Closing Bell: Make certain you call the shots when it comes to investment

Imagine you are the manager of a football club, able to pick the best players in the world, and imagine if you could transfer them in and out for free. What team would you build?

Such a dream has been played out over the last few years in the form of the Fantasy Football League. In that particular case, however, you're given a notional amount of money, and all players, depending on position and prowess, cost varying amounts in terms of transfer fees.

But if you could have the best players, from goalkeeper to strikers, who didn't cost anything, all paid the same, who would you pick - would you have a Barcelona or a Barnsley? What's this got to do with money, I hear you ask. Well it's an interesting analogy because thanks to modern technology in the financial services industry, investors no longer have to put up with investment management incompetence from the investment or insurance company with whom they decided to invest their pensions, individual savings accounts, unit trusts or investment bonds.

In the bad old days you would pick a company that sounded like a sure thing and then have to put up with their performance, good, bad or indifferent. If you also believe what you're told you'll be under the impression that most investment managers are as bad as each other.

But, as in football, there are those who are excellent at their job, many who are mediocre and, sadly, even more who deliver little and are grossly overpaid. Since what's known as the wrap revolution took place, allowing investors to view all their holdings on one platform, you can now transfer underperforming investments or pensions into a wrap and then build your own fantasy fund management team inside.

If you had asked Bill Shankly, the legendary Liverpool manager, or Brian Clough who took unfashionable Nottingham Forest to two European Cups, how to go about building a world class team, they'd have told you that it was crucial to get the spine right. In other words, sign the best goalie, a top centre half, a hard midfielder and a free-scoring striker.

That's great advice, too, when it comes to building your own fund management team. Because, remember, you can bring them in for free, transfer them if they don't perform - for free - and they're all paid the same. Remember, it's Barcelona or Barnsley - same cost. We've been running such a team for our clients for a few years now. And we took on board the need to have a defence even when we were really optimistic. Let's face it, Barcelona are great attackers but they still have a goalie and a back four.

Our spine for some time now is Sebastian Lyon of Troy in goal, Neil Woodford of Invesco Perpetual at centre half, Graham French of M&G as the midfield general and Ian Henderson of JPM Natural Resources - our Roy of the Rovers - up front. Our preferred formation over the last couple of years is four in defence (plus our goalie), three in midfield, and three up front, where our Messi is Harry Nimmo, of Standard Life Investments.

How have they done? Over the last 12 months the FTSE 100 total return is up 13 per cent - our boys delivered 24.1 per cent. Over five years our team thrashed the Index, delivering over nine times the returns, after all costs. And the FTSE has a rubbish defence - it's the last place to be when things get a bit rough.

Will we keep our team intact this year? We reckon it will be a year of two halves - the first half favouring attackers, the second requiring a bit more back to the wall defending.

So our current squad, barring injury, is likely to remain unchanged. But from the summer we intend to stiffen up the defence and give our attackers a well earned rest.

Football has its January transfer window. Shouldn't your savings have the same opportunity?

l Alan Steel is chairman of Alan Steel Asset Management.