In terms of pensions management, your location in the world doesnt matter, nor does the type of pension you have - a sipps, a self-invested personal scheme, or a self-administered scheme.

What you are interested in is that when you become a pensioner, your pensions management has performed to provide you with a comfortable retirement and does not give you a short fall on your expected cash!

Is a 20% Return Realistic with Low Risk?

Here we want to look at how a + 20% annual return is achievable and drawdowns can be kept to manageable levels.

Pensions Management Returns

Firstly, the best way to trade the markets is without emotion and this means using a technical based approach to pensions management. The reasons for this are:

1. A technical approach to pensions management takes the emotion out of trading and allows a disciplined trading plan, which can liquidate losers quickly and run the big profitable trends.

2. If the technical system is based upon holding onto the longer term trends the commission impact on the pensions income is less than on a shorter term strategy. This means there is more money going to you and less in fund managers fees.

3. Even a good technical system will not hold losing trades.

Losses will always occur for any fund manager no matter how good they are, but the most important point is that they are manageable, and a good technical method can achieve this.

Pensions Management - The Risk

The risks in any form of investing are always there, but there is a misconception about how to assess the risk. Most investors look at the location of their pension, and see this as the main investment criteria. For example:

The view may be that if a fund manager is investing in Far East tiger economies, then this is more risky than say investing in UK blue chip equities.

This is only part of the equation though. If a fund manager is actively managing the pension or investment, you need to look at a fund managers money management strategy.

A good money management strategy in a volatile area can reduce risk; on the other hand, a poor money management strategy in a less volatile area can increase risk.

Pensions Management - Balancing Risk and Reward

A good pensions fund manager can achieve above average performance while keeping risk at manageable levels.

Here are some points you should consider when picking a pension manager:

1. When looking for a pensions fund manager make sure that you take the time to find out the performance of all the funds under their management, not just the good ones!

2. Ask a fund manager to explain their strategy, so you know the way they manage and control the risk of your funds.

3. Get to know them and see what their approach is and their reaction to your questions.

You are trusting them with your retirement funds - so make sure you are comfortable with everything about them.

Is a 20% Return Achievable?

Yes, it is - we know because we have produced gains like these for clients and so have other pensions management groups.

Use the above as a guide when shopping around for a manager and take your time.

You work hard, when it comes to retiring and taking your pension you want to make sure your pension can provide you with a happy and comfortable retirement.