The Retail Distribution Review: What investors need to know

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Sat, Mar 09, 2013 @ 01:30 PM

The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is a key part of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) consumer protection strategy. In this post we'll look at what investors need to know about The RDR.

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Tags: Better protection

Is it possible to make 1 per cent per week from fund investing?

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Thu, Oct 25, 2012 @ 01:15 PM

The answer to the question in the headline is yes, it is possible to make this level of returns from fund investing.

Many people are shocked when they discover that some funds can help them return as much as 1 per cent per week. I know it’s possible because over a recent 8 week period my Stocks & Shares ISA account jumped by 11.5 per cent*.

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Tags: Investment funds, Better performance, ISA growth, Better protection

Shadow Investing: My personal experience during recent falling markets

Posted by Paul Sutherland on Sat, Oct 20, 2012 @ 01:30 PM

Back in February I outlined my own personal experience of Shadow Investing. In this post I want to tell you more about the performance I've achieved in falling markets too.

Over the last eleven years* the market has been in a sideways trend, which has resulted in the FTSE 100 making a cumulative loss of 15%. To make money over this period has been tough. However, by copying my brother Stephen’s trades over this time I’ve made a cumulative after tax gain of 27.1%.

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Tags: Better performance, ISA growth, Better protection

ISA and SIPP portfolio protection in falling markets

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Tue, Aug 14, 2012 @ 01:30 PM

I’ve been investing in Stocks & Shares since 1997 and since 1998 I’ve always added the full years ISA allowance. I’m fortunate to be one of the few investors that have outperformed the FTSE 100 over the long-term*. In a recent three year period** I’ve made an average yearly gain of 17% compared to the FTSE 100’s 7.9%.

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Tags: Better protection, Investment strategy, Achieving your investment goals

Choosing the best SIPP portfolio for you

Posted by Paul Sutherland on Sat, May 19, 2012 @ 11:38 AM

In this post, we'll look at how medium to low risk investors can choose the percentage of their portfolio they use to aim for growth, so they can create the best SIPP portfolio for them.

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Tags: Better protection, Investment strategy, SIPP investing tips, Achieving your investment goals

How to save for the future - saving vs investing

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Thu, May 17, 2012 @ 02:15 PM

In some of our recent posts we've looked at investment risk in detail and explored the idea of diversification. In challenging times, these are key concepts for all investors to grasp and use to their advantage.

In this post we'll look at the main ways to both save and invest, along with an assessment of the risk involved with each.

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Tags: Better protection, Achieving your investment goals

The importance of portfolio diversification

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Tue, May 15, 2012 @ 01:28 PM

With stock markets fluctuating every week, individual investors clearly need a safety net. Through diversification, they can manage their exposure to risk and help prevent their entire portfolio from losing value.

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Tags: ISA investing tips, Better protection, Investment strategy, Achieving your investment goals

What is investment risk? (Part 2)

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Tue, May 08, 2012 @ 02:55 PM

Please talk to your financial adviser about risk and its implications on your finances.

Following on from our recent post What is investment risk?, in this post we'll look at four other investment risks that investors need to understand. 

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Tags: Better protection, Investment strategy, Investment risk, Achieving your investment goals

What is investment risk?

Posted by Paul Sutherland on Thu, May 03, 2012 @ 01:20 PM

Please talk to your financial adviser about risk and its implications on your finances.

You can't plan financially without understanding investment risk. Many people, when they hear about 'risk', think automatically about the chance of being defrauded or not getting all their money back. This 'capital' risk is important, but it isn't the only type.

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Tags: Better protection, Investment strategy, Investment risk, Achieving your investment goals

Choosing the best ISA portfolio for you - Model portfolios for low to medium risk investors

Posted by Stephen Sutherland on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 @ 01:45 PM

We all have different attitudes to investment risk. Some people are willing to accept greater risk and volatility in the pursuit of higher returns. Other people are looking for less risk, while still aiming to achieve their personal financial goals.

The level of risk and volatility you face is directly linked to where your ISA portfolio is invested. In this post, we'll look at how medium to low risk investors can make a better informed decision around the percentage of their portfolio they use to aim for growth.

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Tags: ISA investing tips, Investment funds, Better performance, Better protection, Investment risk, Achieving your investment goals