Investing is not as simple as chasing the highest returns possible. There is volatility to consider, charges involved, your personal views to factor in, and many different asset classes to explore.
It can be difficult to know if your current investments are working for you, so this is where our Investment Review Service can provide the answers you are looking for.
What makes a good investment?
Sometimes it’s difficult to assess if your existing investments are working for you? If you have received investment advice in the past is it still appropriate?
When reviewing your investments, we believe you should consider the following points to assess whether they are correct for you.
Fair charges
The effect of charges on your portfolio is often overlooked, but charges can significantly affect the value of your plan in the long term. High charges are not always bad as long as you see the additional returns to cover these extra costs.
Investment Diversification
Ensuring you invest in a range of asset classes is vital to stabilising your portfolio. For example, in times of economic difficulty, the fixed-interest market can reduce the effect of large dips in equities. However, diversification is also important across other areas, such as investing in different countries. Combining all types of diversification can greatly reduce the risk involved in your portfolio.
Attitude to risk
Everyone reacts differently to the inevitable highs and lows of investing. Whilst one investor is comfortable riding out large drops in their portfolio to chase high returns, this idea may fill another investor with dread and fear. Finding the balance of risk vs reward that suits your particular profile can give you peace of mind that your portfolio works for you.
Time Horizon for Investing
The number of years until you need to take money from your investments is crucial in calculating your ideal asset allocation. With the volatility associated with the stock market, it would not be prudent to invest mainly in equities if you are looking to withdraw capital in the next five years. The risk is too great that the market is experiencing a low at that time and that your investments are worth less than at the start.
Our Investment Review Process
Step 1 – Review your current situation
We recognise that no two investors are the same, and nor are their situations. We will work with you to fully understand your position and retrieve all necessary information about your existing investments. As part of this, we will take time to learn your investment objectives. We will make your goals our own, which will be important factors in your review.
Step 2 – Assess your attitude to risk
Using our Financial Personality Assessment (FPA), we will use your answers to understand your feelings toward various aspects of investing, such as loss aversion, volatility anxiety, and confidence in skill. We will also learn about your attitude towards ethical investing and whether your portfolio should reflect preferences in this area.
Step 3 – Assess your existing investments
At this stage, we will have sufficient information regarding you and your current portfolio to answer the following questions:
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- Are you getting value for money?
- Are your investments in line with your attitude to risk?
- Do they match your views on ethical investing?
- How well diversified is your portfolio?
- How does the past performance compare with the risk you are taking?
- Is there an alternative solution that could be more optimal?
Step 4 – Provide detailed feedback
We will discuss our findings with you and answer any questions you may have using various reports, tools, and charts.
Step 5 – Suggest an alternative approach
Depending on the results of the investment review, we will create a custom portfolio for you that matches your risk profile, time horizon, and ethical views. As part of this, we will compare this portfolio with your existing investment so you have all the necessary information to decide your next steps.
Investment Review Service
If you would like to learn more about our investment review service and how we can help you, please feel free to contact us. You can contact us by chat, email or phone.
Start your Journey…
Book your Initial meeting
Our initial meeting let us learn more about you and how we could help you. The meeting is provided at our expense, and you have no obligation.
