Choosing Your Fund Manager – The Right Way to Do It

The fund manager is really the soul of the fund. The manager’s expertise in markets or industries the fund is exposed to is critical. This is the reason why it is important to try to look for one with a consistently high performance among its peer group for this actually reflects the manager’s investment skills despite market fluctuations.

Maximizing Returns

One way to maximize your returns is to optimize costs. You might have to shell out up to five percent of your investments as entry cost and around one percent per annum as a management fee. However, steep entry charges might not necessarily mean huge dents in your return. In the case of price-sensitive funds, there is a direct relationship between entry costs and performance. While price non-sensitive funds see such a relationship in the short term, in the long run this relationship does not exist. It is always better to check for the professional services your fund company is offering you and if the fund management company provides a monthly fact sheet detailing the portfolio of the fund.

Investing your Savings

If you are one of the really safety conscious individuals out there, then it is necessary to check for the risk-management tools used for your funds. For instance, try to determine if they do route all trading through a central dealing room ensuring transparency. Or is the fund leveraged thereby raising risk? Finally, before taking the plunge and investing your savings, try and get a second opinion from those who have been into the business with success. You will sure kick yourself when you tell a friend you have just invested in a fund company and they inform you they have just sold their holding and made a hundred percent profit.

Investment Funds

Many people who purchase a life insurance policy don’t realize they can be entering a complex and costly financial arrangement. Shrewd investors can buy a whole range of investment funds within their policy and switch whenever. Unwary investors get caught up with all the techno-jargon and end up literally dying to get rid of their policy. The reality is that virtually all the policies sold are technically life insurance but probably not as the man in the street would think of it.

Policies, according to critics, may have nothing to do with insurance at all and are merely a way to invest money over the long term. Most policies sold are investment policies with insurance policies bolted on. Their drawback is that they lock people into them, sometimes as long as 20 years and harshly penalize them should they try and cash in early. And that’s after hefty upfront fees. On the other hand, proponents argue it eases the administration of your funds, with insurance firms giving quarterly reports on your entire portfolio.

But like any other investment, it comes down to the same thing: have a clear idea of what you really want to achieve, know what your level of risk is, and do not sign on the bottom line until you are happy and satisfied, and make sure you are dealing with a reputable organization. GP

About the Author:
Wilson Field are specialists in IVA’s and can help individuals with deal with their debt problems. He has also helped people in Individual Voluntary Arrangement and Insolvency.