it is a particularly expensive form of managed-portfolio service, which can weigh on net returns.
What is the difference between a managed-portfolio service and advisory management?
Advisory management is closer to advice on wealth management or on financial investment, where a professional advises you on the investments best suited to your personal situation and your objectives. That advice, often personalised and factoring in tax and estate considerations, is not binding: you remain free to follow the recommendations or not. By contrast, under discretionary management (the managed-portfolio service) you give the manager a free hand to allocate your savings in whatever way it judges optimal.
Given the calibre of the professionals involved (independent wealth management advisers), advisory management is far more expensive than a managed-portfolio service. Those advisory services are very often paid for through fees.
Good to know : Choosing a managed-portfolio service does not rule out advisory management. To pick the right tax wrappers and define your wealth objectives, you can perfectly well call on a wealth management adviser, then subscribe to managed-portfolio investment solutions yourself. Remember that advice is never free: if you pay no fee to the adviser, they are earning retrocessions on the products they recommend. That tends to bias their advice. Should you use a robo-advisor to run the managed-portfolio service on your savings?
Managed-portfolio services are widespread on life insurance policies, driven by the rise of robo-advisors (e.g. Nalo, Yomoni, cited for illustration only, not as a recommendation). Instead of delegating management to a human, who will often repeat the same investment strategy for every saver profile, you can put an algorithm to work. The robo-advisor is generally cheaper for this kind of task.
The policyholder defines their risk profile and savings objectives, then delegates portfolio management and asset allocation to a robo-advisor. It then proposes an allocation matched to your return objectives given your risk aversion. This option has the notable advantage of being the cheapest of the “automatic” solutions, without degrading the investment experience compared with collective management run by a human.
Good to know : If you are going for collective management anyway, a robo-advisor managed-portfolio service is worth considering. You can potentially cut fees for a comparable level of service. The best-known robo-advisors charge up to 1.6%/year all-in at Yomoni and up to 1.65%/year at Nalo (fees observed on 5 August 2026), depending on your risk profile. Note that investing directly in ETFs without an intermediary can prove cheaper. What are the advantages of a managed-portfolio service?
Discretionary management mainly lets you cut management fees. That said, it is an excellent solution for people who lack the time or the skills to invest their money. It therefore avoids the pitfalls of self-directed management.
Lower management fees
Rarely stated clearly enough across most investment solutions, management fees can eat a large share of your gross return. That is one of the reasons the French authorities moved to cap the running fees of the PEA (Plan d'Épargne en Actions), capped since 1 July 2020. Depending on the type of investment product (life insurance, PEA, securities account and so on), some traditional banks can charge significant annual fees on the capital invested, varying by institution and investment option. Which means that if you were counting on a satisfactory return from a euro fund life insurance policy carrying fees that high, think again.
The managed-portfolio service, especially when run by a robo-advisor, has the major benefit of squeezing management fees as far as possible, down to around 1.6%/year all-in at some innovative players in the managed-portfolio market (fees observed on 5 August 2026).
Good to know : To minimise management fees, one option is to go for self-directed management and invest in low-cost ETFs. Limiting the risk of mistakes with a managed-portfolio service
By entrusting your savings to a specialist, you greatly limit the risk of crude mistakes in your investment strategy, not least by avoiding being tripped up by your own cognitive biases. Hindsight bias, overconfidence, herd behaviour: those biases are many. They make investing your savings treacherous for anyone managing money alone. Understanding investor psychology helps avoid a great many mistakes.
The internet is full of tempting investment offers promising, always, to make you rich in the short term with no effort. A novice could be persuaded without grasping the enormous financial risk to their savings. In that sense, a managed-portfolio service hands this heavy responsibility to seasoned professionals able to judge whether an investment solution stacks up against your objectives.
within your reach
Non-contractual document for promotional purposes. Investment in unit-linked vehicles carries a risk of capital loss, since their value is subject to fluctuation, both upwards and downwards, depending in particular on developments in the financial markets. The insurer's commitment is to the number of unit-linked vehicles, not to their value, which it does not guarantee. The e-vie life insurance policy is an individual life insurance policy, denominated in euros and/or unit-linked vehicles, underwritten by Generali Vie, a company governed by the French Insurance Code. Finary SAS - 58 rue de Monceau 75380 Paris 8 - ORIAS no. 21001279
Managed-portfolio service: effective saving within everyone's reach
The other major benefit of a managed-portfolio service is its accessibility. Allocating savings properly by picking the right financial assets is not a job just anyone can do. Some find satisfaction and interest in investing in the stock market on their own; others prefer a passive approach to investing, minimising their involvement in the investment process.
