UK investors are failing to regularly review their portfolios, according to research issued by New Star Asset Management.
The research, conducted in association with NMG research, surveyed 617 seasoned investors. They were asked how frequently they reviewed their investment portfolio.
37.1% of the investors surveyed never review their investment portfolio, with 13.6% reviewing it every two years or less, and 27.8% only every year. This means nearly 80% of investors do not review their portfolios from one year to the next. Only 21.4% review their portfolio every six months or less.
“The infrequency with which individual investors review their portfolios is alarming,” says Rob Page, Marketing Director, at New Star Investment Funds. “It indicates that investors have been failing to change their investment portfolios, despite massive changes in the macro and micro economic environment over the past few years. Such an approach has meant that many investors will have missed out on opportunities, and may have suffered significant losses. As professional fund managers, we actively manage our funds to take account of the daily factors which can affect investment performance. However, given the amount of time and expertise required to successfully manage an investment portfolio, it is not surprising that many investors simply don’t get round to regularly reviewing their situation. Such individuals should consider seeking professional investment advice from the IFAs who regularly review their clients’ portfolios and asset allocation. However, both individuals and IFAs may wish to consider a fund of funds approach, where the responsibility for balancing of differing asset classes within a portfolio is outsourced to specialist investment houses.”