Investing tactics when it gets rough
Wobbly stock markets over the past fortnight have clearly not deterred savers from betting their prosperity on shares.
Far from seeing the downturn as a threat, almost 200 investors who gathered last week at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool see falling markets as an opportunity to boost their wealth.
The home of the Grand National has seen its share of winners, losers and long-shot gambles over the years. So the Princess Royal grandstand was a fitting venue for the Association of Investment Companies to stage one of its regular investor roadshows.
Savers from across the North-West were invited to meet representatives from ten fund management groups and hear presentations from individual fund managers and financial commentators.
Speakers included Crispin Longden, who runs the European Assets Trust, which specialises in smaller companies, and Bruce Stout, senior manager for Murray International Trust, a global investment trust.
Judging by the audience, investors remain in a bullish mood. On a show of hands, only one person would be deterred from making a new investment within the next six months.
By comparison, more than half of those in the room saw lower share prices as a buying opportunity and said they were even more likely to invest because of the wobble. Retired pharmaceuticals worker John
Wass sums up the views of many who refuse to be panicked by market falls. 'As you get older, you see these phases of stock market volatility and get quite sanguine about them,' he says.
Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the AIC, says: 'It's encouraging that investors are looking beyond the headlines and taking a long-term view.'
John, 66, from Great Budworth, Cheshire, says: 'What I have heard today reinforces my view that it is important to have a diversified parcel of investments as you grow older.
'I have been reducing the level of risk by moving out of holding individual shares and concentrating on a range of investment funds.'
He holds investment trusts including Temple Bar, which invests in UK companies, and Alliance Trust, which buys into businesses across the globe.
John, who describes his investing as 'a bit of a hobby', also counts JP Morgan Chinese Investment Trust among his holdings.
David and Linda Grimes, from Appleton, Warrington, are also experienced investors. Saving hard and investing wisely gave David the opportunity to retire at 50 last summer.
He says: 'Coming to an event like this prompts you to wonder whether there is anything you are doing with your investments that you shouldn't be. When you don't have an income from work, you cannot afford to make mistakes.'
The roadshows are not only for the experienced. Sisters Jane Bignell and Trish Hunter are selfconfessed investment novices and they arrived at Aintree keen to learn more.
The sisters, from Chester, have inherited a portfolio of investments.
Trish says: 'We have had dealings with financial advisers and have grown quite adept at fending people off.
'Of course we need to work with advisers, but if you know more yourself you can better assess the quality of the advice you are getting.'
Jane says: 'It has been very useful to speak with some of the fund management groups here. They are all very friendly and don't seem to mind our basic questions.'
The next AIC investment roadshow is on June 6 at Dunblane Hydro Hotel in Dunblane, Perthshire. Other events are planned for Ascot and Southampton later in the year. For details visit theaic.co.uk
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