A large fund investing in high yield securities

Advantages: The fund tends to outperform in flat and falling markets, high dividend yield of around 3%, good long term performance and good manager
Disadvantages: Large £2.6 billion in size makes fund less flexible, 5% initial charge, underperforms when growth stocks are fashionable

...I invested in this fund in september 1998 for my final PEP allowance before PEP's were abolished by the New Labour government. I had been tracking this fund before investing in it. At the time of investing the financial markets were in turmoil caused by the Asian financial crisis, the collapse of the large hedge fund Long Term Capital Management and currency devaluations in emerging markets. I think interest rates in the UK were also on the rise at the time. My strategy in buying this fund was to try and make a purchase close to the bottom of the UK market and get a good price. I didn't quite manage to make a purchase at the absolute bottom of the market but was close making a purchase at around 138p per unit. The fund pays a dividend yield that aims to be in excess of the yield on the FTSE All Share index. The objective of the fund...

gorvifal3 27.06.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Perpetual High Income Fund

A fund for the long term.

Advantages: tracks ftse uk index,low charges, spread risk , can be ISA'd
Disadvantages: covers all sectors, can miss out on sector over performance

...If you have read the weekend business sections of the papers you maybe forgiven for thinking every fund manager is after your hard earned cash. Your right, although ISA investment inflows have increased this year with the boyant markets, they are still well down on previous years, and with 4 (well nearly 3) days to go until the 2005/06 tax year end , they want your money. There is a vast and somewhat confusing array of funds available, each perporting to be the best investment choice. But take a closer look when choosing the fund for you. One very important thing to check is how much are they charging for investing your money? If you are not careful you could end up paying anything up 7 or 8% what with initial charges, management fees, bid/offer spread. So your fund would have to make 10% to make any investment worthwhile. So...

getscenic 02.04.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Fidelity Moneybuilder Index Fund

Premium Bonds: A good investment?

Advantages: Winning a varied amount of money
Disadvantages: You need to invest a lot of money to guarantee consistent wins

...Although I'm not a very lucky person when it comes to these things I thought I'd write about it and let those of you out there that are unaware of what these are give you a little insight into them and my opinion on the matter. Premium bonds are another form of tax free investment that anyone aged 16 or above can invest in with a chance of scooping one of two million pound prizes as well as numerous others every month. Currently an investor can purchase anything from a £100 block to the maximum holding of £30,000. I must make everyone aware now that anyone lucky enough to have the maximum holding is almost certainly going to receive at least one prize every month. The prizes are as follows and are normally drawn within the first day or two of the month by ERNIE (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment)... ~Prizes~ Higher...

K1r5ty21 13.09.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of National Savings and Investments Premium Bonds

Making investment fun

Advantages: Fun way to invest money
Disadvantages: You might not get good returns

...Until a couple of years ago I had heard of Premium Bonds, but had little idea about what they were and how they worked. Last year I came into a little bit of cash and instead of wasting it on crap like I normally do I decided to invest it. I put a little bit in an ISA and decided to buy some Premium Bonds as well as a friend had some and she always seemed to be winning ? plus the idea of potentially winning money each month appealed to me as well. What they are Premium Bonds are effectively a lottery and a savings account rolled into one. The difference between this savings account and the normal ones you get is that your money doesn?t get guaranteed interest each year; instead your premium bonds are entered into a draw each month with the chance of winning prizes that range from £50 all the way up to £1,000,000 tax...

fryera2 13.06.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of National Savings and Investments Premium Bonds

A real dog fund

Advantages: May recover in the long term
Disadvantages: Perpetual has been taken over by Invesco

...I must admit I had never heard of Perpetual 5 years ago. It was my independent financial adviser who brainwashed me in thinking Perpetual was the best thing since sliced bread. The literature from Perpetual is quite mind-blowing. An entire page devoted to the awards and prizes received by the company in the preceding 5 years. The rest of the literature was marketed superbly. You got the feeling that if you did not purchase a Perpetual fund you were missing out on something big. Anyway I put £500 in the Perpetual Asian Smaller Markets fund. I had read an article in the Financial Times that the Tiger economies in Southeast Asia were ready to take off and investors should not miss out. Well two months later the Tiger economies had a massive market crash. Soon my £500 was worth £256. It was great timing on my part. Instead of selling...

mrpaella 08.12.2000 (17.01.2001) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Perpetual Asian Smaller Markets Fund

Fund Manager on the Move?

