Low risk when selling products as well as buying

With the FTSE 100 at low levels, many investors are looking for low-risk products, but investments can be categorised differently in terms of risk depending on prevailing circumstances

With the FTSE 100 at levels lower than five years ago, I suddenly feel very topical writing about low-risk investments. This is an important point, in that the same investment can be categorised differently in terms of risk depending on prevailing circumstances. For example, an investment bought in late 1999, when the FTSE 100 almost reached 7,000, would have seemed like a very low-risk investment if the capital return was secure as long as the index did not drop 35% or more. When the word risk is associated with the word investment, one's mind normally jumps to the risk to the cap...