Shaun had a strong year in 2011 and reached the second stage of the European Tour School.

We are confident that Shaun will have a successful year on tour and wish him the very best.

If you would like to follow Shaun you can do so on Twitter (@shaunmcall) or visit his website www.shaunmcallister.com

Check out the Neptune UK Mid Cap Fund, top in its sector over 3 Years and only £8 million in size.  Mark Martin is the young manager who runs this. Mark is very positive in his outlook for the year ahead. Further details can be found on www.neptunefunds.com.

Neptune are one of the UK’s leading Fund Management Groups and their US fund is represented in our growth portfolios. We also like thier Income, European and Russian funds.

Please contact us on 0131 226 6700 if you would like further information.

If you wish to look at investing in South America or other Emerging Markets then please let us know.

Invesco Perpetual funds are represented in all of our portfolios.

Always seek professional advice when investing in equities

Between 2011 and 2020 the FSA thinks that 1.5m such mortgages, worth £120bn, will be due for repayment. The FSA believes that 80% of the borrowers have no repayment strategy for these mortgages, and will enter retirement in debt because of this. 

Source: Rosie Murray-West – The Telegraph, 4 April 2012 

Many clients will have to find alternative ways to repay their Mortgage. One solution would be to set up a Lifetime Mortgage, where they would continue to repay just the interest on the loan until such time as their property is sold. If you would like find out more about how this could benefit you, please feel free to call Ali.

 The fund has a blend of Equities and Fixed Income and aims to provide a yield of over 6% per annum.

 The fund has 11 holdings, some of which can be found in our Growth Portfolios as well as new additions in Threadneedle, Artemis, Hambro, Marlborough and Royal London.

 Investment themes abound throughout and for the first time we have included a direct Ethical holding. All of the new funds will be added to our Investment Club.

 This fund is suitable for those looking for a high level of income and can be accessed as a direct holding, ISA or SIPP.

 A Morningstar breakdown of the fund is attached  Robmac High Income – Apr12

 For more details please contact us enquiries@robmac.co.uk

The basis for successful theme investment lies in the indentification of long-term structural changes in social, environmentaland demographic factors such as ageing and population growth. We call these long-term changes “megatrends”.

Pictet had indentified nine megatrends, each of which has identifiable long-term drivers which we believe will yield investment opportunities: agriculture, biotechnology, clean energy, digital communication, generic drug production, premium brands, security, timber and water.

The themes can be grouped into three broad categories:  environmental, (timber, clean energy, water and agriculture) social; (premium brands, security and digital communication) and demographic (generics, biotechnology and once again water and agriculture).

The external environment is one of the most important factors influencing share price. Structural changes in the macro economic environment have implications for all industries and individual stocks.

Consider water as an investment theme. Population growth is the increasing demand for clean water worldwide, particulary in emerging markets. Investment opportunities exist across the entire water cycle from water sourcing to water distribution, waste-water collection and treatment. Investors provide vital capital to these industries which are striving to deliver the vital resource. Demand will only increase over time.

The rising global population also means a higher demand for food and the need for the agricultural sector to sufficiently increase output to feed the global population. In addition, a greater prosperity in emerging countries is leading to more meat consumption, which means land resources is needed to provide the necessary feed-stock for animals. The Pictet-Agriculture fund invests in companies who help increase professionalization in farming and help to ensure that the world is able to feed the growing population.

There is a significant difference between the dot com boom and bust in 2001 and the new digital era.  Seven year old children can navigate across the internet with ease.  Generation Y are immersed in technology. Digital media is the forum for communication – have you ever tried to part a teenager from their mobile phone!

With the digital revolution also comes the risk of information passing too easily across cyberspace. Corporations now spend billions of pounds in new technology to protect themselves and their customers from cyber attack. The result is an emerging security industry, which is seeking solutions to protect companies and individuals. But security extends beyond cyberspace, in an increasingly risk averse society people want to feel safer and protect their families from physical and emotional harm.

In volatile markets where share prices move violently it pays not to focus on what is happening in the short term, or investing in “get rich quick” fads, but to seek longer-term trends that will provide investment opportunities for the mid to long-term investor.

Details of Pictet’s global megatrend, water, agriculture and clean energy funds can be found in our investment club. Always seek professional advice before you invest.

These themes are represented in all our portfolios.