Investing Basics: Grow your assets, get an income or preserve your capital?

Investment can sometimes seem like a dauntingly complex arena to navigate but there are plenty of ways to cut through the mystique, explain the jargon and to simplify the process for investors – by Christian Leeming.

For the vast majority, the journey actually starts with a remarkably simple question:-
 

‘What would I like my money to do for me?’

This question is really aimed at determining the ‘outcome’ that you wish to achieve with your savings, and the industry professionals tend to divide this into three easily explainable pots:-
 

* Investing for capital growth
* Deriving an income from your investment portfolio
*  Preserving the value of your savings
 

In deciding which of these pots is most suited to meet your long term requirements it can be useful to consider your current stage of life in relation to retirement.

Are you approaching retirement and wish to preserve the value of your capital or perhaps you are already retired and wish to generate a reliable income stream from your savings?

You may view retirement as some way off and are therefore far more interested in saving regularly and seeing the value of your investments growing over time.

Of course your decision may have nothing to do with retirement as you may be saving for something entirely different, such as a deposit for a house, or perhaps just for a rainy day.

You should bear in mind, however that investment should always be considered as a longer term commitment and that it may not therefore be suited to a shorter time frame.

Whatever your savings objectives might be, one of these three ‘outcomes’ tends to meet the majority of investors requirements and it makes sense to choose a solution that is designed specifically around the one that you feel is most appropriate to meet your needs.

The funds on the EQi platform have been researched and selected by Square Mile to meet these specific needs and each individual fund is particularly well suited to one of the three ‘outcomes’ described.

The research process is entirely focused on establishing the outcome that each fund manager is trying to achieve. The analysts at Square Mile then rigorously test their approach via a series of interviews to ensure that the funds can meet their and your, long-term objectives.
 

The fund rating process covers both qualitative and quantitative analysis and delves deep into the investment philosophy of the fund management team, their processes, resource, the wider responsibilities that they hold within the group, as well as their long term track records.

The latter is handled by a specific quantitative analysis team at Square Mile, which ensures rated funds continue to behave as expected under differing market conditions.

Investment may often appear to be a complex world but with a team of specialists constantly monitoring the funds universe there is a relatively simple route to picking the right solution.

Square Mile’s research process is all about ‘outcome’ and is designed to help you select funds that are managed with your specific needs in mind.

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_{financial or investment advice in any way and shall not constitute a regulated activity for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. This presentation shall not constitute or be deemed to constitute an invitation or inducement to any person to engage in investment activity. Should you undertake any investment activity based on information contained herein, you do so entirely at your own risk and SM shall have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, costs or expenses incurred or suffered by you as a result.  SM does not accept any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any inconsistencies herein. Past performance is not a guide to future returns.}