It accepts a minimum premium of £10000 and its funds invest in sterling share

It accepts a minimum premium of £10,000 and its funds invest in sterling share classes.It packages the funds of New York-based fund manager Tremont, which is among the largest fund-of-fund managers in the world. Matrix believes this asset class should be more available to retail investors, but accepts education is paramount if they are to be a success. It is conducting training presentations to bring financial advisers up to speed.Luke Reeves, associate director at Matrix Securities, says: “We would definitely like to see it made easier for retail investors to go in to hedge funds. Our minimum objective is to protect investor’s capital and the returns made are not correlated to the market.”But the UK’s big fund managers, such as Fidelity, are reluctant to get involved. Without their interest and the willingness of advisers to get to grips with the technicalities of hedging strategies, it seems likely hedge funds will remain the preserve of a few plucky investors.. Savers may have to pay more for their savings products if the Government is to achieve its aim of getting more people to provide for retirement.

Higher charges for more savings may not seem logical, but the Association of British Insurers is making a strong case to raise the charges finance companies can levy. Moneynetsavingssearch Savers may have to pay more for their savings products if the Government is to achieve its aim of getting more people to provide for retirement. The Government’s plan was to get more low-to-middle income earners off state benefits and providing for their own retirement. It was hoped pegging charges, which had been as high as 8 per cent, would make pensions more attractive and affordable for the less well-off.Ron Sandler, the former Lloyds of London chief executive who was asked by the Treasury to investigate retail savings, recommended the introduction of a new range of simple, easier to understand, savings products with limited charges.

He believes if the product has enough guarantees, we should be able to buy them straight off the shelf, without an advice consultation. At present, this takes an average of 7.7 hours because the adviser is legally obliged to thoroughly assess all your financial needs.Research by Oliver Wyman & Co for the ABI identified a £27bn shortfall in what people are saving in the standard they would need to enjoy a comfortable retirement. If the Government cut red tape clogging the process of taking out a pension or savings product, the ABI reckons savings could jump by £5bn a year.Getting a savings product for no more than a 1 per cent charge is great value for investors and has been seen as a triumph for consumer power. But the ABI has used its research to show low charges, far from encouraging more people to take out cheap savings plans, actually leave a lot of potential investors out in the cold.Because the amount of money insurers can make from the contracts is low, pension companies and financial advisers have been targeting only customers able to pay large premiums. The average premium paid to a stakeholder pension plan is £81 a month.

The ABI’s research found that to sell a policy to someone able to afford only £20 per month, companies need to charge 5.85 per cent to break even. The report said if product charges were increased to 2 per cent, it would more than double the extra savings needed to close the £27bn savings gap.Saving is not a habit many of us find it easy to start. The ABI found 40 per cent of people take out a savings product only if they have face-to-face advice. So the ABI says restricting prices companies can charge does not provide an incentive for pension providers or advisers to find customers whose investments do not even cover their overheads.Mick McAteer, a senior policy adviser at the Consumer’s Association, believes the ABI’s research is skewed “The ABI is representing the vested interest of its members. Consumers have suffered huge detriment at the hands of high-charging insurance companies.