Wealth manager HFM Columbus says there are concerns around investors signing up for funds operating in sectors such as emerging markets and commodities, which are currently being heavily marketed.

Rob Pemberton, investment director at HFM Columbus, says, ‘Investment firms frequently work on the principle of “if the ducks quack, feed them” and aggressively promote areas of the market that have performed strongly – often launching new funds into areas they perceive as “easy sells” to less sophisticated investors.’

HFM Columbus believes that investment decisions should always be based on the long-term value they offer rather than simply extrapolating current hot trends.

‘Remember, markets climb a wall of worry, so if an investment is claimed to be an obvious open goal then the game will already have moved on somewhere else. A good example is the craze for commercial property in 2006 – and we all know what happened there,’ Pemberton concludes.