Money: Horses for courses when you place your cash

If there's no point studying past form, what tactics can you use to pick a winner in the investment stakes?

There are no guarantees, but the following questions will help to eliminate the also-rans.

What do you want? If you're after long-term growth in your investments, you will need a different fund from an investor whose sole goal is a steady income.

How much risk can you bear? An investment in one sector - high-tech companies, for example - or one country will be more volatile than a fund whichhas its money spread more widely.

What's the minimum investment? A very important question if you don't have a lot of money; some funds require several thousand dollars to start, others need only a few hundred.

How easy is it to make ongoing investments? If you want to keep adding to your stake, funds which allow a drip-feed approach make it easier to stick to your investment plan.

How does it rate? Ratings can help filter out the competing funds - but be sure you're using a rating system that measures more than just past performance.

What about tax? The differences in the way the various types of managed investments are taxed can have a big impact on your returns. Find out the situation before you put your money in, and avoid paying more tax than you must.

What are the fees? Managers charge an upfront fee when you invest, and have ongoing charges. Find out what those fees are before investing. Ongoing fees may be impossible to avoid completely, though there's no point in paying more than you have to. You can avoid the up-front fee by using one of several zero-brokerage services which offer a wide choice of funds, if you're confident in your ability to choose a fund.

How big is the fund? The costs of running a small fund may be out of proportion to its size. Consumer magazine, for example, has suggested avoiding funds of less than $10 million for this reason.

What's the strategy? Some fund managers are "active," some are "passive." The choice is yours, but be sure you know the difference.