I need serious help with investing please!

jonj123

Thank you cloud_dog. I am aware of the two websites that you mentioned. The problem I have is that these website have a lot of information about each fund and for a beginner like myself it's difficult to interpret these data and assess whether it is good to invest in that fund based on the data provided. For this reason I am looking for a guide that teaches how to analyse the data and which facts are figures are the most important when assessing whether that particular fund is good to invest in.

cloud_dog

That's really a difficult one.

Funds merely reflect the value (prices) of their underlying investments.

Assuming you have identified an area or sector you wish to invest in then these are the sites you would use (together with the funds sites) to assess how they perform against their peers (for the sector / area etc) and where they have made their investments.

The other aspect you can do is assess managers across sectors / areas but again it is once you have decided on an investment. BestInvest provide a tool for this.

At the same sites you can get a view of which sectors / areas have been performing well over different periods.

Again all this is predicated on the fact that you have decided or at least have an idea of what / where you want yo invest.

I think you are really after someone to provide you with an idea of where (sector / area) you sohuld be investing so that you can then do your own reasearch on the fund(s) to use (am I in the right ballpark?).

You can get an indication from any of the sites mentioned although you need to bear in mind that they may be pushing specific funds for a reason. So for example:

• HL have their Wealth 150
• BestInvest have their Top Rated Funds
• HL also have a 'most viewed funds' which may indicate where others are looking

Many people are wary of things like the HL Wealth 150 and Top Rated funds etc but it may offer an insight.

I do not think anyone will tell you where to invest (well they may but would you want to take their word for it).

smallfry27

Several of us have found Tim Hale's book 'Smarter Investing' very useful. He puts a convincing case that small or beginner investors should start with trackers as their core investments, and only move onto managed funds when ready to get into something more specialised.

It is particularly useful to help understand what charges are being deducted from funds.