Four ways to improve your returns in 2012

2012 promises yet more financial turbulence. So it's more important than ever to get the most out of your portfolio. Tim Bennett explains four ways to boost your profits in the months ahead.

Last year was a year to forget for most investors. Stockmarkets were battered by the European sovereign debt crisis, slowing growth in China and the other emerging economies, and by yet more attempts by central banks to prop up the global banking system. The FTSE 100 which has been one of the better-performing markets closed about 6% down on the year, and there's little sign of the bad news flow easing up in 2012. But there are ways to ensure your portfolio is well prepared for whatever life throws at you here are four strategies to bear in mind for the year.

Branch out beyond stocks

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Tim graduated with a history degree from Cambridge University in 1989 and, after a year of travelling, joined the financial services firm Ernst and Young in 1990, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1994.

He then moved into financial markets training, designing and running a variety of courses at graduate level and beyond for a range of organisations including the Securities and Investment Institute and UBS. He joined MoneyWeek in 2007.