History says investments tend to go up more than they go down. But when they do go down – as they surely will – you’ll need some good options. There are plenty these days, and it’s much easier to see how your money’s performing. But it wasn’t always that way. It’s 2012. David’s late 40s; kids growing up fast. Now finding time to sort his wealth. He’s sitting down with his financial adviser. Investment performance has been disappointing, and they agree to make some changes. 2012 was a great year. The Olympics. The Diamond Jubilee. But sitting down with your adviser was sometimes less so. In simple terms you either travelled by Rolls Royce, or you hitch hiked. You could choose a bespoke, high-fee service – with oak panels and expensive, glossy brochures. Or you did it yourself. This was easy to do, but hard to do well, given the sheer volume of funds out there. David took the Rolls Royce and found his money switched from a terribly nice chap upstairs, to another terribly nice chap upstairs. He couldn’t really say this was an improvement – nor if this company was the still best option for him. Wind the tape forward and the options are much better. It’s 2024. Nicola’s also late 40s; career taking off; kids growing. She’s on Zoom with her financial planner. They also agree to move on from patchy performance. The planner looks at his independent research and finds a couple of multi asset funds, with good long-term metrics. This put’s Nicola’s money into something with lower fees. No glossy brochures mean less cost drag. Time and again, research shows high fees can eat into your money and deny you future investment returns. There’s a good primer on this here. It spreads her money across British and American companies, government and corporate bonds, South Korean and Japanese companies … and so on. A multi-asset fund is very good at diversity like this. You give your money more opportunities to grow; and you get specialist investment expertise at competitive costs. I also spread Nicola’s money across a few funds because … well, investments go up and down, and you want to iron these wrinkles out by diffusing risk if you can. [I’ve given the game away, so I’d better fess up. Nicola and I had a regular account review the other day. And David was a friend of a friend all those years ago]. There’s something else I love about multi asset investing. It allows the investment managers – the experts who actually run the money – to be dynamic about where they invest it. Japanese equities in the doldrums? Never mind, Korea’s on the way up. Shares look like they’ve had a good run? Bonds are good value. They adjust where your money is to reflect the financial, economic and political environment. Of course, if you’re like Nicola and love a bit of risk, there’s a multi asset fund for you. It might have no bonds and lots of emerging markets. If you’re cautious, like David, [now 61 and better advised … seeing as he’s our client!] you want a multi asset fund with more bonds, and none of those smaller companies that might turbocharge or torpedo your returns in the short run. Because, let’s face it, we all invest for good outcomes. Nicola wants to retire with the sort of lifestyle she always aspired to. Travel, family, escapades. David’s health isn’t great. He’s more focused on the family legacy. But I know he harbours one big adventure. You’re probably looking at something similar, but different. I know I am. We’re all distinctive. But, to get there, you probably all want the same thing: well-researched investments that are demonstrably consistent, of high quality and providing palpable value for money. I know I do. Over a lifetime, something’s bound to go wrong with your money. The market halved in 1973-4. In my career it crashed in 2001-2, 2008, 2020 … and it will again. So, what you need is someone who can find a better home for it. It could even be the Rolls Royce option if you want – it’s all about the independent research identifying the best options. If you’d like to know if your money might have a better home, please get in touch.