Making the right choice

To the vast majority of people who have been saving hard for their retirement it is not surprising that mainstream investments are losing their appeal. Since the start of the century it has been a rollercoaster ride for anyone in a typical equity fund. In December 1999 the FTSE closed just short of 7000. Recently it rose 5% to the 6000 level but this still leaves many long term investors 15% worse off. During the last eleven years there have been falls greater than 20% in 2002 and 2008. Only a fool would stand up and say there will never be another stock market fall of 20% or more....