You have been persuaded to obtain a second opinion on your investment or pension portfolio and have received an unfavourable report about your portfolio.
You are in a quandary -what are you to do? You have built up a relationship with your existing adviser and are reluctant to accept that there is anything wrong, after all why bother changing advisers as the stock market is buoyant right now.
You are right about one thing – if the market keeps going up – then there is no problem. Any problems will tend not to show, in a rising market, that does not mean that they don’t exist, they are already there – sitting in your portfolio if only you could see them.
Even if the market is bubbling along nicely now, it won’t always, then the cracks will begin to show. By correcting the structure of the portfolio and getting rid of poor quality funds you are avoiding taking a loss later.
It’s as important to take action to prevent losses as it is to look for the “next best thing”. I learnt this years ago, for me this was my ‘light-bulb’ moment and from that time on I have been far more proactive with managing client’s money on an ongoing basis.
It’s also the reason why we made a significant investment in investment planning software that provides a highly detailed report on all of the funds you hold, it also provides comparisons with alternative options for how to invest your portfolio.
Don’t be swayed by the size of the firm running your investments or their fancy literature, that’s not going to put food on the table when you retire!
The problem for large investment firms is that you are one of many, the portfolio provided may have been used for a wide range of customers on a one size fits all basis.
They may “say” that the portfolio is designed especially for you, unfortunately, we find all too often that the portfolios from large investment organisations are very poor indeed.
One potential client actually informed me that over one year his portfolio had grown by 1% over the FTSE 100 and then confirmed that he was impressed by that! I can only assume that the “glitter” of the large investment companies must be dazzling, as often their clients are blinded, and when they peruse their portfolios, they like Nelson can see no ships!
My advice, don’t accept second best and engage with an adviser who understands investment and can provide a pro-active investment service.
Given the economic and political events taking place, particularly the debasement of fiat currencies and the likely big spike in inflation leading to investment volatility it is essential that your portfolio is prepared for a long period of unusually high investment turbulence. Taking action now to prevent potential losses in the future or engaging with a skilled and committed investment adviser who cares will hopefully ensure your investment “Victory”.
You may be interested in downloading our new guide on the Importance of investment Performance for Pensions if so CLICK HERE.
