Of course, the finished question is “Do you cut and run, or stay and pray?”, prompting With Profits investors to consider whether they should stay invested in a fund which has produced poor returns in recent years (“stay and pray”) or accept the fund might be likely never to improve, and transfer away (“cut and run”).

With Profits funds have fallen out of favour with many investors and financial commentators over the last couple of decades. Initially this demise could be explained by a perception of being ‘old fashioned’ but the last decade or more has seen their continued demise as more and more With Profits funds have failed to meet expected rates of growth many have now become little more than very staid investment funds, but with high charges to investors.

The falling investment markets of the last couple of years have made some people reconsider the attractions of With Profits investments.

Unfortunately, there is only a handful of With Profits funds which have retained the financial strength and an investment strategy which has continued to serve their investors at least relatively well in recent years and seem likely to do so in future years.

So, what about the rest?

Investors in one of the many poor (or very poor) performing With Profits funds should be aware that the oft-noted investment statement, “past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future” may not apply to them. Many With Profits funds which have declared low levels of bonuses in the past are usually much more likely to continue to declare very low levels of bonuses for many years into the future. There are good reasons why this occurs, mostly caused by an entrenched weakness in the financial security of the fund and poor investment asset allocation in the fund.

Not all With Profits funds are in such a sorry state, but most are!

We name and shame a few of the worst in this site (“name and shame”) , and we’re not scared of naming more if you have investments in a With Profits fund which is not listed here. We’re also not afraid to name and praise the better funds.

So, should you “cut and run…….?”