Investing direct

Some of the advantages of investing directly include:

• knowing exactly what asset you are buying
• having complete control over when you buy and sell the investment 
• fees may be cheaper than for other methods
• enjoying the experience of investing in the share market or property market directly 
• having transparency on what investments you hold.

Some of the disadvantages of investing directly can include:

• the level of knowledge and management needed can be considerable 
• time needed to research and evaluate investments 
• the difficulty in creating a diversified portfolio with a limited amount of money, if this is what is desired 
• incurring higher fees for some types of investments 
• the possibility that some assets may be too expensive to purchase by yourself (e.g. a shopping centre) 
• lack of liquidity with some, in particular large, investments.