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%