What position will you play?
27 July 2022Anyone who has met me will know I am not a football fan. Indeed, none of Team Chapters Financial seem motivated by the game, or its various teams, managers and players. I can just about remember being a fan of Leeds United (I think!) back in the seventies because I liked their team strip / logo, and Mr Billy Bremner! I must also admit to enjoying the odd international match every now and then.
So, before I switch any non-football fans off from this blog, I know that we have the football World Cup in Qatar, which some will love, and others loathe. Teams will be picked, and places on the squads will be allocated, dependent on their respective specialities. There will be goalkeepers, strikers, defenders and centre forwards, each with a role to play and each with a particular skill in their field area. And as the matches unfold, we also know that there will be superstars crowned and villains cursed during the tournament.
Moving away from football in part, and referencing investment, attitude to investment risk and capacity for loss, if you were going to be picked for your money 'squad', which position would you play?
If you are naturally cautious with your money, you might be a defender, aiming to keep any shocks from hitting your goal. Alternatively, you might be a striker, happy to take a higher risk strategy with your money, knowing that hitting the back of the net might see lows and highs as opportunities appear, and of course disappear.
Alternatively, you may have limited interest, preferring to hand your investments over to a manager or adviser to control the outcomes, although the questions above will still need to be answered and documented. Others may not want to be involved and will want to stay in cash, although as we have noted in other blogs, climbing inflation will be no friend to real purchasing power at this time. Perhaps a substitute to investing in real assets might be required as the issue of inflation continues.
And is a win always required? You might be investing for capital growth, or income production, or both, usually over the longer term (5 years+). Therefore, you might be looking towards steady results, rather than to be top of the league. Other issues might have a significant bearing on your 'team' choices, such as a focus on environmental, social and governance issues. As we know, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Whatever your plans are for the summer, we hope you enjoy your time, and that you are comfortable with your team choices, both in football (if applicable) and with your investments, pensions and savings.
If you would like to look for a review of how your plans are performing and to ensure that they continue to match with your objectives, please talk to the team at Chapters Financial in Guildford.
As always with our topical blogs, no individual advice is provided during the course of this blog.
Keith Churchouse FPFS
Director
CFP Chartered FCSI
Chartered Financial Planner
Chapters Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, number 402899
