Imagine you're a Hollywood producer. You need a box office smash. That means picking the best actors and getting stunning performances. Why deal with all the pressure yourself? It’s smarter to get an expert casting director to do the job. Once they get the right big names your movie is on the road to success.
If you’d rather put your investment decisions in the hands of an expert, try funds.
Fund managers are like casting directors for investments. They choose the best assets for the fund they oversee, and try to deliver the end result you want, be it value growth or to provide an income.
As more funds come onto the market, they form an increasingly attractive option for a broad range of investors. From novice to seasoned investor, it's likely there is a fund out there that will suit most needs.
Thinking of investing in funds? Check out Barclays Stockbrokers Funds Market. Now it’s even easier to buy funds online.
Facts about Funds
Funds have a number of distinct features.
- The fund manager carefully selects which assets each of their funds will comprise and the underlying mix of those assets.
- Funds are managed on your behalf
- Funds offer different levels of risk - you can search for the right fund to suit your own risk profile.
- You can hold funds within an ISA to make the most of your annual tax-free allowance.
- Funds can provide an easy way of getting exposure to foreign markets and industry sectors.
- Funds can sometimes spread risk - depending on the mix of investments the Fund Manger makes, if one investment does badly, it may be offset by others with better performance
However...
Funds should be viewed as a mid to long term investment. If you're not prepared to invest in a fund for more than 5 years, then it might not be the right investment for you.
As with any other investment the value of the investment can go down as well as up.
We recommend that you read our Disclosures, including disclosures of inducements, before trading in funds.
So - thinking of investing in funds? Check out Barclays Stockbrokers Funds Market. Now it’s even easier to buy funds online.
Facts about our Funds Market
We have over 675 funds from 33 expert fund managers - including the likes of Barclays Global Investors, Artemis, Fidelity, Gartmore, Jupiter, Schroders and New Star.
Or you can choose from one of our specially created Funds Packages that have pre-defined investment goals.
- Discounted dealing - maximum initial charge of only 1.5% across all Funds Market funds - not the usual 4% and 5.5% charge when you purchase directly from the fund manager
- Access the Funds Market through a MarketMaster®, ISA or SIPP account
- Place, track and manage your funds orders through our website and view of all your investments (equities,
bonds, gilts and funds) under one roof
- Funds Market funds are discounted from your ISA value when we calculate the administration charge
So how do you go about choosing the right fund for you? Just as with equities, investors need to carry out thorough research. We have made this easier, through our Funds Research Centre.
Funds Packages
With such a wide range, it can be difficult to find the right fund. That's why we 've developed 9 Funds Dealing Packages for you to choose from. Each package is carefully selected by our specialist funds analysts from the funds currenty in our Funds Market, and contains 4 funds with a common investment objective. These packages are designed to meet Investment Styles of Cautious, Confident and Adventurous; and there are also single funds which could appeal to investors with these Investment Styles.
You can choose funds based on a combination of your investment objective, and your appetite for risk.
No matter whether you are just starting out or are an experienced investor, funds can play a significant role in your portfolio. You should remember that the price and value of investments and their income fluctuates: you may get back less than the amount you invested
