Every investor is unique, but everyone faces the same trade-off between risk and reward

The best place to start when you are looking to build a diverse investment portfolio is to ask yourself why you’re building a portfolio. For most of us, the central task is to build a pot of money that involves you, the investor, taking some risk over the long term, at the end of which you will have ideally built up a sizeable portfolio of diversified assets that will last you through to your retirement years. Read more…

Minimising exposure to volatility and market setbacks
Investing would be easy if markets rose in a straight line. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case. Over the long term, assets such as shares and bonds have tended to produce positive returns, but there have been several bumps along the way. In any event, past performance of investments cannot be taken as a guide to their future performance. Read more…

Managing the risks you are exposed to in order to avoid suffering losses to your capital

Whether you’re planning to start investing your money, or even if you’re already a seasoned investor, it’s crucial to make sure you manage the risks you are exposed to in order to avoid suffering losses to your capital. The key is to build a diverse portfolio with a mix of different investments that makes sense for your attitude to risk. Read more…

Are you ready for the responsibilities of being in complete control over all of your money?

On 6 April this year, ‘pensions freedom day’, the pension landscape changed forever. From this date for the first time ever, individuals were given complete control over all the money in their ‘defined contribution’ retirement savings plans, whether large or small. Read more…

Savers positive about pension reforms but concerned about scams

The new pensions freedom rules giving far greater flexibility over what you can do with your pension pot came into force on 6 April 2015. Read more…

Why people are applying a rule of thumb when it comes to their retirement

According to new research conducted by YouGov and Old Mutual Wealth, nearly half (48%) of those approaching retirement (aged 55-64) do not know how long their pension income will last. With pension providers reporting demand for flexible withdrawals, there is a significant danger that pension funds could run dry if people do not plan carefully or take professional financial advice. Read more…

Living with several pending risk events, liquidity and risk appetite go with the territory

The fundamental environment in emerging markets remains stable. As the market has grown accustomed to living with several pending risk events, liquidity and risk appetite have been creeping back up. Buyers of emerging market mutual funds have been returning to the asset class after the commencement of the ECB’s version of QE. Read more…

Three quarters of UK adults struggle to picture themselves in retirement

UK adults have an average eight-year blind spot when it comes to financial planning – and can only see themselves in the future as far ahead as 2023, new research from long-term savings and investment specialist Standard Life reveals. Read more…

Companies which have increased their dividends each year for at least 20 years

Interest rates recently marked a sixth year at a record low of 0.5%. Therefore, it is noteworthy that research from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) shows that a fifth (21%) of AIC member investment companies which have been in existence for more than 10 years have raised their dividends for at least 10 years in a row. Read more…

Narrowing the knowledge gap for investors

Record-low interest rates are rarely out of the news these days. With UK investors struggling to achieve a decent income from traditional investment sources, it might raise a few eyebrows to learn that less than half can correctly explain the term ‘income investing’. Read more…