Financial advisers work with clients at different life stages. In the first case study in our series we discuss Henrietta, who is looking for a simple, cost-effective way to build long-term wealth while juggling a busy family life.
Case study: Henrietta – the foundation builder
Henrietta is a 35-year-old lawyer, earning £150,000 a year plus bonus, with strong potential for future growth. She and her husband – also a six-figure earner – are raising two young children while managing a demanding lifestyle. They own their home but face significant outgoings, including £24,000 a year in nursery fees for their youngest child and £3,700 monthly mortgage repayments. Their savings are limited, but their financial goals are ambitious: her investment target is to build a £2 million ISA portfolio.
Henrietta is saving each month into her workplace pension, and has an ISA for herself and a Junior ISA (JISA) for her children. She thinks she can make her money work harder, but she is relatively new to investing. Like many professionals, she hasn’t had the time to explore the intricacies of investment markets. With limited bandwidth and a lot riding on her financial decisions, she’s looking for a smart, straightforward way to grow her wealth over time: something that would fit neatly with her goals.
She’s also understandably nervous about making the wrong decision and losing money. With so many options available, unfamiliar jargon, and the weight of her family’s financial future on her shoulders, she’s finding it all a bit overwhelming and is concerned about the potential risks of investing.
That’s where an adviser can play a crucial role, helping Henrietta take her first steps with confidence. While her overall financial plan might include a mix of products, a well-diversified, low-cost multi-asset fund could be a strong starting point.
Keeping it simple
Henrietta doesn’t need to become an expert, but she does need to feel confident. That’s where multi-asset funds can be a useful tool to ensure her investments are diversified across asset classes, regions and sectors. That will help reduce risk and smooth her returns over time.
A fund like MAF Core (see Figure 1) can give her global exposure without the hassle of picking individual stocks or trying to time the market. It’s an easy-to-understand core product she can simply “set and forget”. That makes it ideal for building a strong foundation.
Henrietta also needs investments tailored to her appetite for risk and her goals. MAF Core is professionally managed to optimise returns for a given level of risk. The range offers five options, from MAF Core I for cautious investors (20 per cent equities) to MAF Core V for those seeking higher growth (100 per cent equities).
For someone like Henrietta, looking for a balanced investment, MAF Core III might be most appropriate. For her children, she’s open to taking more risk, given their long time-horizon, so MAF Core V might be the best option for them.
Figure 1: MAF Core fund range
This diagram is for illustrative purposes only, asset allocations are subject to change.
Note: Growth assets include equity but also riskier forms of fixed income. Defensive assets include sovereign debt, investment grade credit and cash.
Source: Aviva Investors, September 2025.
High earner, not rich yet: Why risk matters
Henrietta is a classic example of a HENRY – a high earner, not rich yet. Despite her strong income, she’s still building wealth and managing significant outgoings. That means she can’t afford to let her money sit idle. But the real risk for Henrietta isn’t market volatility, it’s not taking enough risk to meet her long-term goals.
Higher risk typically comes with the potential for higher reward
Figure 2 shows how long it could take Henrietta to reach her £2 million ISA goal, depending on the level of risk and return she’s comfortable with. The relationship is clear: higher risk typically comes with the potential for higher reward, while lower risk may mean slower progress.
For example, MAF Core I has an annualised volatility of 6 per cent and a return of 2 per cent since launch. At that pace, it would take Henrietta 37 years to reach her goal, meaning she’d hit her target at age 72. In contrast, MAF Core V, with annualised volatility of 11 per cent and a return of 10 per cent, could help her reach £2 million in just 19 years, by age 54.
Figure 2: How many years to reach a £2 million ISA portfolio?
Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Note: Data reflect risk and return since inception November 30, 2020.
Source: Aviva Investors, Morningstar. Data as of July 31, 2025.
These figures are based on the funds’ performance since inception (November 2020), and while past performance is not a guide to the future, they help illustrate the risk-return trade-off. The key takeaway is that not taking enough risk can be a risk in itself – especially for long-term goals like Henrietta’s. With time on her side, she has the opportunity to harness compounding and ride out short-term market fluctuations, but only if her investments are aligned with her ambitions.
Checking the price tag
Clients don’t always realise the long-term impact of fees, which is something else Henrietta’s adviser can help with. Fees can feel like a footnote, but over time, they can have a surprisingly large impact on returns. Even a small difference in annual charges can compound into thousands of pounds.
Fees can have a surprisingly large impact on returns
Figure 3 compares five hypothetical funds with annual fees ranging from 1.5 per cent to 0.15 per cent. Assuming a 6.5 per cent annual return on a £40,000 yearly contribution over 25 years, the cost difference is striking. A fund with a 1.5 per cent fee would cost Henrietta around £504,000, while a fund charging just 0.15 per cent would cost only £56,000.
That’s why MAF Core might be the best option for her. It offers a competitively priced option at just 0.15 per cent, providing access to global markets, broad diversification, and peace of mind without the high price tag.
Figure 3: Impact of fund costs
For illustrative purposes only.
Source: Aviva Investors. Data as of July 31, 2025.
When it all falls into place
Henrietta’s story is just one example of how multi-asset funds like MAF Core can support clients at a specific stage in their life by offering simplicity, diversification, and cost-efficiency in an investment solution. While these funds may form just one part of a broader portfolio, they can be a powerful building-block for clients who are new to investing or looking for a straightforward way to get started.
The MAF Core range can help advisers bring clarity to complex conversation
Tools like the MAF Core range can help advisers bring clarity to complex conversations, giving their clients confidence that their investments are aligned with their goals, risk appetite and time horizon.
But clients have varying needs, as we will explore in the rest of our series through three more personas, each representing a different stage of life, investment objective, and risk appetite.
