Five things your clients will call you about this week

Risk profiling, getting the right balance with pension funds and investing in America were all over the nationals at the weekend. Here's what your clients will be calling you about this week.

Risk profiling

This area of financial advice which the public may not necessarily have much knowledge about cropped up in the Guardian. The paper reported on the FSA's concerns about advisers who were failing to correctly identify people's ‘appetite for risk' and ‘capacity for loss'. Readers of the paper (and website) will be able to use Finametrica's tool to test themselves.

Pension risk

Also on the issue of risk, The Telegraph had an interesting piece on the strategies adopted by typical defined purchase pension schemes. According to some new research, default funds are starting to pull people out of equities too late, and when it does eventually happen, it is happening too far and too fast.

Investing in America

Is now the right time to invest in America? That the was the question asked by the Mail on Sunday, which contrasted that country's high unemployment, downgrading of the credit rating and atmosphere of protests with what appears to be steady economic growth, especially compared to other developed markets. Among the funds recommended by advisers for US exposure were the M&G American, Legg Mason US Smaller Companies and the JP Morgan American investment trust.

Maximising pension funds

The Mail on Sunday ran with a special report on how readers could get the best deal from their pension fund. Among the worst mistakes being made was for annuity buyers to simply opt for the first deal offered by whoever runs their pension fund, overlooking opportunities such as income drawdown, fixed-term annuities and investment-linked annuities. Importantly, the report stressed the value of good financial advice to get the best deal.

Playing it safe

Most people apparently want to play it safe and are more concerned with preserving money than gaining growth. That was according to a piece in the Independent of Sunday, which gave some suggestions of how investors can find the middle road. One expert said corporate bond funds could be the best option, particularly those which reinvest the dividends. The M&G Optimal Income fund was one such example.