mm and I have a few joint investments. The lumpsum account we opened 5 years ago was a pooled account so we qualified for a larger bonus, and it has grown pretty well since. The markets are down, so we lost some of the gains, but looking at the longer term it’s doing fine.

It’s gotten to the point when we can split the account and open our own single name accounts. Same reasoning…to get a new account bonus. Plus our investment philosophies are sometimes slightly different. She thinks about it more, and actively follows the market. I tend to be more laid back and conservative. This probably means she gets better returns, but it’s fine by me.

So after my big trip to Chile, seeing the prosperity there and talking to K a little, I’ve been wanting to put some money into Latin America. Not a lot, but as a diversification. Mostly, our FA says she’s not as familiar with the market and if we were to put money in Latam why not Eastern Europe or BRIC?

Today we went to sign documents for the account and we ended up deciding to put a little into Latam. The fund she recommended was Templeton Latin America Fund [pdf] and I put 2% of my portfolio there. We maxed out on # of funds at 10. The mix is 25% hedge fund, 25% student accommodation, 35% fixed income and only 15% equities. We’ll switch from FI to equities in stages, the aim is 70% equities but this is too much of a bear market to do that in one go.