Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2013 | Page 137

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Financial issues with Paul St. John Martin

The prospect for
future investment
The media regularly seek the views
and opinions of leading economists,
analysts and market commentators
on where the investment market is
heading.
Unsurprisingly, the only consistency
in their response is the lack of
consistency.
So what are the real prospects for
investment markets for the next three
months, twelve months or three years?
Nobody really knows. What we do
know is that, historically, taking a
medium to long term view is a proven
route to investment success.
Generally, investors should always
try to avoid concerns over short term
market fluctuations – no matter
how volatile the past few years have
been – and stay focussed on long
term returns, allowing investments
sufficient time to realise their
potential.
The performance of investments
can make a critical difference to your
future financial well-being, so reliable
financial advice, investment products
and fund managers you can trust are
important.

Successful investment can help to be
achieved by adhering to five guiding
principles:
1. Invest for the longer term, because
the shorter term is unpredictable.
2. Keep enough funds aside in liquid
assets to meet shorter term needs and
any emergencies.
3. Never ignore the risk of having to
face a period of significant inflation
and place longer term investments into
real assets that stand the best chance of
outpacing it.
4. Diversify investments as widely as
possible by spreading money between
a number of investment managers with
differing styles of investing.
5. Find t