PERSONAL ASSETS: A trust that is self-managed and run by its own board not an external investment firm
Personal Assets is self-managed and run by its own board rather than by an external investment firm
WHAT DOES IT DO?
Personal Assets is slightly unusual, in that it is self-managed and run by its own board rather than by an external investment firm.
It aims to protect and only then increase investors’ wealth.
WHAT DOES IT INVEST IN?
The £1billion trust invests in companies around the world, and ploughs a substantial amount into gold, bonds, and cash.
Its UK exposure includes Unilever, and Diageo, while it also invests in US giants such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola and American Express.
WHAT DO THE EXPERTS LIKE?
Laura Suter, at AJ Bell, says: ‘It’s good for more risk-averse investors as the main approach is to avoid loss of capital.
‘It also publishes all of its holdings information each month – a rarity.’
ANY DOWNSIDES?
Suter adds: ‘Spread across different markets and more conservative, it will underperform equity markets in a boom.
Over the past five years it has returned 32 per cent while the FTSE All-Share has delivered 49 per cent.
It has considerably outperformed the RPI.’