Tuesday 25 July 2006

The best ways to buy investment trusts

Investment trusts are a great way to boost your returns, thanks to low charges and transparency, but what is the best way to invest?

Making the most of investing is not just about picking investments wisely, it's also important to make sure you hold them in the best place.

Costs are consistently being trimmed and investors can now choose to hold all everything within one handy online wrapper.


What are investment trusts?

Investment trusts are listed companies with shares that trade on the stock market.

Trusts invest in the shares of other companies and are known as closed end, meaning the number of shares or units the trust's portfolio is divided into is limited. Investors can buy or sell these units to join or leave, but new money outside this pool cannot be raised without formally issuing new shares.

Investment trusts can be riskier than unit trusts because their shares can trade at a premium or discount to the value of the assets they hold, known as the net asset value.

Why use investment trusts?

Fees for investment trusts tend to be lower than funds, which means your returns are not as affected by charges.

An investment trust is closed ended, meaning there is a fixed amount of shares, unlike in a fund where you risk having your returns diluted if more people invest or if a whole load of people try to sell out their holding.

There is an old Square Mile adage that ‘unit trusts are sold, but investment trusts are bought’.

What the City veterans are getting at here is that the investing public is bombarded by advertisements and mail shots about the vast universe of open-ended funds, i.e. unit trusts and OEICs, which tend to have large marketing budgets.

But people typically have to do a bit of work themselves to discover the advantages of the much more introvert investment trust world.

The fact is, investment trusts don’t advertise anything like so much because, as so-called closed-end funds, they have a fixed number of shares in issue.

Therefore, the argument goes, if you are inviting one person to buy then you are also asking someone else to sell. Not much point – and certainly no money – in that.

Those who take the time to research the fascinating but understated investment trust sector are unlikely to regret it.

In fact, delve a little deeper and ask a few pointed questions and you will find that many fund management professionals put their own money into investment trusts as the vehicle of choice.

The problem for those who prefer investment trusts to funds (Oeics and unit trusts) is that while their management charges are lower and there are no initial fees, they are traded like shares and so attract dealing charges.

Buying investment trusts


You can either invest in a trust via a stockbroker, as you would do shares, or through an online investing platform.

Some investment houses will also allow you to invest in their trusts direct, either as part of an Isa or a straightforward investment.

If you are happy investing without financial advice, the best option tends to be through an online platform as these tend to have cut dealing fees below tradition brokers' levels. It may cost more than buying direct but allows you to hold all your investments in one place.

The important questions to ask yourself before you decide how to invest is whether you want to hold your trust in an Isa and hold all your investments in one place.

By choosing an online Isa platform product, you essentially invest in an Isa wrapper which you can put round and number of trusts in the same year, as long as you don't exceed the annual Isa limit.

The advantage of investing through a platform is also that you can see and monitor your holdings in one place, you can do this whether you opt for an Isa product or just a straightforward investment account. The disadvantage is that you may pay a small fee for holding trusts. Dealing charges can also range from £5 to £12.50.

If you buy direct with an Isa wrapper, then that is your investing Isa allowance for that year and you may only be able to invest tax-free either in that trust, or the investment houses other trusts in that financial year.

Investing direct

As an example of investing direct Aberdeen Asset Management allows investors to buy into its selection of trusts either with an Isa wrapper or as a straight investment (it also offers Isa transfers in).

For straightforward investing, buying carries no charges but selling costs £10, there is no annual administration fee and the minimum lump sum is £250 and regular investing sum is £100. For an Isa wrapper, there is no buying charge, a £15 selling fee, and a £24 plus VAT annual administration fee. Minimum lump sum investment is £1,000 and regular investment is £100.

Using a platform

You could access investment trusts from different companies and combine them with other products such as shares and funds by using a platform.

Hargreaves Lansdown is one example of a platform that will let you do this in a number of ways.

Investment trust dealing costs £11.95 per trade (for one to nine trades per month, more trades brings the price down), and this fee applies for both one-off investments and regular investing. Regular investing is now £1.50 per month

Investors with an Isa holding investment trusts have an annual charge of 0.45 per cent of their value, capped at £45 per year.

Non-Isa investors are not charged. The Hargreaves Lansdown platform is really best suited to fund investing rather than investment trusts, but is useful if you plan to hold the two together.

Why invest through an Isa?

Investing with an Isa is one of the few opportunities we have for making money with very little tax but it doesn't offer complete tax-free status.

Every year the Government gives us a tax-free Isa allowance. For 2015/16 the allowance is £15,240.

