What's My Profile?
We've put together a series of questions that are designed to get you thinking about your longer term investments, and what sort of funds you might choose to invest in. In considering your long term investments we assume that you have taken care of your Cash Reserve and Short Term Money.
1) How would you describe your current lifestyle?
Young, free and single
Double income no kids
2 point 4 children
Empty nest
Separated or divorced
2) Which of the following money personalities do you think you are most like?
Ostrich – don’t understand money, don’t like to think about it
Coaster – comfortable as you are
Squirrel – excellent saver, enjoys watching a growing bank balance
False Optimist – rack up debt thinking it will be alright
Striver – earn lots, spend lots, maybe even champagne lifestyle beer money
High roller – risk taking thrill seeker, always looking for a quick buck
3) Now consider your actual financial situation
Assets and Liabilities – do you have more assets than liabilities?
Income and Expenditure – do you spend less than you earn?
Savings and Investments – are there as many as there should be?
4) What do you daydream about? What is your ideal lifestyle? If you had all the money you needed and never had to work again what would you do with your time?
I’d like to…
I’d like to…
I’d like to…
5) How much will the above lifestyle cost? That is, what level of income do you need to do the things you want?
£10k?, £20K?, £50k?, £100k+?
The above questions are intended to get you thinking, no more, but certainly no less.
The best way to ensure you start living your dream lifestyle sooner rather than later is to start planning your savings and investments towards this now.
The questions below will help you to understand how your money could be invested to help you achieve your goals and in a way that suits you. Make a note of your score as you go along.
6) Which statement best describes your objectives when you invest?
I don’t like to take risks and am not prepared to expose myself to high volatility to earn higher returns. Stable annual returns are what I need. (Score 1)
I want to achieve higher long term returns and am prepared to tolerate reasonable levels of volatility. (Score 2)
I want to maximise my returns over the long term and don’t worry too much about short term market movements. (Score 3)
7) Say that one year ago you invested £20,000 and today it’s worth £15,000, what would you do?
Switch the investments in to less risky funds? (Score 1)
Switch part of the investments in to less risky funds? (Score 2)
Sit tight and wait for the market to recover? (Score 3)
Invest more money in the same portfolio? (Score 4)
Switch some or all of the portfolio in to more risky assets to try to make up the losses faster? (Score 5)
8) My main concern is security. Keeping my money safe is more important than earning higher returns.
Srongly agree (Score 1)
Agree (Score 2)
Neutral (Score 3)
Disagree (Score 4)
Strongly disagree (Score 5)
9) Do you have a cash reserve or short term money to cover upcoming expenses or even unexpected financial commitments?
No, not really (Score 1)
Yes, but very small amounts (Score 2)
Yes, up to 3 months gross salary (Score 3)
Yes, up to six months salary (Score 4)
Yes, up to 12 months salary or more (Score 5)
10) The table below sets out your age and the percentage of your total assets that you are looking to invest. Remember your total assets are your assets minus your liabilities. Take the score from the relevant box and add it to your overall score.
| 1-5% | 6-10% | 10-20% | 20-30% | 30-40% | 41-50% | 50% + | |
| 18-30 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 31-40 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 41-50 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 51-60 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 60+ | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Now you can add up your score and use the table below to think about what funds you could invest your money in.
The percentages in the table below are only an indication of what you might be comfortable with. In practice you may choose different amounts and even different sectors to invest in. The important thing is that your investments are tailored to your requirements.
| Score | Investment Spread | |||||
| Bonds/Gilts/Fixed Interest | UK Equity | UK Smaller Companies | International Equity | International Smaller Companies | Emerging Markets | |
| 5-7 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 8-10 | 75% | 9% | 4% | 6% | 3% | 3% |
| 11-15 | 50% | 18% | 8% | 12% | 6% | 6% |
| 16-20 | 25% | 27% | 12% | 18% | 9% | 9% |
| 21-23 | 0% | 36% | 16% | 24% | 12% | 12% |
What does that all mean?
Well if you had £20,000 to invest and you scored 16 then you could consider investing:
- £5,000 in Fixed Interest funds
- £5,400 in UK Equity funds
- £2,400 in UK Smaller Company funds
- £3,600 in International Equity funds
- £1,800 in International Smaller Company funds
- £1,800 in Emerging Markets funds
NOTE: The above figures are for illustration purposes only and do not form any sort of recommendation for your specific needs.
