What is the time frame for your Capital investment?
This is to be considered anything from a few months to a few years, money that needs to be accessible and with no risk involved would fit this term. Generally, there are few alternatives to a deposit account with a major Bank or Building Society although there are some short term Guaranteed Bond or Capital Protected Funds made available from time to time which may offer 1, 2 or 3 year investment terms with slightly better rates than normal deposit accounts. However, these would normally come with some sort or early exit charge which makes them unsuitable for short term cash flow. We shall post links from time to time when shorter term fixed income products become available in our ‘Recent Recommended’ pages.
Suggested time frame of 4 to 6 years. Areas of investment range from High Interest Term Deposit to areas considered to be of ‘Real Growth’, such as Equity based or linked investments. Obviously the High Interest rate deposit offers generally little risk although the 2008 crisis and the event of Lehman Brothers, should be taken as warning to always remember to diversify, even with bank deposits using more than one bank is worth considering.
We have never been ones to encourage leaving really large amounts on regular call accounts with the high street bank because, while we accept it is important to hold such accounts we feel it is equally relevant to have exposure to areas that will, over the medium to long term, achieve better results and out perform inflation.
Please refer to our ‘Recent Recommended’ post for any new investments which offer a medium term with lower risk or capital guarantees, most of these types of investment offer a degree of capital protection in return for you being tied into a specified term. These are not options you should enter into unless you are sure the cash is not going to be required during that specified term, as they normally have some sort of exit penalty.
There are of course many investment options out there and any recommendation is made based on each individuals time frame, needs and attitude towards risk. As one example of non equity market investment with little risk we currently are able to offer the DARWIN Leisure Property Fund this is designed for periods of around 4/5 years upward offering a steady return. It aims to provide a net result of around 8 to 10% growth from UK student rental income and accommodation development. The fund is available in GBP, USD, and EURO, and can be invested into as a direct single investment or it can be used as part of the The new Offhsore Investment Platforms we offer or the Offshore Highly Personalised Portfolio.
More recently we have added a new investment opportunity via HARWELL CAPITAL into young UK companies who are looking to raise capital for continued global development. Clients can become share holders in companies that have passed the ‘new start up phase’ and are looking to ‘exit’ via IPO or sale between 4 to 7 years.
Suggested time frame starts with a minimum of 5 years upwards planning through towards and during retirement.
The longer the term the greater the choice becomes. The offshore market has specialist products to cater for the more sophisticated investors looking to invest either on a regular basis, perhaps towards retirement or for children’s education as well as products designed for a lump sum investment. The options range from a collective investment scheme such as Managed Funds and Unit Trusts using what we call a ‘wrapper’ such as the ORACLE.
Then we have the more sophisticated ‘Investment Platform or highly personalised portfolio, providing the above collective fund service but with the additional access to more cost effective ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds), as well as individual company shares and foreign currency accounts. The Investment Platform or IPIMS is designed to help ease the administration of buying and selling while providing financial advisory support, added security and the option of trusts.
Finally, as mentioned above for clients looking for a higher return and willing to take the higher risk of being associated with individual young companies who have not yet reached IPO they may do so via HARWELL CAPITAL. These young companies are well past the stage of ‘start up’, they have had money from the UK government and private investors in the UK and are now being told that having developed their product and established a customer base they must do their own capital raising for further expansion.
Harwell Capital who specialise in capital raising for new businesses will from time to time offer shares and a list of companies currently under off can be found here.
For more help and information on current investment products and advice on the many options available contact us