When it comes to investing in funds, there's no shortage of options. You might want to first think about whether to invest in active or passive funds.
Let's take a look at how each works, and the pros and cons involved, to help you decide which one - or which combination - might be right for you.
Investment funds are ready-made baskets of investments. You can invest money in a fund alongside lots of other people. That pool of money is used to buy assets, for example shares in different companies.
Many people invest in funds because they give you access to lots of underlying investments in one go and are lower risk than buying shares in individual companies.
Investing in actively managed funds is where a fund manager or a management team makes decisions about how to invest the fund's money.
The job of an active fund manager is to choose which investments to hold within the fund. They aim to outperform their fund's stated benchmark or index - such as the FTSE 100 - over time. For example, if the FTSE 100 goes up by 5% over 12 months, the fund would aim to provide returns of above 5%.
Together with a team of analysts and researchers, the manager will actively buy and sell stocks to try to achieve this goal.
If you're considering active funds, look at a manager's long-term track record across a variety of market conditions - good times and bad. But as always, keep in mind that past performance isn't necessarily a reliable indicator of future performance.
Passive investing means investing in funds that aim to match the returns of a specific market or index. They don't try to beat it. They simply replicate the movement of the market they're tracking.
For example, a fund tracking the FTSE 100 will buy shares in all 100 companies and in the same proportions as their market value. This means the value of the fund will move in line with the change in the value of the FTSE 100 Index.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are an example of passive funds. They're listed on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold like shares.
To help you decide which is more suitable for you, here are some the pros and cons of each investing style.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
You don't have to choose between active and passive funds - you can choose both.
With active funds, keep in mind that some have lower fees and a better track record than others. And remember: a great performance over a year or two is no guarantee that the fund will continue to outperform. Instead you may want to look for fund managers who have consistently outperformed over long periods.
As always, think about your own financial situation, your goals, and the amount of risk you're comfortable taking before you invest your money. If you're new to investing you may wish to talk to an adviser before making any investment decisions.
Please remember that the value of investments, and any income received from them, can fall as well as rise, is not guaranteed and you may not get back the amount you invested. This could also happen as a result of changes in currency exchange rates, particularly where overseas securities are held or where investments are converted from one currency to another. We always recommend that any Investments held should be viewed as a medium to long-term investment, at least five years.
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