How to wisely invest in funds

Whether you are planning a trip, buying a new car or refrigerator, you need to be informed in order to make the best decision. The same applies to investing in stocks, bonds or investment funds. Being informed helps you make a "smarter" investment decision.

If you deposit your money, you earn interest. If you buy stocks of a company paying dividends, you earn the dividend, and if the price of the stock rises, you earn the difference in the price as well. If you make long-term investments in capital markets, you can take over a slightly higher level of risk and invest in, for example, stocks or equity funds. Their prices will rise and fall during investment, but in a longer period such investments can earn, on average, more than deposits whose annual interest can easily be lost due to inflation.

Investment funds collect capital from a large number of investors with the aim of joint investment of collected assets into various securities - stocks, bonds, treasury bills, etc. Total fund investments are usually called the fund portfolio, which is divided into so-called fund units. By receiving a new payment from a client, the fund "issues" a respective number of new units, while deposit withdrawal, i.e. sale "redeems" a respective number of units.

Funds are managed by investment fund management companies or professional fund managers in accordance with the fund strategy set out in the Prospectus, i.e. basic fund document. In this way, the possibility of achieving yield compared to standard types of saving is higher. Additionally, most people neither have the time nor knowledge for dealing with investments as fund managers do (fund analysis, selection and monitoring).

Before investing into a fund, consider all your assets, current and future financial needs as well as your risk preferences in relation to the type of investment. You then select the most suitable fund based on the risk you are willing to take and your expected yield. After buying units, monitor the value of your investment and do not forget that usually the higher the potential yield of an investment, the higher the risk and vice versa.

5 tips for investing in funds wisely

1. "Don’t put all your eggs in one basket." Diversify your investments in order to reduce the risk. It is important that the average value of your investment increases.
2. Make long-term investments, especially when dealing with stocks or equity funds since this significantly reduces the risk of deposit reduction.
3. Examine the strategy of the fund before choosing it - examine the strategy (in the Prospectus of the fund) in order to know what kind of assets and which sectors or countries the fund invests in.
4. Do not be influenced by others - avoid the "herd mentality". Do not buy or sell certain assets just because others are doing it. Successful investors often do the opposite of what most people do.
5. Monitor your investment by observing fund unit price trends since this will simplify your decision-making regarding the division of your investments into different funds (regions or sectors). Markets change and so do your life circumstances.
   

The measure of success is the increase in unit value or yield of the fund (expressed as a percentage). The unit value changes depending on the changes in prices of securities into which the fund invests its capital. For example, if the securities owned by the fund increase by an average 9% over a period of one year, this automatically implies the increase in the assets of the fund and the increase in the value of each individual unit in the fund accounting for 9%. Following the calculation of fees, this yield is somewhat lower because all fund costs, such as the fund management fee, the depositary fee and other costs are included in the unit cost.

Solutions for different needs, desires and possibilities

Your desires, opportunities and objectives determine the investment style and the choice of the type of fund in which you invest funds. If you want to earn extra income by investing in domestic and global capital markets (compared to, for example, interest on deposit), but without a large financial burden or start-up capital, you can invest through a standing order from HRK 100, EUR 15 or USD 15 a month. For this you can use different types of investment funds - stock, bond, balanced and others. You determine the amount of the monthly payment into an investment fund and the investment term yourself, depending on your financial situation, investment objectives and circumstances in the capital markets.

Equally acceptable monthly amounts (EUR 15) are also sufficient for investing into funds with maturity date with a specific strategy and reducing investment risk.

In case of larger amounts, choose the fund that will be aligned with the level of risk acceptable to you so that you can, for example, earn more than the inflation rate, save something “on the side” for emergencies, benefit from additional income (interest, dividends, capital gains), fulfil your financial dreams or improve your own or your family’s level of financial security.

For higher initial deposits, there are also private placement funds - an easy way to invest in very specific strategies, designed for a small circle of investors or a specialized portfolio management service, which includes an individual approach tailored to the client.