Young fundpicker: Sorting the wheat from the chaff and navigating the fund universe

'It is easy to feel overwhelmed'

Selecting funds is no easy job.

 For a start, there is such a vast number of products to choose from; a quick ‘search all' on Trustnet returns 4,638 open-ended funds, 305 UK listed Investment Trusts, and 4,198 ETFs - and that is just in the UK alone. So, how do we sort the wheat from the chaff? It is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate the fund universe; it is easy to feel overwhelmed, frustrated and out of your depth, particularly when starting out on the selection process faced with a wall of SEDOLs, each with their own complicated fee structures and hidden tax implications. NatWest cuts fund fees on D2...