Nick Castle is 69 and has been investing for 25 years. He is trying to maintain the real purchasing value of his self-invested personal pension plan's (Sipp) capital, which amounted to £403,000 at 1 January 2013, so that after drawing down £25,000 12 months later on 1 January 2014, the £403,000 has grown by the cost of living percentage increase, and will do this again each year going forward. He has a moderate attitude to risk.
To maintain the real purchasing value of his Sipp's capital
"I differ from the average investor in that I tend not to buy open-ended funds because their managers can be forced to sell good shares in bear markets, which can disrupt performance," says Mr Castle. "I don't normally buy individual shares, although very occasionally I speculate with a modest sum. I want to build a portfolio of first-class, well-managed and internationally-diverse investment trusts, and exchange traded funds (ETFs), and then monitor it no more than once a month.