Pooled Investments

Pooled investments have had many legal structures down the years, and this has led to confusing terminology. They can be known as:

Unit trusts.

OEICs.

Investment trusts.

SICAVs.

ICVCs

Life funds

Insured pension funds

There are subtle differences between these investments, but the basic principle of all of them is that they take the savings of many investors and pool them into a single fund. This approach can bring many benefits compared to direct investment, including:

Wide spread of investments (diversification).

Professional investment management.

Reduced dealing costs.

Less paperwork.

There are many thousands of funds available, with many funds concentrating on specialised areas. Additionally, the type of fund chosen will determine the tax treatment of any gains that you achieve.

This type of investment is very useful for anyone with reasonable sums to invest, although they are in the main suitable only for longer term investment. Choosing funds that are likely to succeed in the future needs thorough research and professional advice.

Many of the investment funds in pooled investment schemes invest carry a degree of investment risk. You should note that with this type of fund the value can fall as well as rise and you are not guaranteed to get back the full amount that you invested.

For help in arranging your investment portfolio, please contact us.