MAPS: Understanding Possible ReturnsEach of the Irish Life Multi Asset Portfolio Funds (MAPS) has been developed to suit different attitudes to risk. These range from lower risk, Multi Asset Portfolio 2 (MAP2), which has a large percentage invested in cash and bonds to higher risk Multi Asset Portfolio 6 (MAP6), which is mainly invested in shares.
As most of us know, investing in shares over long periods of time usually produces better returns than investing in cash or bonds. However, along with possible higher returns, investing in shares usually brings higher risk and the possibility that returns can vary a lot each year. Returns can even be negative over a given period of time, especially over shorter periods.
So while we might expect MAP6 to give a better return than MAP2 over long periods, we would also expect the returns on MAP6 to vary to a much greater extent than those on MAP2.
