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never lose a penny

davidssmith
Posts: 9 Forumite
is it possible these days to invest and never lose a penny of your money?
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Comments
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you would have to do it yourself because someone else will charge you:cool: hard as nails on the internet . wimp in the real world :cool:0
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cheers but with markets/banks like they are is it possible to put your cash away with absolute guarantee you will always get at least your initial investment back......no mater what happens?0
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Everything has an element of risk.
- markets falling
- banks going under
- compensation schemes not paying out
- inflation eroding value
- your mattress catching fire with your savings under it
The skill is detemrining your level of risk and saving / investing accordingly.0 -
davidssmith wrote: »is it possible these days to invest and never lose a penny of your money?I am a Chartered Financial Planner
Anything I say on the forum is for discussion purposes only and should not be construed as personal financial advice. It is vitally important to do your own research before acting on information gathered from any users on this forum.0 -
Never has been possible.
Never will be possible.'In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are Consequences.'0 -
davidssmith wrote: »is it possible these days to invest and never lose a penny of your money?
No way, never has been.
The best you can do is to strike a happy compromise between not losing too much in the bad times and maximising your chances of high returns in the good. With a sensibly diversified portfolio, and sufficient liquid (cash) funds for the short/medium term you should be reasonably safe except under the Armegeddon scenarios. But under those circumstances all bets are off for anything.0 -
davidssmith wrote: »cheers but with markets/banks like they are is it possible to put your cash away with absolute guarantee you will always get at least your initial investment back......no mater what happens?
Nothing can be absolutely guaranteed - the world could end tomorrow. Two best options are cash under the mattress (but then inflation erodes the value and you get no return) or inflation linked gilts where you rely on the government being able to meet its obligations.
I would guess that if circumstances were so bad the latter failed, your cash savings could be the least of your problems.
Is this a practical or philosophical problem?0 -
Yes - you can put it in a Guaranteed Equity Bond (GEB) that has no downside risk to capital (some pose a risk if the Index drops 50%). Protects your capital absolutely .... but the potential of upside gains is severely limited.
Is there a point to investing if the sole consideration is just protecting your base? You surely want to generate income / grow your capital .... you just choose a basic savings account otherwise.If you want to test the depth of the water .........don't use both feet !0 -
Yes - you can put it in a Guaranteed Equity Bond (GEB) that has no downside risk to capital (some pose a risk if the Index drops 50%). Protects your capital absolutely .... but the potential of upside gains is severely limited.
This is not "absolute" protection by any stretch.0 -
its a bit of both really. My aunt is 87 and has around 20k to move. She is very low risk but unhappy with interest rates. Her friendly bloke over the road explained a product from a building society which is guaranteed capital pays, 9% minimum but could give her all the rise in the FTSE over the next 5 years upto a max 45%. seems to good to be true so hence my question. her mate derek over the road (who professes to be a font of all knowledge period) has said she cant lose a penny at all as its cash covered by the government? so not withstanding the point about governments going bump is he correct?0
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