But, I am sure that will change and I would be surprised if anyone who takes the trouble to work their way through the site ( www.riskmetrics ) and its short introduction to risk management doesn’t find something of value in it.A second development which I think holds out promise for the future is the launch of the Fidelity FundsNetwork. This site claims to be the UK’s largest online “fund supermarket”. Fund supermarkets are now commonplace in the United States but in this country have been slow to materialise. The idea behind the concept is very simple: to allow investors an opportunity to buy and sell unit trusts and OEICS from a wide variety of providers, yet do so through a one-stop convenience store, without having to complete scores of different application forms.Although there are other sites that claim to be fund supermarkets, this one is the most sophisticated to date. The key point is while the administration and paperwork is carried out by Fidelity, you can access funds from 14 other mainstream fund management companies as well, including (I am happy to say) several index fund providers.

The initial charges on most funds have been cut to levels that compare with many discount brokers and the marketing proposition is the charges that remain will be justified for the simplicity and convenience of dealing in this way. For example, investors can see what is in their portfolio and switch between funds very simply, with all their transactions being logged on a single consolidated statement. Fidelity provides a tax-free ISA wrapper at no extra cost.Although some other fund management groups, including Jupiter and Gartmore, are planning to set up a rival supermarket, which would be excellent from a competition point of view, it seems this will not be ready for some time. Where the Fidelity supermarket hopes to score is by emphasising service qualities – convenience, reliability and value for money. The site (at www.fidelity.co.uk) looks good and is relatively easy to navigate, although the charting function proved intractable when I tested it out.It will take time to see how well they have succeeded but, in my view, both the fund supermarket and the RiskMetrics product provide positive examples of how the internet can add value to investors. It clearly is a cheaper way of doing business, but the big payoff from the Net is really only going to comethrough delivering superior quality of service, a point which has taken some time to sink in, in a culture such as ours where service, as the Americans would know it, is still largely an alien concept.Needless to say, no internet service, however wonderful, can absolve you from the need to make sensible investment choices.

To do that requires a proper understanding of the trade-off between risk and return which, as the chart shows, remains broadly just that – a trade-off. You can’t have a higher return, by and large, without greater risk, though there are periodically opportunities to take advantage of cross-sectoral periods of mis-valuation (themselves largely the result of fashion and fad).For the last few years it is undeniable that North American and European funds have offered a materially better trade-off than any equivalent UK sector. Those who have gone for the high return specialist funds (which mainly means technology and healthcare) have also enjoyed higher returns, but at a much higher price in volatility.For what it is worth, my current view is that of sectors which are likely to make a move across the map towards a more favourable position, the equity income sector is probably the most likely candidate for a re-rating, as Bill Mott of Credit Suisse argued plausibly on this page last week. I would expect both North American and specialist funds to move the other way in the short to medium term. Given the structural changes that are still galloping across the Continent, however, European funds may still have some scope for sustaining their place above the risk/return line.davisbiz aol .

“You can come out now,” I shout through the door of the little boys’ room. “She’s gone.” There’s a faint sigh of relief from beyond the second door, but nothing stirs “Findlay,” I say in the loudest whisper I can muster “Mrs Hughes has definitely left the building. Hurry up, so I don’t have to stand half in the men’s loo any longer.”

“You can come out now,” I shout through the door of the little boys’ room. “She’s gone.” There’s a faint sigh of relief from beyond the second door, but nothing stirs “Findlay,” I say in the loudest whisper I can muster “Mrs Hughes has definitely left the building.