I find them less volatile than individual shares however, they do use varying amounts of gearing and can trade at a premium or discount to their NAV so they are a little more complex. I am trying to take some of the complexity out of my strategy – make it more simple, reduce some costs and hopefully generate a little better returns. A diverse portfolio – We all like to make a little extra money – but if you are anything like me, you hate losing money even more. You give your money to the mutual fund company, it buys stocks from the market in question and gives you a share in the overall fund. The income distributions are unpredictable as the fund or ETF merely pays out all the income received over the intervening period. Over recent weeks, I have been reviewing my investment strategy. As can be seen from the chart – courtesy of Novel Investor, limiting your portfolio to just one country may not have provided the better returns – far better then to have a wide global mix (NB USA not included). It is, of course, always interesting to look back at earlier posts and sometimes I am surprised at just how far my thinking has changed and developed in just two and a half years.

I’ve been teaching online classes for quite some time now (since 2002, back when I was but a wee lieutenant), but it wasn’t until now I got the green light to advertise them here. Against this is the advantage of their ability to pay a steadily rising income steam due to their being able to hold back excess income in reserves. The ability to see it through over the longer periods could well be the most challenging aspect of the investing process. These experts know the in and out of the investing industry. Another reason to know how to select active funds is sometimes investors have no choice. So there we have it, to provide the best chance of a little more comfort in later years, my 21 yr old self needs to switch on to saving in the early years. I finally got hold of a copy of Tim Hale’s ‘Smarter Investing’ from my local library last week – it has been on my ‘to do’ list for the past couple of years! Over the past couple of years, I have read many interesting articles on various blogs and, as the time has passed, I have begun to embrace the low cost index philosophy.

As I have been moving my investing strategy more towards index funds over the past year or so, I was interested to read how Hale made the argument for passive investing and the evidence drawn upon in support. Investing will usually involve some equities and these can be volatile – some investors, myself included, can become irrational during periods of market volatility. Investing in real estate in Canada is not the easiest endeavour unless you are a seasoned investor experienced with Canadian real estate market. During World War I the government’s dominant project was to infuse the American minds into investing in the war, both financially and emotionally. The book was the inspiration for Retirement Investing Today to devise his starting plan for a low cost investment strategy and which appears to have served him well so far as he closes ever nearer to financial independence. Passives – it more or less goes without saying that these are all low cost.

I have reviewed my former strategy and believe my process has become stronger and more balanced – as well as simpler! The main sources of referring sites have been Retirement Investing Today, Monevator, Simple Living in Suffolk and Money Saving Expert – many thanks! Fulcrum Investing is a family office dedicated to the advancement and assistance of start-up companies and the entrepreneurial community. It doesn’t mean lots of complicated decisions – as with the ISA, keep it simple with a couple of low cost equity trackers and a smaller companies fund. Low Costs – it seems to be logical that if you invest in a fund charging 1.5% p.a., it is likely you will get less return for your investment than a fund charging 0.25% – this is hardly rocket science. I can have access to a wider range of shares in collectives such as investment trusts and low cost trackers. Investment Trusts – they offer diversity both in the number of shares and other holdings in each trust but also give access to global markets. Geographic – a global spread of holdings.

9.40 a share, a premium to the then market price. A portion of your premium goes towards insurance, and the other goes towards an investment in equity, debt or a combination of both based on your risk profile and investment objectives. If you have ever tried to make your own investment decisions over a period of time, chances are you spent most of your time wondering what you should do next. I think, on balance, there is a logical case for holding a diverse basket of the lower cost trusts, particularly where the manager can demonstrate a consistently good performance relative to an appropriate benchmark over time. Shares – 20 is probably a reasonable number to give some diversity and they are very low cost as apart from the dealing fee to purchase, there are no further ongoing costs charged by my broker. In addition to the company scheme, I would also advise my 21 yr old self to open a low cost SIPP.