An institutional investor is an entity such as bank, insurance company or broker-dealers who can invest large sums of money into a portfolio. This is in contrast to a retail investor is who normally dealing with much smaller sums.
Institutional investors are typically known as Wall Street. This is consider the "smart" money as they have the data, knowledge, and analysts. They tend to manage money on behalf of their clients, racking up billions (sometimes trillions) of dollars in assets under management.
Examples:
- Pension funds
- Endowment funds
- Sovereign wealth funds
- Investment funds (e.g., a mutual fund or hedge fund)
- Banks
- Broker-dealers
- Corporations
- Insurance companies
As compared to retail investors, institutional investors are considered sophisticated meaning they are exempt from certain securities laws. This leads into the designation of being an accredited investors.