Julie, aged 35, has inherited a lump sum of £30,000. She owns her own home, has a good salary and has no immediate need for the money. As the money was an unexpected legacy, she is prepared to assume a high degree of risk for a potentially high reward.

As Julie is not risk averse and can invest for the long term, investment advisers would suggest she put a good chunk of her money into equities which offer the best long-term rewards.

Julie could of course invest directly in the stock market, picking her own portfolio of shares but as she has no previous experience of this, she might be best advised to cut her teeth by putting £15,000 into a managed fund while she learns a bit more about the market.

Managed funds come in all shapes and sizes but Julie should probably consider one with a high weighting in equities. Many of the funds are up to two-thirds invested in equities and these have achieved returns of up to 30 per cent as the stock market boomed in recent years.

Rather than be confined to a single product, she could also look at putting a chunk of the lump sum into a Special Investment Scheme. This has a low 10 per cent tax charge although 55 per cent of it has to be invested in Irish equities.

If Julie would rather not have all her money in equities, she could consider a property fund invested in commercial, industrial and non-residential property. Although they have not performed as strongly as equities, such funds have averaged after-tax returns of over 15 per cent in recent years.