Thank you for your replies.
I can accept *some* risk (that's why I said £1k-20k - the amount invested would depend on the risk of the investment opportunity).
Thank you for the suggestion of Jupiter. I will have a look on that. By the way - how do you choose a fund? Are there any websites which in a clear way present and review some top funds (e.g. taking into account minimum investment etc.) around the world?
Also, I was wondering (probably more thinking about the future) - where can I learn more about portfolio managers and firms providing such services? Unfortunately, Google didn't want to help on this point... it seems like becoming a manager is easier than finding one...
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Most retail funds tend to have a minimum lump sum of £1000 (£500 in some cases), or regular monthly of £50, although if you go via a platform / supermarket they often accept smaller lumps as part of a larger overall investment.
As for how you choose a fund, that's a complicated question. The most important consideration is what suits you - sorry, but that really is the case. For example, have a look at how First Sate Asia Pacific Leaders performed against its sector or in fact most Asia Pacific Ex Japan funds during the recent unpleasantness. The downside is that the investment process that helps in poor periods should cause the fund to lag during strong bull markets.
As a general rule, I tend to like funds with fairly obvious traits, such as long-standing, experienced managers who have the freedom to back their convictions (no benchmark +/- 5% nonsense), a clearly stated and disciplined investment process, flexibility and so on. But it all depends on your requirements. Look at the Schroder UK Alpha Plus fund - in my opinion excellent, but the manager runs a concentrated and frequently very contrarian portfolio that requires a strong stomach. If you can't hold it through the massive volatility and periods of 4th quartile performance that his style entails, it's not right for you.
There's nothing wrong with starting with the obvious - this is a list of usual suspects that you might like to look into:
UK - Invesco Perpetual High Income, M&G Recovery, Schroder UK Alpha Plus.
Fixed Interest - M&G Optimal Income
Global - Neptune Global Equity, M&G Global Basics
Emerging / Far East - First State Asia Pacific Leaders, First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders, Allianz RCM BRIC Stars
Again though, these might be totally wrong for your circumstances, attitude to risk, personality etc.
If you don't know what you're doing, you really should go to see a good IFA, but make sure you question them closely to gauge how much they understand. Many IFAs in my experience really don't know all that much about the investment side.
Choosing a good one is very difficult without a personal recommendation, but I'd avoid anyone that isn't completely upfront about their charges. There's no hard and fast rule, but for example: you go to a bank and see a tied adviser who flogs you an investment bond and charges 7% upfront for the privilege. Don't be surprised if they're not that bothered about seeing you next year when you want a review but haven't got any more money to invest. On the other hand, if you go to an adviser that charges say 2% upfront and 0.5% trail, there's a better chance that they're going to be interested in keeping you happy.
Doing your own research is a bit tricky as a punter, but you might want to have a look at some of these (just Google them and they'll come out at the top):
Citywire
Morningstar
Trustnet
Another good source is actually the websites of the managers concerned, although many have restricted areas where most of the in-depth information is. S&P produce quite useful reports on a lot of funds - you can sometimes get these via the provider websites.
Be careful with past performance - it's not useless, but you have to be able to interpret it to see if it has any potential relevance. Don't do the usual thing that a lot of punters do - "This property fund has made 60% in the last 3 years - I'd better invest right away!".
If you see a fund that you're interested in, PM and I'll be happy to see if there's any info I can send you on it. Don't forget though that when you're looking at managed funds, you're paying extra charges - the manager has to outperform (or at least perform in a certain way, such as reducing volatility) or it's not worth the additional charges.
All that said, please don't take any of the above as advice - it's just someone's opinion on the internet. If you are unsure, get professional advice from a competent and independent adviser.
Finally (sorry for the ramble lol), money that you "need" (the word that you used) in a year should be kept in cash.
No ifs, no buts.
Anything else and there is a real risk that you will have less in 12 months than you do now. Markets have been (more or less) straight up for a year - the longer that continues, the closer we come to a decent pullback. That's not a problem if you can ride it out, but if you have a requirement for your money in the short term you could find yourself in the middle of it when you've got to cash out.
