Zenith IBF US Dollar Bond Fund: Suitability

The Fund would be suitable for those with shorter-term investment horizons or where capital preservation is of importance.

In broad terms bonds have historically outperformed cash, but is a more volatile asset class than cash.

Investing for retirement, as with all investment opportunities, is about balancing performance against risk.  The tolerance to risk will depend on a whole range of factors; for example, whether or not other savings exist to fall back on.  However, the most important consideration is likely to be age and the period remaining until retirement.  Typically, a younger investor may be more likely to invest in equities.  As the years pass by, the investor may look to consolidate gains by switching out of equities into less volatile investments such as bond and cash funds.

The Fund would be appropriate for a balanced strategy where investment is allocated into a mixture of equities and bonds, say 50/50 with at least 6 years to retirement.

The Fund would also be appropriate to someone close to retirement.

The Fund might also be part of a cautious strategy, 60% bonds and 40% cash. This strategy contains no equities and therefore will not be affected by the ups and downs of world stockmarkets. Currency will be a key consideration to avoid any loss of capital due to foreign exchange fluctuations.

The Fund should be attractive to US Dollar investors or other investors willing to take an exchange rate risk.