INVEST DIRECT

Invest Direct is a special arm of Regent that makes available investment plans we especially favour on a discounted terms of entry basis. This is for those who prefer to invest without taking individual advice.

Most share prices suffered significant falls in the two years starting from 2001. The FTSE All Share Index rose by 20% in 2003, by 12% in 2004 and 22% in 2005. In 2006 the index was up by 11%. Many observers expect 2007 will see the stock market continue to add value.

That said we believe it is very important to have investments linked to all the main asset classes – equities, gilts, property, corporate bonds and cash. But how best might you achieve this? Well here as an example we give you of three ways to invest. These are respectively higher risk, medium risk and low risk investment products.

All the funds put forward are ones we are presently active in promoting where suitable to individual clients. They are available on special entry terms for our clients. Under such terms the initial charges include significant reductions for readers. Above all each is worthy of inclusion in an investment portfolio, dependent upon your attitude to risk.

Full details are available from us upon request.

LOWER RISK GUARANTEED OPTION

Well then, for a guarantee of capital to be invested you might look at the Guaranteed Fund from Norwich Union. One of the benefits of this fund is that it provides a guarantee of a return of at least the initial investment on its fifth anniversary. It is available as a five year investment.

Its other objective is to seek to provide capital appreciation for investors over the five- year term by investing in a combination of corporate bonds, commercial property assets and a proportion in equities and cash. The amounts in each sector will be actively managed and reviewed monthly by NU. Currently, around 19% is held in gilts, 13% in commercial property, 30% in equities and 38% is held in corporate bonds.

This issue will appeal to cautious investors who can commit to the five-year term in return for the guarantee. That said, there is a risk of loss for any investor who wants to cash in their holding early, for any reason, during the five-year term. Early encashment charges do then apply.

If required by investors, tax deferred withdrawals can be taken but this will reduce the value of the guarantee in direct proportion to sums withdrawn.

The fund is available as an investment bond only, so is best arranged in the name of your partner if he or she is a basic rate taxpayer and you pay tax at 40%.

If investors can commit to invest for five years we rate this Guaranteed Fund investment as low risk. This is because of the simple and uncomplicated guarantee that the invested capital is safe from plunging in value for investors. At the end of the five year term the monies will automatically be moved into NU’s Deposit Fund unless NU are advised otherwise by the investor.

FOR THE MEDIUM RISK INVESTOR

What if you are a more medium risk investor? What if you want the best of both worlds – protection of the capital you invest, yet also benefit from rising share values? Then you might have a good look at the Protected Profits Fund from Sterling, part of the ZIFA Group.

The Fund was only launched in February of 2003 and the return since then has been healthy, giving an increase in value of over 43% (after annual charges to the end of August 2006). The Protected Profits Fund does give investors an undertaking that the fund value will never be less than 80% of its highest value it achieves. Hopefully the protected value will steadily increase over time and become a value significantly higher than that invested. Furthermore, on death the minimum sum payable is the higher of the current fund value or the amount of the original investment.

Unlike many other investment products that offer protection, you can exit at any time and you can also switch part or all of your investment to a different fund. This you might want to do in the future if your investment outlook or objectives change, or you no longer require any protection element.

We rate this Fund as a medium risk vehicle. It is in our view an ideal alternative to with profits investment, and also lends itself to PEP and ISA transfer. It is available in new ISA form, as an investment bond or as an OEIC.

As always we urge our clients to go for diversification in their portfolios and to do so within each of the low, medium and higher sections of their holdings. The Protected Profits Fund also wins our highest commendation as a more medium risk vehicle.

FOR THE MORE ADVENTUROUS

The following investment vehicle will appeal to the more adventurous of you. One who agrees that now is the time to place a portion of their monies into higher risk assets to benefit from the future gains to be made from investing solely in equities.

It has long been our view that funds of funds are the place to be when you consider that increasing numbers of fund managers seem to hop from investment house to another with increasing regularity. It is also vital to have hands on management of funds in which you invest at all times.

Here we favour New Star. It is a leading provider of funds of funds vehicles. New Star now has a reputation that currently has few equals in our view for funds of funds management.

Have your higher risk investments given you 48% growth after charges over the last 5 years? New Star’s flagship Active Portfolio has produced outstanding returns over the long, medium and short term, strongly outperforming its sector over the past five years to 1 July 2006. Over one year to the same date New Star’s return is 23% and over three years 76%. As a yardstick, the FTSE 100 has gained 17% of value over one year, 60% over three years and 21% over five years to 1 July 2006. (Source: Standard & Poor’s, mid to mid, charges deducted, to 1/7/2006).

The award winning investment team at New Star targets and puts together a fund made up of the best funds run by the best managers, employed by the best investment houses in the UK. Monies are then invested worldwide through its Active Portfolio.

Such funds like these from New Star at any one time it will be investing clients money with up to 20 other investment houses. It also monitors these continuously, making changes when appropriate. While it is an investment within the higher risk sector, the diversification of funds makes it lower risk within its higher risk universe.

You can access New Star as a new ISA or as a OEIC. It also offers PEP and ISA transfer as a way into placing funds under its management. The New Star offering we endorse as being of the highest calibre for part of the investment you place in the higher risk arena – this is where your best prospect for future capital growth will come from over the longer term.

Invest Direct does from time to time discount terms of entry on funds like those above. Details are available upon request. Call us or go to our Enquiry Form.