Have you ever seen so much advice about investing as there is today?
I have been giving investment advice for more than 25 years and find the amount of information is now overwhelming.
There is so much that it becomes harder than ever to sort the good from the bad, and is one reason why so many portfolios today are not performing well.
Many investment portfolios I see lack structure and carry far too much risk. There is often far more risk than investors realise.
On top of that, the returns are volatile and portfolios have high charges that quickly eat away at the profits. It is not surprising then that investors become disillusioned and go looking for the next big investment story.
If you listen to the great investors of our time...they’ll tell you that investing isn’t so complicatedBut it does not have to be this way.
If you listen to the great investors of our time – people like Warren Buffet and Charles Ellis – they’ll tell you that investing isn’t so complicated.
In fact, it’s as simple as ‘ABC’… and ‘D’.
This means investors should have an aim, a balanced portfolio, keep an eye on costs and be disciplined – meaning don’t cut and run when markets are volatile.
Canny investors sell when markets are high and buy when they are low, and this requires discipline. Keep things simple, and don’t follow the herd – they’re usually wrong.
Dennis Hall is managing director of London-based Yellowtail Financial Planning
