If you’ve got £10,000 sat in your bank it can be tempting to book an expensive holiday, revamp your wardrobe and live a life of luxury for a while – but embarking on a spending frenzy isn’t always the most sensible option. Of course, there’s no harm in treating yourself here and there but if you’ve got a decent lump sum it’s worth thinking about your future and making some investments.
Lock, stock and barrel
Before the financial crash in 2008, dropping your cash into a savings account was a reliable and profitable decision for many, but as the Bank of England’s interest rate has dropped to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent – and has now stayed there for an unprecedented six years and counting – it’s wise to think outside the box. Let’s face it, that kind of interest rate doesn’t even keep you in line with inflation. So while many people make the most of cash ISAs and enjoy the tax benefits these bring, others are now more frequently turning to stocks and shares ISAs to try and make their money go a lot further by investing in everything from unit trusts to government bonds.
Stocks and shares are often seen as a riskier strategy but with careful manoeuvres they can potentially yield much higher returns too. When investing, there are a number of things to consider.
· What’s level of risk is right for you? These days, many online investment platforms, such as Nutmeg, will personalise an investment portfolio for you depending on your attitude to risk. If you have the stomach to ride the rollercoaster of high volatility and high risk, investing in individual shares could be the way to go. However, if the thought of losing a large sum of your money gives you sleepless nights you could be much better off investing in multiple assets as this will spread the risk of your overall investment, making make you less reliant on the success or failure of a particular company – in other words you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket. It also spreads the opportunity for benefitting from good investment returns.
· How long do you want to invest for? Often, the key to investment success is time in the market rather than timing the market. In short, the longer you are investing for, the more risks you can potentially take as you’re more likely to recoup any early losses and then benefit from periods of good gains. Short time periods of investing can be fraught with danger.
· How much time have you got? If you’ve got plenty of free time you might want to take a hands-on approach and suss out relevant investments for yourself, then monitor the markets and manage your portfolio accordingly. This can be a full-time job though! So, if you don’t have hours to kill or don’t have the knowledge and insight to track the global markets then it could be worth finding an online investment management company to do all the hard work for you. There are plenty of firms out there who can build and manage a sensible portfolio quickly and cheaply for you.
Finding an investment manager
So, you’ve weighed everything up and decided you want to invest £10,000 in stocks or funds. If you want the comfort of a team of experts doing it all for you, here’s a selection of investment managers you could do well to consider…
Nutmeg
A multi-award winning online investment platform based in the UK, Nutmeg is an ideal solution for anyone who wants to invest in stocks and shares but doesn’t want the hassle of doing it themselves. All you need to do is answer a few questions about your attitude to risk and Nutmeg will devise an investment portfolio suited to you. You asset allocation will be carefully adjusted and rebalanced every month – at no extra cost – helping you to get reliable long-term net returns on your money. You can get a stocks and shares ISA with Nutmeg and they have just launched the Nutmeg personal pension too.
Here’s what some of Nutmeg’s customers have publically said about the service:
· “Found the most innovative investment business I have seen in years. Fantastic web interface and investing made simple.” — @jonathanwarren
· “I don’t see the value in independent financial advisers. I don’t have time to stay on top of the markets. So Nutmeg is the perfect solution.” — @jilldesmo
· “Inspiring, interesting. A good concept to thrash traditional private banking.” — @sumaygia
· “Refreshingly new approach to #investment by @thenutmegteam – definitely the ones to watch out for!” — @chveiga
Bestinvest
Founded in 1986 by John Spiers, Bestinvest is a private client investment advisor looking after over £4 billion of assets for more than 50,000 clients. They have a range of investment services, believe in a transparent approach to wealth management and have competitive pricing. It is also a fairly nice, easy to use website that has become a popular choice for those wanting to self-invest across a range of funds at reasonable cost.
Bestinvest has enjoyed good growth and success in recent years offering a raft of educational investment tools alongside their products to help you make your own investment decisions. So, with this in mind let’s take at a selection of their customer reviews:
· “I have every confidence that Best Invest is managing my portfolio of investments wisely and with my personal interests foremost in their investment strategy. The response from my investment manager is superb… friendly, supportive and immediate. Well done.”
· “First class advice and service. Excellent financial knowledge.”
· “I have always found the company very helpful, willing to deal with my questions and queries and they have a very user friendly website.”
· “Very helpful, their forecasts as to possible income from investments which is what i wanted is very accurate. All in all would have no problem in recommending them to anyone who wanted to invest for the future.”
Invesco
With more than 600 dedicated investment professionals worldwide and an operational network spanning over 20 countries, Invesco has the global capability to help investors reach their financial goals. They’re committed to investment excellence and strive to deliver the best investment ideas to people across the globe helping them to make rewarding financial decisions.
The company’s symbol is Mount Ama Dablam and represents the virtues Invesco embrace as a company: Strength, stability and longevity. They strive to take every customer to their financial summit so here are some testimonials and reviews:
· “Invesco offers funds that have competitive performance relative to their peers.”
· “Invesco are highly committed to giving the expert insights you need to make informed investing decisions and are well-equipped to provide high-quality support for investors and advisors.”
