Robert, aged 46, is a father of three. Over the years, he has saved a £30,000 lump sum but wants to move it from its deposit account. His eldest child is 14 and Robert will need some of the money in four years when his son hopefully goes to college. He is prepared to take some risk with the funds but he is not prepared to see a significant erosion of his lump sum.

Given the young age of his family, financial advisers would suggest that Robert consider keeping a small sum in cash. Perhaps £5,000 could be put on deposit as an emergency fund to which he has immediate access.

He could then consider putting £10,000 in a guaranteed product such as a tracker bond as he won't need all his money after four years. During the equity rally of recent years, some tracker bonds delivered stellar returns - £10,000 invested in one tracker bond five years ago would have been worth £22,400 when the bond matured this year although lower interest rates have led to lower returns from such products of late.

Robert could then put the remaining £15,000 in one of the more aggressive guaranteed products such as a tracker bond where only 90 per cent of the capital is guaranteed but the prospective returns are higher. Alternatively, he could opt for one of the more cautious managed funds that invest a lower proportion in equities and a greater amount in bonds and cash which would provide potential for growth while avoiding some of the more dramatic ups and downs of the stock market.