Did you know that there are over 5,000 funds, investment trusts and ETFs available to personal investors in the EU. 5,579 in fact, last time we counted1. Having plenty of options is great, but we think that when it comes to choice, it’s important to distinguish between quantity and quality.
Time and time again, academic research has shown that when we have too much choice, we make worse decisions. This concept is called the ‘paradox of choice’. Worse still, sometimes having too many options can cause choice paralysis, whereby the overwhelm of choice and information means that you don’t make any decision at all.
At TILLIT, we believe that breadth and variety is key when it comes to picking your own investments, but that doesn’t mean you need (or even want) all 5,000+ options. In an ideal world, you’d have enough options to give you access to all asset classes, regions, styles and sectors that you’d want to consider, but without the choice paralysis. Why? Because deciding what to invest in also requires a bit of research in order to evaluate which options are right for you.
Let’s say that you’re looking to build a portfolio of funds and you have access to all of the 5,579 funds available in the market. In order to know which funds are the best fit for your needs and your investment objectives, you’ll need to do your homework. Let’s say that on average, it takes you around 2 hours to research and analyse a fund. On completing this research, you’ll know exactly what the fund is, what its objectives are and how it’s performing. Assuming you review one fund per day, every day, it would take you more than 30 years to review all 5,579 funds!
You might think that sounds a bit extreme, and you are right. First: it’s very unlikely that you’d review funds every single day for 30 years, including on weekends or when you’re on holiday, so it’s unlikely that you would be done after 30 years. Second: when we say that it would take 2 hours to review a fund in full – it would actually take much longer to do a thorough job unless you are extremely efficient, know exactly what you’re looking for, and where to find it. Third: we know it’s unlikely that you would review all of the 5,579 funds out there, partly due to the points raised earlier.
But as a responsible, independent, personal investor; you should. When you invest, it’s important that you know why you are investing and how the investments you have picked will help you achieve that goal. You could argue that it’s equally important to be sure that you’re rejecting the right funds too, because what if you missed a better alternative? Do you have enough time for that?
Unless you’re an investment professional and research is your full-time job (giving you access to data and industry information too, let’s not forget) it’s unlikely that you truly have the time to commit to doing your due diligence. That’s where TILLIT comes in.
At TILLIT, we do the heavy lifting for you, but without taking control of your portfolio. We offer a carefully curated Universe of funds, spanning six asset classes, dozens of investment styles and all corners of the globe. The TILLIT Universe includes some well-known classics, veterans and heavyweights of the fund world, as well as specialist boutiques, trailblazers and wildcards.
The admission criteria is tough. Each fund in the TILLIT Universe has been thoroughly researched by our Fund Selection team and approved by our Investment Committee. The members of our Investment Committee have a rare blend of industry expertise and over 100 years of cumulative experience in fund management, fund selection and personal wealth planning. They are industry insiders. With TILLIT, they work for you.
And what’s more - TILLIT is completely independent. We get no kickbacks, commissions or other incentives from asset managers, meaning that we really do only select the funds that we believe to be best-in-class for our Universe and ultimately, your portfolio. If a fund features on TILLIT, it’s because we think it’s worth it.
Once a fund has been approved by the Investment Committee, we get to work breaking down the jargon and writing our own executive summary - the TILLIT View - of what the fund does, what makes it special and what role it might play in your portfolio. We also give every fund a snappy one-line description, so you can see get a feel for what it’s all about at a glance. But that’s not all. As a customer, you also get access to unique and exciting content such as hard-hitting video interviews with fund managers and exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to fund research and Investment Committee reports.
Last but not least, when you invest on TILLIT, you get rewarded for being a long-term investor. Over time, platform fees and fund charges tend to build up and eat into your returns. That’s why we do things a bit differently at TILLIT. We only have one simple platform fee* and for every year you are a customer, we reduce it - regardless of how much money you have invested. It starts at 0.40% and drops by 0.01% every year until it reaches 0.25%. And what’s more - there are no trading fees, and you get to keep all of the interest earned on any uninvested cash.
Our mission is to give you everything you need to make great investment decisions and build a portfolio that’s right for you, all in one place. TILLIT means ‘trust’ in Swedish and our goal is to earn yours.
Have we piqued your interest? Explore TILLIT and browse our Universe of funds, take a look at our bespoke TILLIT Views and try before you buy with our Portfolio Builder. Find out more at tillitinvest.com.
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[1] FE Analytics; screen dated 02/09/2022*Individual fund fees apply.Capital at risk. The value of investments can go up and down, so you could get back less than you put in. TILLIT is the trading name of TILLIT Limited and is registered in England & Wales with company number 12357713. Its registered office address is 42-46 Princelet Street, London, E1 5LP. TILLIT Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 983417).
