We do not suggest that a backward looking report of this nature should be seen as a blueprint for future decisions. Just because commodities and emerging markets have produced stunning results in the past ten years and most of the rest has been appalling, we don’t suggest that investors should rush into these areas. What we do highlight however are a couple of points that should apply for all times:

1. Investors do not diversify enough


2. the overweighting of the UK is not conducive to a balanced, logical approach


3. the pension fund managers fail compared to virtually any other option available to investors (see “are there better ways of investing your pension?”)


4. there is a staggering mismanagement of investors money in the managed fund sector, where the only thing the companies seem to “manage” is to keep savers money below any respectable measure of return.