"I am looking at making some changes to my pension fund and I have a couple of questions for you

"1. Have you ever come across the attached currency fund? What are your thoughts about including it in a pension portfolio?

"2. What are your views on international property funds, as part of a pension portfolio? Refer to the attached, (83% commercial and 17% residential). "

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for these interesting questions. I have added both of these funds to the Chart Library.

Personally, I would favour owning high yield bonds or equities whose businesses focus on the country whose currency I expect to appreciate rather than a diversified currency fund. Bloomberg does not list relevant fees associated with this fund, so you may have to acquire about them from the fund manager. .

The fees for the Fidelity fund you mention are a 3.5% front end load and a 1.5% management fee. I believe there are attractions to property investments for a long-term investor, particularly those offering reliable yields. However, as with any real estate market, location is everything and in depth research tends to pay off.

The credit crisis resulted in property prices collapsing in some of the most affected economies. On the other hand China, Hong, Kong, Singapore, Australia and much of Canada prices remain close to record highs. These simple examples highlight the fact that it is unwise to make blanket assumptions about the global picture and that each market needs to be judged on its individual merits.