Managed portfolio - cash in or not????

seewhatson

Advice desperately needed.
Two years ago I invested 250k in a managed portfolio with a large reputable company. This sum was to enable me to take early retirement in 4/5 years on medical health grounds.
It has returned nothing over this time - only really enough to cover their costs. Does this mean it has been badly managed?
I REALLY want to cancel my arrangement with them tomorrow. I was going to do it last week but work commitments got in the way. Bearing in mind the :eek:current state of affairs, should I just take it all out and deposit it in a bank with a good interest rate - to hopefully get some return?? Any advice?!?

fatpig_2

seewhatson wrote: »

should I just take it all out and deposit it in a bank with a good interest rate - to hopefully get some return??

don't put it into HBOS whatever you do

dunstonh

It has returned nothing over this time

It wouldnt have done. Its only 2 years in and investing isnt for just two years.

Does this mean it has been badly managed?

Not at all. Investments zig zag. That is quite normal and expected. You get good years, bad years and nothing years. You have had a good year and a bad year so its been cancelled out.

Any advice?!?

Ask the company that you are paying for advice from to help you understand your investments and how they work. Depending on the tax wrapper used for the portfolio and the terms you may find there is a tax liability or charges on exit. It may be that the investment needs tweaking to suit your risk profile (which must have changed since you first started investing).

seewhatson

Thanks for your reply. Can I ask - would it be better for me to put the cash in a high interest rate account, buy some buy to lets or leave it in the managed fund? I'm thinking of accumulated growth over the net 3 - 5 years? what would you think would offer best returns? What a worry!!

opinions4u

fatpig wrote: »

don't put it into HBOS whatever you do

Well, there are better interest rates out there, that must be said.

But from a safety point of view, HBOS with Lloyds behind them seems like a more secure deal than some Icelandic merchants!

While shareholders have been stuck with (on the whole) a paper loss transferred to the value in Lloyds TSB, savers have merely been concerned. The only savers who have lost anything are those who withdrew their money and stopped earning interest for a day or two. They should probably return it to their accounts and ask for the transaction to be backdated to ensure no loss of interest.

The fact Halifax were only offering 5.75% on a fixed rate bond suggests that they weren't desperate for retail cash. More like wholesale markets got spooked by share price speculators.