Investments help now please?

i have never had alot of money all my life but came into Â£15,000 and was persuaded too invest it by my bank ,for 5 years , so far because of the fees they have taken , and a loss in the market , i am Â£3,000 down , my money has only been in 9 months , Do i take it out now ? or let it ride and hope everything picks up, my bank says not to panic, but then they would say that.

You are down 20%. By almost any standard that is a lot. What did they invest in? Bank stocks? Northern Rock? A diversified portfolio of investments, which is what they should be investing in shoud not be down more than about 11% maximum if you had entered the market at the top in October. Did you? Oh, one thing I did forget were their fees. How much did they charge you? 5%? That is about standard. That would add up to about 15% total.

Without knowing what you are invested in, it is somewhat difficult to advise you with any certainty. Certainly, if you exit at this point you are going to take a severe hit. Then you have the problem of what to do with what is left of your money.

Here is a plan. Talk to your person at the bank and go over how the money is invested. It should be invested in a diversified portfolio of investments, either two or three diversified mutual funds with decent 10 year track records that have different investment objectives or a pool of at least 10 different company stocks in differing market segments. At least 7 of these companies should be leading companies in their markets. If the investments meet those criteria, I would say stick with it. If not then you certainly do have cause for alarm.

This type of situation is always a tough call. The challenge that you have with the bank is that will always make money irrespective if you do or not. The markets usually bounce back at some point. It also depends on what you invested in. Some portfolios are just bad, and more prone to losing money than making money. I tracked an investment portfolio that was set up for me a few years ago by the what he called himself as the "portfolio doctor" and the gain over 6 years has been a total misely 2% despite a stock market return here in Canada of double digits during that time. Fortunately I moved the money out a long time ago...I lost about the same amount a you did; however it has been made back in spades.

The key thing is you need to educate yourself about money. Investing in the open market as it is subject to speculation and as a result voltatilty. The model is based on who the next fool is willing to pay a higher prices for the same piece of paper. There is no value generated.

Some food for thought...look for structures where the use or the value of the investment is changed and there is an EXIT strategy. Example could be, buy a property fix it up and rent it out or sell it (determine your exit strategy when you buy - not when you sell). You know:
1. How much the property costs
2. You know how much it costs to fix
3. You know how much you can rent it for by looking at comparable rents
4. You know the vacancy rate (usually between 2% and 5%)
5. You know what the financing costs
6. You know the costs from the previous owner and from a property inspections.
7. etc
The bottom line is, when you invest you should always know EXACTLY what you make at the end of the day. You ALWAYS make your money when you buy the investment, NOT when you sell it. If you are not managing the investment yourself, you will need to make sure you trust the management.

The stock market cannot give you any of that information upfront...you ride the roller coaster and hope and pray that you make money.

The process of reaching this level takes time, it is not something you wake up one morning. Ask rich people how they invest, what they invest in, how they think about it etc. Ask around, you will be suprised...do not jump at the first opportunity. Explore some, put some money in.

You can easily make 12% to 20% per year practically risk free, you just need to know where to look.

Once you understand this model, you will understand why the rich NEVER use their own money; and how the bank and investors can become your best friend.

Read, learn and take action. You will make mistakes. What has happened is not a bad thing, it is all part of the learning process.

Good luck

Difficult to advise, especially without more details. Practically all equity investments have been hit hard in recent months, so a loss is to be expected, due to the unfortunate timing of your investment. Over a five year period, you should expect a healthy profit, but you should keep a check on the progress, compared with other options.

You're not the only one that's lost money in 9 months. It doesn't sound like negligence, just that markets have fallen

Honest answer, stay clear of stocks right now, I think - cash in bank is better. HBOS offering 12% on a Â£5k 1 yr bond, and 10% on regular deposits of 500 a month

I think you should cancel the contract as soon as possible assumed there is not much penalty in your 5-year contract. You shall read and examine closely with your knowledgeable friends in financial investment(if any) look for any append described at the corner, the end, or additional lines in your written contract. If you don't lose that much in can-celling your contract, you should take all the rest of your money out.
I am living in the International Capital of scams of stock markets and real estates, Hong Kong. Many investors have lost millions by investing in stock markets, mutual and hedge funds, go and put warrants,you name it. I suspect that you are being misled by the banker for the routine of how to make little some money from the customers. However, the Egana Goldpffeil of Hong Kong have just accused for the fraud of HK 35 billion dollars from the major banks. Do you know Hong Kong banks pay the least interest rate in this world? It was said that one million HK dollars depositd in the bank as fix deposite last year, you won't more than one hundred HK dollars in your annual interest. That's the most dirty Hong Kong bankers' dirty trick to make the depositors to invest and then gradually lost everything. If Hong Kong and UK government are comply with the moral code of ethics, they should destroy the stock markets gradually and thoroughly.

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