Benefits of Unit Trusts Investing

For an individual to maintain his own portfolio of investments, he needs to keep up to date with market information and sentiments. In today's sophisticated financial markets, this means having to embrace a wide range of information from a plethora of sources. For many individual investors, this is difficult, if not impossible and at times, very frustrating as they attempt to " keep on top " of the information pile. Investing in unit trusts transfers most of the necessary 'know-how' of investing to those best equipped to handle it - the professional fund managers.There are a number of other substantial benefits of investing in unit trusts that should be noted.

Way to Invest in Unit Trusts

Lump Sum Purchases

This is where an investor has a lump sum of monies to invest into a unit trust. This may be the only investment the investor wishes to make. Over a period of time (3-20 years), the initial investment will increase as distribution and other income is earned by the fund. When redemption or sale of the units take place, the unit-selling price will reflect the accumulation and compounding of capital over the relevant periods. It is this compounding effect over time which makes accumulation type investments, such as unit trusts, so attractive to the investor. For example, someone who has recently inherited a sum of money may wish to invest the funds into a unit trust and hold it for an extended period to save for some specific purpose. e.g. children's education. At the end of the holding period, the proceeds of the sale of the units will be the initial investment plus the returns on that amount, accumulated over the period.

What are Unit Trusts?

Unit Trusts are a form of collective investment that allows investors with similar investment objectives to pool their funds to be invested in a portfolio of securities or other assets. A professional fund manager then invests the pooled funds in a portfolio which may include the asset classes listed below:

• Cash • Bonds & Deposits • Shares • Properties • Commodities