'Cautious' IT

[morestout]

My disabled brother in law has a variety of cautious funds but is paying a number of fees which is wiping out any recent profit.He is no longer actively involved with the investment and his wife has asked me to have a look at it. I presume that I could put together a few ITs to mimick the current risk at much reduced fees but is there any single trust that would look like one of the low risk cautious funds or even a slightly riskier managed fund. They need to move house in the next few years so can't afford to take too much risk.

[midgesgalore]

The Investor's Chronicle published a top 100 funds (unit & Investment trusts) at the end of 2017 and I would think you are looking for something in the real or absolute returns section to begin your search.
https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/top-100-funds/2017/09/15/ic-top-100-funds-2017/

One fund they cast adrift from their previous year's selection is:
Standard Life Global Absolute Return Strategies (GB00B7K3T226)
I have held this for years and have only, yesterday, switched into something else since the amount I held had little influence in my overall fund portfolio.

The funds listed in this category are:
RIT Capital Partners (RCP)
Capital Gearing Trust(CGT)
Personal Assets Trust(PNL)
Newton Real Return (GB00B8GG4B61)
JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities (GB00B4WKYF80)
Henderson UK Absolute Return (GB00B5KKCX12)
Invesco Perpetual Global Targeted Returns (GB00BJ04HL49)


I leave it there.
Also I would not be making a purchase of any of them without looking over the reports and kicking the tyres first.
If the in-laws are ultra cautious then cash or safe bank interest (less than full compensation limits in the event of going bust) is the best option and it has no fees.

Hope that is a start.

midgesgalore

[GJHarney]

Well it depends on what you (or your in-law) view as 'cautious'. Are we talking established global equity IT's (in which case there are some very good options), or bond-heavy ones (in which case there are not that many)?

If you what some stable general global funds then the likes of Witan, F&C, Monks would be on my list. I would suggest a small basket too rather than just one, but if it is for someone who doesn't want to do anything once set up (which I assume might be the case with your sister) then you would need to pick one and then decide whether the best options for costs are direct investment if available with the IT company or via a platform.

However, and I know this will be flagged as being for a different board, but if the definition of 'cautious' is bond heavy then I would really be looking less at IT's and more at a single ETF such as Vanguard LifeStrategy 20/80 (equity/bonds) or similar which is as fire and forget and low cost as you can hope for.

[gbjbaanb]

My disabled brother in law has a variety of cautious funds but is paying a number of fees which is wiping out any recent profit.He is no longer actively involved with the investment and his wife has asked me to have a look at it. I presume that I could put together a few ITs to mimick the current risk at much reduced fees but is there any single trust that would look like one of the low risk cautious funds or even a slightly riskier managed fund. They need to move house in the next few years so can't afford to take too much risk.

There are brokers that offer "all in one" offers that contain a set of funds that mirror risk levels, for example AJBell has 5 ranging from adventurous to totally boring, or there's the Vanguard lifestrategy that happily have a mix of index to bonds. One of these might be a good option if you're looking for a solitary fund to buy into. Fees are very low for these too, AJBell for example has 0.5% fee, no dealing fee or custody fee.

eg: https://www.youinvest.co.uk/investment- ... sive-funds

[Muddywaters]

Is this money invested being used to fund the house purchase? If this is within the next few years parking the money in cash/premium bonds might be the better answer? If I was in that position, which I was a few years ago, I took £100k I needed to repay my mortgage off the table and put it in premium bonds. Especially if you brother in law has a cautious outlook and given where the markets are at the moment. Why take the risk?

Failing that, It might be an idea if you give an indication of what you consider to be high charges and what the current investments are? Also what do you mean by managed funds?

The obvious cautious IT for me would be Personal Assets.