Trustnet Magazine Issue 11 October 2015 | Page 20

INVESTMENT STRATEGY SMALL CAPS These are the growth figures you don’t want to see in your next ISA Annual Platform Fees over 10 years* £1,000 0.45% £900 0.40% £800 0.35% £700 £600 0.25% £500 £400 £300 Trustnet Direct £200 £100 0 1yr 2yrs 3yrs 4yrs 5yrs 6yrs 7yrs 8yrs 9yrs 10yrs *The graph displays platform fees plus the cost of 5 transactions per annum with Trustnet Direct compared with platforms charging 0.45%, 0.40%, 0.35% and 0.25% per annum in platform fees. Assumes £15,000 new ISA limit invested each year for 10 years and assumes 5% growth net of charges. The good news is that if you invest the new ISA limit of £15,000 per annum over the next 10 years and it grows at 5% per annum net of charges, you’ll have built a nest egg of over £198,000 tax-free. The bad news is that platform fees can seriously damage your wealth, as the chart above shows. At Trustnet Direct, we charge 0.25% in platform fees but cap it at just £250 max per annum (£200 + 5 trades at £10 per trade). We may not be the cheapest on day one, but when your investments grow, your charges don’t. So, if you want a premium platform, without the premium price tag, open your next ISA with Trustnet Direct. Trustnet Direct does not provide advice on the suitability of investments. It is an execution-only service. If you are unsure about the suitability of investments, seek independent financial advice. The price and value of investments and their income fluctuates: you may get back less than the amount you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Prevailing tax rates and relief are dependent on your individual circumstances and are subject to change. Set your account up now at: www.trustnetdirect.com Trustnet Direct is a trading style of Trustnet Limited, Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. “Five years ago you would have found that smaller company investment trusts were sitting on much larger discounts, which would have affected their share price returns. A combination of NAV growth and discount narrowing would have led to accelerated share price returns and for those trusts that employed prodigious gearing, the returns would have been enhanced further.” Today, these discounts have come down somewhat, with the average UK smaller companies fund sitting 7 to 8 per cent below NAV, which Urquhart says is narrower than the 12-month average of 11 per cent. He notes much of the narrowing took trustnetdirect.com TODAY, THESE DISCOUNTS HAVE COME DOWN SOMEWHAT, WITH THE AVERAGE UK SMALLER COMPANIES FUND SITTING 7 TO 8 PER CENT BELOW NAV place after the UK general election, although there is a wide range of discounts within the sector. For example, Stuart Widdowson’s Strategic Equity Capital trust, which tops the sector over one, three and five years, is currently trading at a 7 per cent premium Ѽ