You are able to move money from an investment Isa into cash Isa under the rules or put your whole allowance in a cash Isa. This applies to any money you have invested in previous years.

Any gains within an Isa are free from capital gains tax. Everyone has a CGT allowance, currently £11,000 per year, and many may feel they are unlikely to ever make more than this in profit each year from selling their assets.

However, those who invest consistently over time may one day be surprised at how much those investments are worth and holding them in a tax-free wrapper makes sense.

This is because if they opt to sell all or a large amount of their investments at one time and they are not held in an Isa, then they may be over the capital gains tax limit and face a tax bill. Whereas, hold them in an Isa and you have no such problem and will not even need to fill in a tax form if you sell.

Income from investments is also treated in a more tax-friendly way in an Isa. Corporate bonds and gilts income is tax-free.

Dividends and shares income are still taxed at 10% before they are received, so basic rate taxpayers will not gain any extra benefit, but higher rate taxpayers do not have to pay any extra tax that would normally be incurred.

If you are a basic rate taxpayer you may hope to be a higher rate taxpayer one day, so putting your investments in a tax-free wrapper is a sound tactic. Investing through an Isa also removes the headache of filling in a tax return for both income and capital gains.

Tuesday 11 July 2006

How to invest in funds, investment trusts and ETFs - and save money as a DIY investor


Investing in funds and investment trusts is the route often recommended to small investors by the experts.

Picking individual shares means you need to do plenty of research and spread your risk carefully, whereas buying a fund allows investors to pool their money with others to access a range of investments and avoid putting all their eggs in one basket.

There are a variety of ways to do this, from the most popular 'fund' options, to investment trusts and exchange traded funds.

Some tap into professional's expertise while others simply track a certain index, some follow popular markets while others allow access to obscure and adventurous corners of the world.

We explain what funds are, how to invest, and how to save money by using a DIY investing platform.

What are funds?

When investors talk about funds they are typically referring to either unit trusts, or open-ended investment companies, Oeics.

This jargon may make them sound complicated but they are essentially just funds where investors' money is pooled to invest in shares, bonds or other funds.

The idea is that as the fund invests in lots of different companies' shares or bonds, the risk of you losing all your money is less than it would be if you were in a single company's shares.

Similarly, most funds will have a fund manager. This will be someone, typically with substantial investing expertise and experience, who will aim to beat the market and provide the best return for investors (although, often they do not manage to do so.)

When times are good a fund manager aims to do make higher gains than their peers, when times are bad a good manager will come into their own by continuing to make money, or just not losing as much as their peers.

Investors have to make a minimum investment, usually £500 to £1,000 to access a fund, and their investment will either go up or down in value depending on how the assets it has bought have performed.

Funds typically have two versions: and accumulation class (acc) which rolls all dividend income back into the fund to boost growth, or an income class (inc) which pays out dividends to those who wish to have them as income.

Investment funds, the typical term for Oeics and unit trusts, carry two sets of charges - an initial charge, which can take a chunk of your money when you put it in, and annual management charges, which go towards the cost of paying the fund manager and running the fund.

Initial charges can be up to 5 per cent but are easily avoidable through a good broker or platform. You do not want to be paying these.

Annual management charges vary, but were traditionally about 1.5 per cent with half of that going to financial advisers and platforms that sold the fund.

Financial regulations stopped these payments for new investments and new clean funds have been brought in, which typically charge 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent and pay no commission back to advisers or platforms

The arrival of clean funds has delivered a somewhat baffling array of types of the same funds. Each tends to have a letter than follows and there is little consistency as to what they mean. If you are looking for the new clean fund then you want what is called the unbundled version, the higher annual management fee types are called inclusive.

Annual management charges are taken from your investment every year and act as a drag on its performance.

Investment trusts, explained in more detail below, have typically had lower charges and did not pay any commission to advisers or platforms.

The annual management charge is not the true cost of investing, however, a closer estimate is the total expense ratio or its replacement measure ongoing charges.

The best way to invest is through an Isa wrapper which shields your investments and their growth from the taxman.

Friday 7 July 2006

MWI Consultants Inc in Singapore on Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which MWI Consultants collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a "User") of the www.mwiconsultants.com website ("Site").

Personal identification information

MWI Consultants Inc may collect personal identification information from Users in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when Users visit our site, fill out a form, and in connection with other activities, services, features or resources the company makes available on our Site. Users may be asked for, as appropriate, name, email address, mailing address, phone number. Users may, however, visit our Site anonymously. The company will collect personal identification information from Users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Users can always refuse to supply personally identification information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in certain Site related activities.

