I get it, there are always reasons NOT to invest in your pension. Let’s look at the last 10 years.

We’ve had the turbulent run up to, and after-math, of Brexit in 2016 - still being felt across Europe today. In 2018, we had President Trump starting the long-running, and still continuing, trade wars with China impacting across Asia and the Emerging Markets economies. In 2020 we were dealt the hammer-blow of the pandemic and the ramifications of lockdowns around the world. Then by 2022 we had seen Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine triggering a blistering rise in energy costs that resulted in supply-chain blockages that helped to drive inflation to 40-year highs. This culminated in a cost of living crisis and the most aggressive interest rate hiking in a generation.

We have seen significant rotation in returns between equities and bond markets. Most recently we have seen the dominance of the US market, led by the mega-cap tech names, most notably the ‘magnificent 7’.

However, there is one reason to invest:

Over the last 10 years, our recommended shares pension portfolio has returned 162%.

Even a ‘medium’ risk investment strategy our recommended pension portfolio has returned 84%.

Invest Long Term

You see, investing in your pension is investing for the long-term. The average UK 65-year-old is likely to live until their late 80’s. For those living in affluent North-West Bristol its likely to be well into your 90’s and perhaps beyond. And even then, with pension flexibility and generous Inheritance Tax breaks – pensions can now be used as trust funds passed down the generations free of tax to help children and grandchildren with their own retirement goals.

And so, the value of quality pension investment advice in helping families with their financial goals can often be seen over 50 years plus timeframes!

Invest in Quality and Diversify

The way for your pension to deliver robust, consistent returns is to have your pension invested pragmatically with a broad portfolio diversification helping your funds to ride out the worst of the downturns along the way.

Unless you have the time and expertise (and interest!), take initial and on-going advice and have the management of your pension portfolio’s risks and returns supervised by a dedicated team of investment professionals. Do not leave your whole retirement to chance by picking yesterday’s winners or be stuck in an expensive, under-performing default pension fund.

When being advised, watch out for ‘one-size fits all’ solutions. One of the first things to ask your pensions / financial adviser is – are you independent? This is your retirement we are working towards, not your Financial Adviser’s! Therefore, you need an independently recommended pension portfolio, based on performance track-record – delivering consistently strong performance through rising and falling markets.

Complimentary Pension Review

Despite being people’s retirement fund and sometimes the second biggest asset behind the house, pension funds are chronically under-reviewed. Book a complimentary review today.

Call 0117 3636 212 or email office@haroldstephens.co.uk.

*Investments can go up as well as down and you may not get back what you initially invested.