Monthly Archives: August 2016

Whether seeking income, growth or both, there are some basic rules to follow

Volatile financial markets are an inevitable part of investing. On a day-to-day basis, the swings in stock market prices can be significant. However, over the longer term, things have tended to smooth out, with daily volatility having a lower impact on overall portfolios.

Market fluctuations

That said, while this has happened in the past, it may not necessarily happen in the future. In the short term, market fluctuations like we’ve seen recently can be unnerving and make you ‘feel’ as if you’re losing money. That’s why it’s crucial at times like this that you focus on staying calm and taking a long-term view, avoiding locking in short-term losses, and making sure you’re properly diversified. (more…)

Choosing a management style that’s right for you

Investors are faced with one of the most basic questions: do you want to put your money in ‘actively’ or ‘passively’ managed funds?

Deciding if you would prefer your investment ‘actively’ or ‘passively’ managed is an important consideration and a useful step towards narrowing your choice of funds to invest in. Your first consideration is deciding how you want your investments managed. Are you looking for a fund that will be impacted by an individual fund manager’s choice of investments? Or are you more interested in keeping charges lower and prefer one that simply reflects the performance of a major index, such as the FTSE 100? (more…)

Keeping your investments safe

After nearly a decade of low interest rates and central banks pumping money into financial markets, traditional safe haven investments have become expensive, so where could investors look to keep their investments safe?

Gold, the US dollar, ‘defensive’ stocks such as utilities and pharmaceuticals, government bonds, cash – what do they have in common? In times of economic stress and market volatility, they are seen as safe havens for investors. (more…)

Parents putting financial health at risk to fund university costs

When it comes to funding a university education, it is parents and grandparents who typically look to provide the money. But even though this may be the case, last year’s graduates from English universities still left with an average of £44,000 debt (source: Sutton Trust), with some parents still, on average, expecting their children to leave university with £23,000 debt. (more…)