subject: Investment Management For Future Prosperity And Peace Of Mind [print this page] One of the most pressing concerns for people nowadays is finding a secure and profitable place to invest their money. Effective investment management is essential to getting the most out of your assets and providing for the future security of you and your family.
With banks likely to be offering rock bottom interest rates for the foreseeable future, finding a home for your funds that is both safe and offers a good return is difficult.
One thing you have to consider is the timeframe that you are willing to tie up your funds. What proportion of your funds do you need to be able to access at short notice? And what funds would be available to invest over the longer term?
Inflation is another concern. Rising prices can erode the value of your investments even if you're getting a good return on your money. The rate of inflation is currently low. However, actions by the government to boost the economy, especially through the use of 'quantitative easing', may give rise to strong inflationary pressure once economic growth picks up.
You also need to consider whether you would prefer a capital gain or a regular income. If you're currently earning, you might be more concerned about capital gain for the time being. However, if you rely on investments to fund your day to day living, generating a regular income from your investments might be more important.
It's always best to consider your investments in terms of a portfolio of differing assets. This means you can spread your risk and return through investing in an array of instruments including stocks, bonds and property. This requires knowledge of the market so you may decide to use mutual funds or unit trusts which are prepackaged investments.
If you wish to maintain a measure of control over your investment, one excellent option is SIPP investments. A SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) is a type of pension plan which offers a highly tax-efficient way to invest. Following the simplification of the pension system in April 2006, a wide range of SIPP plans have appeared on the market. SIPPs allow investors to make their own investment decisions by choosing from a variety of government approved options which include equities and property, along with bonds, gilts and cash. Investors can choose which assets are involved and when subject to the agreement of the SIPP trustee, who is generally the SIPP provider. Another advantage is the freedom to transfer other pension plans into the SIPP. You generally pay a setup fee and annual fees to your SIPP provider. The latter are usually calculated as a percentage of the value of your investment. There may be other fees such as transfer and dealing charges which you should clarify when making your investment.
Given the current economic climate and the outlook for the foreseeable future, it makes sense to get professional advice regarding investments. Professional financial advisors possess the academic qualifications, training and an up-to-date experience to offer the good investment management and advice.
Equally important is the fact that the best financial advisors create tailor-made investment management packages for their clients. As each client's situation is different with regard to objective, amount of funds and desired timeframe, an off the shelf package is unlikely to satisfy. You need a financial advisor who can create a balanced portfolio that can satisfy all your investment objectives. Taking a strategic approach to investment management is the most rigorous way to safeguard your future.
When looking for financial services, London offers you great choice. Just search online and you'll find hundreds of firms. However, to make sure you get quality advice from a reputable advisor, you need to choose carefully. Using the internet makes finding a financial advisor very straightforward as it does checking on his credentials. Firms must be FSA authorised which guarantees standards. You can check at the FSA's website or call their consumer hotline to check out a particular firm or individual. For greater confidence, you should also check that the company employs advisors with chartered financial planner status.
