YOUR PORTFOLIO
Going it alone
There is an old adage that suggests if you want something to be done properly , you need to do it yourself . But in terms of buying individual shares rather than outsourcing portfolio management to the professionals , does it stand ? The answer is no , not really – but with several caveats . Someone can build a significant pot of savings through their own hard work and ingenuity , but unless they work in financial services , they would likely be happy to admit they can ’ t orchestrate their own retirement plan , mitigate taxes or effectively arrange estate planning . So why do some people feel they can run a share portfolio if they aren ’ t a fund manager ? Perhaps more importantly , why would they want to ? “ It ’ s often down to personal interest ,” says Malcolm Steel , client strategy director at Edinburgh-based Mearns & Company . “ It might be someone who actively follows the market just because they are keen . It could be a client who is a fund manager and knows the market inside-out . If they had a particular idea they wanted to explore , we wouldn ’ t get in the way of that .”
Jumping in at the deep end Another reason is wanting to learn . “ For many outside the industry , investing in ‘ the market ’ seems like a bit of dark art , so by buying and selling shares directly – not necessarily with big amounts – they gain a better understanding of how it all works ,” Steel adds . As he has visibility of these holdings through his company ’ s chosen platform , he can see how clients get on when they decide to trade individual shares on a non-advised basis . This only applies to about
/ 24 / trustnet . com