Readers should note that investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise. We invest in a wide variety of financial instruments each of which exhibits different levels of risk. We define risk as the magnitude of price volatility measured over periods of time.

Certain investments such as hedge funds and private equity funds cannot be bought and sold on a daily basis and sometimes cannot be sold for periods measured in years.

This may mean that certain investments cannot be immediately sold even if an individual ceased being a client of this firm. Sometimes investments include exposure to derivative contracts, albeit these are generally, but not always, used to manage risk.

Depending upon the investor's currency of reference (viz. the currency in which the investor is used to working), currency fluctuations may adversely affect the value of investments and the income from them.