I’ve always had an avid interest in investing and share trading, but what really scares me is the volatility of the markets. Unless you really now what you are doing, picking your own stocks is a serious gamble, and even if you stick to the blue chips, 5%-10% gains would be considered pretty good…

Managed funds on the other hand are, to me, a bit of a no brainer. You’ve got a full time fund manager who is probably one of the brightest minds the company has, managing a collective pool of money to invest in a specific industry or region. Personally I’ve no issue with trusting an expert with my money more than myself who is comparitivly clueless.

Rabo Direct have a very straighforward way of getting into funds. You can start with as little as €100, put in money whenever you like, and the charges are pretty good value I think anyway. The fun comes in choosing which funds to invest in - this is where it is up to you. Now I know all the “Past performance is no guarantee of future returns” bullshit, but really,take a look at some of them, and you have to just laugh at anyone who has money on deposit in a bank.

Take a look at the following funds and their performace over the last 12 months:

China Fund - 44%
World Mining - 51%
Emerging Stars - 35%