The Share Centre announces new funds initiatives for 2008

The second half of 2007 offered a sharp reminder of just how volatile markets can be, with even seasoned investors left to question where to invest in 2008.

With investor confidence in need of a boost, retail stockbroker The Share Centre has launched two new funds initiatives for the ISA season – helping to reduce potential risks through the diversification offered by funds.

Funds ISA

The Share Centre’s Funds ISA offers investors the choice of over 1,400 funds from well-known investment companies using a tax efficient wrapper. The Funds ISA has no annual fee and will provide investors the flexibility to mix and match the funds they want to include, depending on their appetite for risk.

Funds are accessible via www.share.com using the FundPicker tool. This tool allows investors to find funds by filtering (by fund manager and /or performance) or from a shortlist of ‘preferred funds’ which meet certain investment objectives (index tracking, growth, protected growth and global exposure). If investors are still unsure which funds are right for them they can get advice from The Share Centre’s expert in-house Advice Team.

As part of Share plc’s proposed admission to AIM, The Share Centre is offering 200 free shares in Share plc to customers who fully subscribe to either their DIY, or Funds ISA in the 2007/08 or 2008/09 tax years. The Share Centre will also pay up to £300 in switching costs for investors wishing to transfer an ISA or PEP. For more information on the Funds ISA visit share.com/fundsisa.

Funds of Funds

For investors wishing to further diversify their portfolios, The Share Centre is also promoting a new Funds of Funds service, the SF Portfolio of Funds from its sister company, Sharefunds. The Funds of Funds will give investors access to a fund manager who will select from top performing funds. This gives investors access to an even wider range of investments and even more diversification than investing in a single fund. In addition, because a Fund of Funds pools the money of multiple investors, it gives investors the opportunity to invest in funds where the minimum investment levels would otherwise be prohibitive to individual investors.

The SF Portfolio of Funds is an Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC), which is a company set up to invest money on behalf of its shareholders. The SF Portfolio consists of three funds, each with a different investment objective and offering varying degrees of risk:

The ‘Cautious’ Fund is aimed at those investors who wish to derive income from their investment. The fund managers will be looking to generate an income yield in excess of 4% p.a. by investing in funds that offer access to gilts, bonds and UK equity shares.

The ‘Positive’ Fund aims to achieve a balance between income and growth, through investments in funds that have exposure to gilts, bonds, UK equity shares, property and additionally overseas markets such as Europe, the US and Japan.

The ‘Adventurous’ Fund is aimed at those investors looking solely for growth. The investment philosophy will be to identify those funds that have strong UK exposure, whether through blue chip companies or recovery/smaller companies. In addition, it will also look to benefit from European, US, Japan and emerging market exposure, whilst not losing sight of the potential opportunities available through commodity funds.

The Funds of Funds allow small regular and lump sum investments. Regular contribution levels start from as little as £10 per month per fund, (but an initial lump sum contribution of £25 will need to be made). For lump sum investors, the minimum is set at a manageable £25 per fund. Costs are also kept low: the initial charge is 0.5%, whilst the annual management charge is a very competitive 1%. However, as part of the launch Sharefunds is offering no initial charge until 29th February 2008. During this period shares within all the Funds (Cautious, Positive and Adventurous) will be £1. The Funds of Funds can be held in an ISA, PEP, a Child Trust Fund or a Self Invested Personal Pension.

Andy Parsons, Advice Team Manager at The Share Centre said: “With the outlook for global markets remaining uncertain, our new fund initiatives provide investors with a low-cost shelter, with the potential for good returns.

“The collective investment nature of Funds of Funds helps reduce the costs, investment decisions and potential risks by increasing investment opportunities through overcoming the obstacles of minimum investment levels. There is the added appeal that you are not going it alone and investors can capitalise on the time and expertise of a fund manager.”

For more information on the Fund of Funds visit share.com/fundoffunds.