Advantages: Superb historic performance.
Disadvantages: Potential change of manager. Volatile sector.

...I have recently heard that the manager of this fund, Tim Woolley, is leaving to set up his own fund management company. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information but I am aware that when something of this nature happens, it can have serious repercussions on performance. The Henderson Global Technology fund has enjoyed amazing success over an extended period, and much of this has to be down to the fund manager. The fund has achieved 530% growth in the last five years alone, without undue volatility (until this year). The fund stands at one-and-a-quarter billion pounds, which is smaller than Aberdeen Technology, which could explain why they've out-performed Aberdeen over that period. A change of fund manager is always worrying, so if you haven't invested in this fund yet but were thinking of doing, it may be worth waiting...

petehall 28.09.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Henderson Global Technology Fund

A relatively safe investment

Advantages: A relatively low risk fund, high income yield of almost 6%, below average initial charge, one of the top funds in its sector, low interest rates make bonds attractive
Disadvantages: Bonds underperform when equities outperform, long term performance is modest compared to equity funds

...I don't personally have a holding in this investment fund but recommended it to a family member roughly 3 years ago in the summer of 1998. The reason I suggested this fund was because of the relatively low risk nature and the high yield of almost 6%. The family member of mine had a portfolio that was already quite heavily invested in higher risk investments such as technology stocks and emerging markets funds. This investment seemed like a good way of diluting the overall risk of the portfolio. At the time of purchase the fund was classed as a unit trust, but during the year 2000 changed to OEIC (Open Ended Investment Company) status. We bought units in the fund at around 60p per unit and incurred a 3% initial charge at the time. Since converting to an OEIC the initial charge has risen to 4%. This fund can probably be bought...

gorvifal3 09.11.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Henderson Preference & Bond Fund

Good Long Term Investments

Advantages: Easier to trade than unit trusts, lower charges than unit trusts, you can buy assets at a discount, performance tends to be better than unit trusts
Disadvantages: The share price of investment trusts can be more volatile because of discounts and gearing, generally higher risk than unit trusts

...After reading up on investments in Money Observer magazine around 7 years ago, I decided to buy some shares in an investment trust through a share plan. My previous investments before this had been into unit trusts, which at the time had high initial charges of around 5%. Part of the reason I decided to invest in an investment trust was because of the lower charges involved and because you can get assets at a discount (more on this later). After this first investment I became more and more interested in investment trusts, they might not be interesting to everyone, but they were interesting to me. I think I find them so interesting because of the diverse and varying investment styles used by the fund managers. Also many investment trusts have been around for over 100 years, surviving many testing economic periods. The first investment...

gorvifal3 29.11.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Member Advice on Investment Trusts

A Fund With A Prosperous Future

Advantages: Young, small and flexible. Superb but brief historic performance.
Disadvantages: Little movement in price for several months.

...Jupiter European Special Situations fund was set up less than two years ago and has already seen growth of 140%. Virtually all of that growth was made in the first year but what sets this fund apart from many others, is that it has held on to those gains through what has been one of the most volatile years for shares around the world. Even though the Euro has slipped in value by 30% or so, over the last year, the fund has maintained its value in Sterling terms. When the Euro recovers, as we are led to believe it will, this will be translated into a 30% gain. I bought into this one in January of this year and have no qualms whatsoever about holding. The fund size currently stands at about £140 million, which is miniscule for a European fund. This means it is flexible and can react much more quickly to changes in trends as there is...

petehall 29.11.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Jupiter European Special Situations Fund

Trust me I'm an Investment

Advantages: See text
Disadvantages: See text

...a stockbroker. This isn?t a company which makes anything or provides a service ? it makes its money by investing in other companies. You?re probably thinking that this sounds very much like a Unit Trust, and there are similarities, but there are also some very important differences. ~ An Investment Trust is a ?closed end fund?. This means that once its initial shares have been issued, that?s it. If you want more shares you have to buy them on the Stock Market. If the shares are in demand you will have to pay more for them, if they?re not popular you?ll pay less. If you want to sell shares you?ll get more if they?re in demand and less if they?re not popular. With a Unit Trust more units are created as more money comes into the fund, and the manager has to contend with never quite knowing how much money he?s got to invest. If money comes...

SueMagee 21.09.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Member Advice on Investment Trusts