What is an online investment advisory service?
Aimed at DIY investors or those who would like to be, our service provides regular updates of our investment recommendations for long term investors, covering the choice between cash, bonds and equities and suggested portfolios of equities, investment trusts and bonds. We advise you when to buy and sell assets to try and get the best out of your investments for long term wealth accumulation.
I’ve decided which investment choice to make, how and where do I invest my money?
For regulatory reasons we cannot recommend any particular investment platform but there are many online offerings (for example, google ‘investment dealing’) that provide cost effective dealing where you can buy and sell investments.
What is an investment platform?
In this context we mean an online stockbroking company that allows the DIY investor to buy and sell shares and other assets over the internet.
How often do I receive communications from IpsoFacto?
You will receive updates to our investment advice at least monthly (although these may be to make no changes to your investments) or more often if we think it is necessary.
What subscription options does IpsoFacto Investor offer?
After an initial two month free period, we have one subscription of £10 a month.
How do I subscribe to IpsoFacto Investor?
Go to ‘Sign Up’ and follow the instructions. For the free two month trial you do not give any payment details. To continue as a member when your free period has expired, you will need to log in and follow the payment instructions. Recurring monthly payments are made via Stripe.
Is my money guaranteed to make profit?
Investments are risky and none of our recommendations guarantees a profit. We think that our diversified approach and quantitative techniques can lower some of the risks of investing; but investors should take seriously the warning that past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future and that the price of shares and other investments, and the income derived from them, may fall as well as rise and the amount realised may be less than the original sum invested.
How do I keep track of my investment’s performance?
We will send you monthly updates of the performance of our recommended portfolios; your investment platform provider will usually have a system for showing the current value of your specific investments and the profit or loss on them.
Can you offer more personalised investment advice?
Currently, we are not regulated to offer investment advice specific to an individual but are investigating offering this service in the future. We can answer general investment questions without giving specific advice.
How can I research the investment trusts or equities you suggest?
We provide certain research data on our website; discounts and performance in the case of investment trusts and some of the important numbers for valuation purposes in the case of individual equities. You can find further information on the relevant company websites.
How much time do I need to allocate to my portfolio?
After any initial set up, the amount of time you allocate will depend on your circumstances, but you should expect to spend an average of at least an hour a month to following our recommendations.
Are there any tax implications?
Each person should take tax advice appropriate to their own circumstances, if in any doubt. Our advice is aimed principally, but not exclusively, at investors using ISAs and SIPPs, where capital gains tax will not be an issue.
What happens if an investment trust, fund manager or company goes into liquidation? Will I lose all my money?
If a fund manager goes into liquidation, this should not affect the value of your investments since, unless there has been unlawful use of assets, your investments should be held in a vehicle that is separate to the fund manager and physically by a third party that is also separate to the fund manager.
If you do hold an investment trust or company that goes into liquidation, then there is a potential to lose most, if not all, your money. However, for investment trusts, this is highly unlikely in terms of our recommendations, as we do not invest in trusts that have borrowings that make up a large proportion of assets. Equally, in terms of individual companies, while liquidation here is more possible, we do not advise investing in companies where debt is more than 45% of the Enterprise Value (debt and market capitalisation combined).
How do I cancel my subscription?
You can cancel your subscription at any time in ‘My Account’ on the website and monthly subscriptions will be automatically cancelled with Stripe/PayPal (payment method depends on when you signed up).
What does it mean when it says IpsoFacto Investor are regulated by the FCA?
Any companies giving investment advice in the UK need to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which is the body appointed by the Government to oversee investment advice to individuals, among other things.
Regulation imposes certain rules of conduct in the way that investment advice is charged for, presented and marketed. Investors can complain to the FCA if they think they have not been treated properly by the regulated company.
How can I contact IpsoFacto Investor?
Details of how to get in touch are given on the Contact Page.