A managed-portfolio service therefore targets two broad saver profiles:
- those who lack the skills to invest their money properly;
- those who lack the time, or any interest in investing their money.
The limits of a managed-portfolio service
Whether run by a human or by a robo-advisor, the collective managed-portfolio service is not all upside. It does limit the scope for error among beginners, but it generally leaves estate considerations out of the investment strategy, focusing solely on the return/risk trade-off of your portfolio.
Yet investing your savings can and should also answer tax considerations and estate considerations. A managed-portfolio service will not let you build a genuine investment strategy to prepare for retirement or optimise your estate transfer.
On top of that, the profiles identified can be too coarse, and above all they ignore changes in your personal situation: a shrinking emergency fund, a change in marital status, buying your main home. Blind to those changes, a managed-portfolio service can persist with an allocation strategy that no longer fits.
Good to know : before choosing between self-directed management and a managed-portfolio service, use the life insurance taxation simulator to estimate the impact of a withdrawal or a transfer on death given your situation. Good to know : Finary is the platform for the modern investor. It tracks in real time how your entire financial and property wealth is changing. Alert to the slightest change in circumstances, Finary lets you adapt your wealth strategy at every stage of life and identify investments suited to your situation. Frequently asked questions
How does a managed-portfolio service work?
Unlike self-directed management, a managed-portfolio service delegates the allocation of savings across a range of financial assets to a manager, human or robot. Based on the saver's risk profile, the manager carries out switches to align the portfolio with the saver's return objectives.
Which French tax wrappers are eligible for a managed-portfolio service?
You can opt for a managed-portfolio service on every French tax wrapper: the PEA, the PER (France's retirement savings plan), life insurance, the capitalisation contract or employee savings plans. You can also delegate the management of your securities account (CTO).
Can you switch back from a managed-portfolio service to self-directed management in life insurance?
Yes. Changing management style is generally possible at any time through a simple switching request to the insurer, without closing the policy. The operation can still trigger switching fees depending on the policy, to be checked in the general terms before making the move.
Does a managed-portfolio service beat the market?
No. A managed-portfolio service does not aim to beat the market but to align the asset allocation with the saver's risk profile. Its performance depends on the financial markets and on the manager's choices, with no guarantee of outperforming self-directed management in low-cost index ETFs.
Does a managed-portfolio service cost more than self-directed management in ETFs?
Yes. A managed-portfolio service charges all-in annual fees of up to 1.6% to 1.65% at the main robo-advisors, such as Nalo or Yomoni, against much lower fees under self-directed management through low-cost ETFs. That fee gap directly hits the net return over the long run.
Sources
AMF, discretionary management mandate
Yomoni, managed-portfolio service pricing
Nalo, fees on life insurance under a managed-portfolio service
La finance pour tous, PEA fee caps since 2020
AMF, Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) white list, Finary SAS
Regulatory disclaimers: Marketing communication. Investing carries a risk of partial or total capital loss. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article is provided for information and educational purposes only; it does not constitute personalised investment advice, a buy or sell recommendation, or tax advice. The capital guarantee on euro funds is provided by the insurer and depends on its financial strength. In a severe systemic crisis, the French “Sapin 2” law allows withdrawals to be temporarily restricted (liquidity), without affecting the guaranteed capital. Unit-linked funds are not guaranteed and carry a risk of capital loss. Before investing, read the Key Information Document (KID) and, where relevant, consult an authorised adviser. Finary SAS, an investment firm authorised by the ACPR under no. 19283, member of AMAFI. Insurance broker registered with ORIAS under no. 21001279, member of the CNCGP (association approved by the AMF). Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP, “PSCA” in French) authorised by the AMF under the MiCA regime, references no. A2026-026 and no. N2026-008.
