End-of-course round-up

Hello again. We’ve now reached the end of Managing my Investments. I really hope you've enjoyed the course and that you've learnt many things of use when it comes to making investment decisions and planning your pension. During the course we've looked at the array of investments which are open to the personal investor and we've looked at the risks and returns which are associated with them. But we've also gone further: We've looked at the planning process that is involved in building up an investment strategy and compiling a portfolio of investments. We've also looked at those behavioral biases which if you are not careful can throw you off course when it comes to good investment management.

During the course we also looked at how you can build up a portfolio that matches your appetite for risk versus return. We also looked at how the time horizon is a critical factor when it comes to your investment strategy. You need to know the time horizon that applies to you and don't forget that investment management is an ongoing activity. You should regularly review your portfolio using the four stage model which we introduced you to during the course. So in that four stage model you first assessed your time horizon, then you determine your risk appetite, assess and execute your investment strategy and then, finally, review your investment portfolio regularly.

Now you've reach the end of the course you might want to take your studies further by studying for an OU award. You can find details of all the courses we offer on http://www.open.ac.uk/courses Why don't you go there now and see what we offer. Given your interest in investments you may want to sign up to a business orientated degree like out MBA or MSc in Finance or our undergraduate business studies program. Alternatively, if you are more interested in the economic and social aspects of personal finance you can sign up to an undergraduate program that incorporates these disciplines. Keep an eye out too for further personal finance courses offered by The Open University's True Potential Centre. You can follow the work of The Open University's True Potential Centre on their website and we provide details of that in Week 1 of Managing my investments.

Whether you continue your studies with the OU or not I do hope you really enjoyed Managing my investments. All the best for the future and don't forget manage those investments carefully.