Post-pandemic portfolio: the ultimate investments for a £50k pot

With the end of the pandemic in sight, investors should give their portfolios a spring clean

Investment portfolio
A balanced portfolio should include stocks, bonds and commodities

Coronavirus has transformed our lives and determined the investment winners and losers of the past year. The end is in sight, but the world is now a very different place to what it was at the start of 2020.

One year on from Britain's first lockdown, investors should review their portfolios with an eye on which of the changes of the past year will prove permanent, and which will fade away as the economy reopens. 

In this five-part series, we spoke to wealth managers about how they would advise clients to invest different pot sizes, from £50k to £1m. Ian Aylward, of Barclays Wealth Management & Investments, took on the £50k pot for the first part of the series.  


With interest rates at close to zero, bonds pay out a paltry income, so stocks should be central to an investment portfolio. Mr Aylward said America was home to some of the most exciting companies on the planet and should make up the bulk of a stocks portfolio.

He recommended the £2.6bn Loomis Sayles US Growth fund for fast-growing companies and the £3.2bn JP Morgan US Equity Income fund for cheaper “value” shares. 

Investors should also own some companies in emerging markets, where the heavyweight economies of the future are to be found. His top pick was the £4.3bn Fidelity Asia fund.

“Since the current fund manager, Teera Chanpongsang, who is based in Hong Kong, took the fund over in 2014 it has had an unrivalled performance. The fund’s style means that it will not necessarily protect in falling markets, but will likely do better in rising markets, which is the majority of the time,” he said. 


Even though interest rates are low, they can still go lower, according to Mr Aylward. When rates fall, the prices of bonds rise, as the real value of their fixed coupons rises.

“Negative rates are still a possibility. The American central bank has been very clear in communicating its dislike of negative rates, but the Bank of England has provided somewhat more of a mixed message,” he said. 

Mr Aylward said a sensible option for government bonds was the £1.7bn Xtrackers Global Government Bond ETF. It owns a basket of bonds from the biggest and most secure governments around the world. 

Corporate bonds, which have a higher yield because they are riskier, also deserve a place in a portfolio. He recommended the £244m M&G Global Floating Rate High Yield Bond fund.

“While high yield bonds are more volatile than higher quality corporate bonds, this fund takes a conservative stance. Furthermore, its floating rate nature means that its yield rises as interest rates rise – prompted perhaps by the risk of rising inflation against which it would therefore provide some protection,” he said. 


Gold has always had a reputation for being a "safe haven" asset, with many including it in their portfolio without so much as a second thought. 

However, Mr Aylward  said it did not help investors when stocks fell this year, which surprised many. He said instead of just owning gold, investors should own a basket of commodities. They can do this via the £850m L&G Longer Dated All Commodities ETF, he said. 


So-called "alternatives" are investments that tend to make money  – or at least not lose money – when stocks markets fall. For example, funds can take "short" positions against stocks that will pay out if they fall in value.

Mr Aylward said the £1.4bn Janus Henderson UK Absolute Return fund would be a good fit for a DIY investor's portfolio.

"These types of funds offer diversification when held alongside traditional shares and bonds funds. They typically have lower volatility than the main asset classes like stocks or commodities," he said. 

How to build a portfolio

Investors with shorter time horizons who want to take less risk should have a lower weighting to stocks, a greater weighting to bonds, and more cash, according to Mr Aylward. Those who want to take more risk can add more to stocks.