Andrew Craig, author of ‘How to Own the World’, created the Ucits-compliant Plain English Finance (PEF) fund after receiving requests from readers for him to manage their money.
The fund, launched on 25 September, follows an investing process outlined in the book, which aims to minimise volatility by focusing on diversification across global markets and different asset classes, and formula-based trend following.
Craig claimed the fund has been backtested from January 2001 to the end of July 2017 and shows that it would have delivered a 7.22% return after costs, with low volatility and risk of loss.
The fund’s annual management charge will be 0.9% and ongoing fund charge will be 1.14%. The minimum lump sum investment is £100 or £25 a month for regular investors on certain platforms.
Craig said: “I started Plain English Finance in January 2011 with one over-arching goal: To improve the financial affairs of as many people as possible.
“Our aim was to provide people with as much useful information about finance and investment as possible – to that end, I wrote my book, which was first published at the end of 2012.
“It wasn’t long before people started contacting me asking if I could invest their money for them ‘like in the book’.”
He added: “We are delighted with the response we have had from readers of my book and followers of Plain English Finance, with around £7m of investment committed from launch.”