Non-personal identification information

MWI Consultants Inc may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about Users means of connection to our Site, such as the operating system and the Internet service providers’ utilized and other similar information.

Web browser cookies

Our Site may use "cookies" to enhance User experience. User's web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. User may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function properly.

How the company use collected information

MWI Consultants may collect and use Users personal information for the following purposes:

* To run and operate our Site
MWI Consultants may need your information display content on the Site correctly.

*To improve customer service
Information you provide helps us respond to your customer service requests and support needs more efficiently.

*To personalize user experience
MWI Consultants may use information in the aggregate to understand how our Users as a group use the services and resources provided on our Site.

*To improve our Site
MWI Consultants may use feedback you provide to improve our products and services.

*To send periodic emails
MWI Consultants may use the email address to send User information and updates pertaining to their order. It may also be used to respond to their inquiries, questions, and/or other requests.

How the company protects your information

MWI Consultants adopt appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of your personal information, username, password, transaction information and data stored on our Site.

Sharing your personal information

MWI Consultants do not sell, trade, or rent Users personal identification information to others. MWI Consultants may share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding visitors and users with our business partners, trusted affiliates and advertisers for the purposes outlined above.

Changes to this privacy policy
MWI Consultants has the discretion to update this privacy policy at any time. When the company does, the company will post a notification on the main page of our Site. The company encourages Users to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how the company is helping to protect the personal information the company collected. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically and become aware of modifications.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, please contact us.

Wednesday 5 July 2006

MWI Consultants Inc in Singapore: Terms and Conditions



Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms", "Terms and Conditions") carefully before using the www.mwiconsultants.com website (the "Service") operated by MWI Consultants ("us", "we", or "our").

Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you may not access the Service.

Links To Other Web Sites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by MWI Consultants Inc.

MWI Consultants Inc has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that MWI Consultants shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

MWI Consultants Inc strongly advises you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Singapore, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements the company might have between us regarding the Service.

Changes

MWI Consultants reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material the company will try to provide at least 15 days’ notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.

By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the Service.

Our Terms and Conditions agreement was created by Terms Feed.

Contact Us


If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.

Tuesday 4 July 2006

The Products Offered by MWI Consultants Inc in Singapore



Primary Investment Products

To assure our clients that MWI Consultants Inc deliver to them the best service possible, MWI Consultants Inc offer a complete selection of advantageous financial products. Our Account Managers stand always ready to recommend which products are of most benefit to you and your portfolio.

International Equities

Investing so heavily in just one country could mean your portfolio could be adversely affected in case that particular market falls. By investing globally, you can distribute your risks and exploit such regions and industry sectors that have strong markets.

Gilts & Bonds

Gilts and bonds provide an advantageous way to acquire a more predictable and consistent return on your investment.  Aside from being easy to buy and to sell, many of them also come with capital-gains tax exemption.

Funds

Funds are a bundled type of investment that allows you to invest indirectly in corporate shares or other investments, such as bonds or shares. Oftentimes, they can also be contained within a tax-efficient ISA cover.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a security that monitors a commodity, an index, or a collection of assets, but trades like stocks on an exchange. Likewise, they are more-or-less secure, cost-effective way of investing in the gold-bullion sector.

Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs)

ETCs are handily traded investments offering easy access to hard-to-access commodity markets. They fit into a vast selection of risk profiles as well.

Structured Products

Structured products include synthetic investment instruments, created to satisfy particular needs not provided by standardized financial instruments. They provide opportunities to invest in otherwise hard-to-access assets or take a risk-conformed exposure to traditional assets.

Foreign Exchange

There are many different classes of foreign exchange investments options ranging from pot exchanges to forward exchange contracts, including option dated forward exchange agreements.

Covered Warrants

Issued by financial agencies, covered warrants include flexible tools offering leveraged exposure to a broad selection of underlyings, such as baskets, equities, indices, currencies and commodities.

Contracts for Difference (CFDs)

CFDs is a leveraged ‘derivative’ product which offers the potential to trade on live-market price movements without physically holding the underlying instrument.

Financial Spread Trading (FST)

Financial Spread Trading lets you speculate on the rise-and-fall of international financial markets and delivers a tax-efficient option to other trading alternatives, such as share dealing.

Turbos

Turbos monitor an underlying asset, often a European currency or index and gives investors a way to acquire full exposure to an asset’s price. They also include a "knock-out barrier" and, therefore, offer limited downside risk.

New Issues

New issues opens options to access investments before they are traded on the market and come in two major forms: New Retail Bonds or Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

Cash


Aside from bank and building society accounts, cash investment also involves bank deposit certificates and cash funds offered by fund managers.