Stocks ISA - Jupiter UT Mgrs

Graham_Devon

I was speaking to someone the other day that said I should invest in 'Jupiter'.

Now, he had to go and haven't seen him since and own't for a couple of weeks. So as a complete novice (I don't have any shares or know much about them), can someone give me a little help?

I already have a cash isa (NS&I) with 3k in it. I have normal internet savings accounts, but he said he's done well with Jupiter.

I know now Jupiter is some type of fund, Jupiter UT Mgrs. But how would I go about buying into this? And would anyone say it's not worth it with my level of experience, i.e. non, but we all got to start somewhere.

I can see there are 2 differing types, equity and equity income, the income one sounds good to me!

Can someone just explain (obvioiusly if you feel like it!) why it would be wise to invest in this and secondly how I would do it? I'm still allowed a stocks and shares ISA, but I don't know how to get one.

I'm sitting here feeling I'm missing the boat in a way.

dunstonh

I know now Jupiter is some type of fund, Jupiter UT Mgrs

No it isnt.

Jupiter are a company that offer a range of investment funds.

But how would I go about buying into this?

Are you looking to buy shares in Jupiter as a company or are you looking to buy into one or some of their investment funds?

I can see there are 2 differing types, equity and equity income, the income one sounds good to me!

They offer far more than 2 funds. You are not looking in the right places.

I'm sitting here feeling I'm missing the boat in a way

I'm not sure you are ready to go DIY on this at this stage. You need to either research it a lot more or get an IFA to do it for you.

Graham_Devon

Right, thanks, thats what I needed. It all seems to easy when someone says to you invest in a jupiter fund, it's done me very well, far more than a savings account could ever achieve.

dunstonh

If someone has actually told you that, then it says more about their ability than yours. It indicates that they dont understand it and that you shouldnt be doing what they say.

That said, it shouldnt put you off investing. It just means you shouldnt rely on them as a source of information about investing.

When investing, you have areas you invest in, such as UK, Europe, Property, N. American etc. You then have futher filtering such as UK Equity Income, UK Large Cap, Small cap etc. So, you have a very large range of areas you can invest in.

There are many fund houses, such as Jupiter, and they will have investment funds available in some of those areas. Some fund houses have a small range, others have a large range.

You need to look at where you want to invest (a spread is always best) and pick the right funds in those areas. You wont pick one fund house as there is not one that is best in all areas.

Off the top of my head, I dont think there is a single Jupiter fund that is top in it's respective sector in the past benchmarks. At this time, I do have two jupiter funds in my own portfolio and have had a couple of others in the past.

Graham_Devon

Yes, its obviously something that I need to start from basics and then work my way up in terms of understanding. When I say I know nothing about shares, I really do know nothing apart from it costs to trade etc. He explained this as more an ISA from which you stuck a lump sum in and instead of gaining interest, gained whatever that fund gained. He said he had doubled his money in 2 years.

Now, he has always been a bit of a one who says things to make him look better, but didnt think he would go that far. Then someone else on another forum mentioned jupiter and doing well for them, so thought there had to be something in it, what am I missing.

All I have at the moment is a cash ISA and 2 savings accounts (because of the FSA compensation thing). So was looking to diversify a bit and maybe make my money work harder. This just seemed 'easy'. You have explained it enough for it to put me off for now (though not all all intentional) as I simply don't know enough to go into this yet with my cash.

Like you said, I'm not ready! Thank you very much though for taking your time to respond.

dunstonh

He said he had doubled his money in 2 years.

There are no Jupiter funds that have doubled in two years although one has come close. There are a few others which have almost doubled in three years (including one that I have).

The one that has nearly doubled is the emerging european opps fund. That is high risk with a volatility of around +/- 50% a year. Meaning you could easily halve your money in a year if a correction occured. These sorts of funds are for experienced investors who use them as part of an overall portfolio but periodically rebalance to make sure they dont get too big. A gain is only a gain once you take the money out of it.

