Adrian Lowcock | Source | Head of Personal Investing at Willis Owen Limited

The inclusion of dividends in the equation blows the sell in May adage out of the water. They transform what might appear at first sight to be a negative performance into a positive one.

Alternatives such as private equity, infrastructure and real estate are under-utilised investments because they require a long term investment timescale and a lot of patience – with a lack of liquidity being a deterrent.

Corporate bonds are generally less risky because they only invest in the lower risk area of the market. They have very limited high yield exposure. Whereas Strategic Bond funds can do anything and go anywhere. That adds a bit more potential risk to the portfolio.