You would be a fool to stick all your money in one of these funds. A comparable situation to this is the tech stocks crash in the late 90s. People doubled their money in a short period and that encouraged novice money in and people started to invest all in one fund and when it crashed, they lost 90% of their money.

list of jupiter funds:
http://www.trustnet.com/ut/groups/perf.asp?group=jupiter

Jup Euro Opps fund:
http://www.trustnet.com/ut/funds/?fund=4811

Look at that graph on the second link and change the time to one year. Look at the drop that hit in April/May. If you put £4000 just before that drop, it would have gone down to around £3400. Can you afford and are you willing to accept that sort of volatility?

You have explained it enough for it to put me off for now (though not all all intentional) as I simply don't know enough to go into this yet with my cash.

I dont want to put you off as savings accounts are fine for short term but totally useless over the long term. Its just a case of realising that when you invest, you should invest in a means that is appropriate to your risk level and dont put all your eggs in one basket.

If you dont feel you are ready for it, then you can always get advice from an IFA. They will be able to pick the funds for you after assessing your risk profile and showing you the sort of volatility you would expect.

I dont put shelves up because I am useless at decoration and DIY. I leave it to someone that is good at it. Dont be afraid to say the same about investing. Its something you can do well, do bad or get a professional to do.

Graham_Devon

Thanks again. I've had my wake up call in that I can do better with the money I have sitting in savings accounts. But like you say, can't go rushing in, although doubling in 3 years does sound mighty impressive!!

I need to take a step back and do some research into everything, I do have a practice portfolio on thisismoney where I can buy shares with pretend money and see how I would have done etc, which is a useful tool for learning. Once I'm a bit more clue'dup on terms and the way it works, can approach an IFA. Sadly the one I have only really deals with mortgages and doesnt like investments as doesn't like advising people on stuff that could financially hit them!

Graham_Devon

Thanks again. I've had my wake up call in that I can do better with the money I have sitting in savings accounts. But like you say, can't go rushing in, although doubling in 3 years does sound mighty impressive!!

I need to take a step back and do some research into everything, I do have a practice portfolio on thisismoney where I can buy shares with pretend money and see how I would have done etc, which is a useful tool for learning. Once I'm a bit more clue'dup on terms and the way it works, can approach an IFA. Sadly the one I have only really deals with mortgages and doesnt like investments as doesn't like advising people on stuff that could financially hit them!

cheerfulcat

Hi, Graham_Devon,

The stock market has historically returned far more than cash; this is because in general more risk taken = better returns. It is perfectly possible to double - or halve! - your money in very short order.

The last three years have been very good for investors, so like most of us your friend has enjoyed a run of good luck as much as judgement. However, while there is no guarantee of this happy state of affairs continuing, over the long term those who accept investment risk should be more richly rewarded than those who remain in cash.

Have a look at Incademy for some basic ( free ) courses. The Motley Fool also has some excellent articles ( ignore the Champion Shares plug ) and first class investment discussion boards.

HTH

Cheerfulcat

Graham_Devon

That's helped, thankyou.

It would take me 17 years to double my money at todays interest rates and paying tax.

That's why I would like to get into this a bit more, but investing 4k would be investing 6% of what I have, so based on that, if I lost it all, could recoup it in about a year and a half through doing nothing.

At least, that's my theory.....which ultimately could get me in a lot of trouble!!

jamesd

Graham_Devon, if doing it yourself, do remember to spread your risk. That 4000 should be in 4 funds in different sectors of the market and/or regions if they have the common 1000 per fund minimum.

So if you wanted it, that Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities fund should be just 1/4 of the money. If you want quite high risk you might add in a far eastern fund (also very volatile), something for the US and something for the UK. "Something" being very general and imprecise, deliberately obviously so.

Dunstonh might have something more helpful to say since I'm currently approximately a complete beginner in this area, just above clueless newbie.