The number of female independent financial advisers (IFAs) is growing in response to this demand as they are perceived to be less arrogant and condescending than some of their male counterparts, and more likely to relate to their client's situation.IFA The Millfield Partnership has just launched Finance 4 Women, aimed at providing financial advice for professional women across East Anglia and London. As a result, financial planning for women is arguably more important than it is for men.Yet, historically, women have been less informed about pensions, insurance and investments as men have taken control of the family's finances. However, they are now making more decisions about their finances and are more likely to seek advice to help them do so. Moneynet Women tend to earn less than men and are more likely to take a career break to have children, yet they live longer. Figures from Standard & Poor's show that if you'd invested £12,000 as a lump sum in an average UK unit trust or Oeic 10 years ago, it would now be worth over £33,000; if you'd invested £100 a month over the same period, it would only be worth £17, 815..

"But you have to accept that if the markets go up over the next year, you could have been better off investing a lump sum."Much depends on the market. But equally you will lose more should markets fall."Spreading the risk by investing regularly is ideal for some, particularly at the moment as a lot of people are worried about putting more money into equities," says Michael Owen, director at IFA Plan Invest. If you invest a lump sum and the market goes up, you will clearly make a lot more than if you're only investing a few hundred pounds each month. However, if they'd opted for regular savings and invested £100 a month over the two years, the value of the fund would now be £2,267.83 – still less than the original investment but a fair performance in adverse market conditions.For the aggressive investor, out to make maximum gains and willing to take risks, drip-feeding may not appeal. If they'd invested £1,200 in 2000 and a further £1,200 last year, the value of their investment would have fallen to £2,192.54. Figures from Standard & Poor's show that someone investing a lump sum of £2,400 in an average UK unit trust or open-ended investment company (Oeic) two years ago would now only have £2,075.06. The deadline for the last tax year has only just passed, so the last thing on many people's minds will be where to invest this year's £7,000 individual savings account (ISA) allowance.

Until replacements arrive, investors should sit tight.m.bien independent.co.uk. Or it might opt for a team operating with a clearer process, which is more transferable should the new managers move on. ABN Amro will have to decide if it wants to try and emulate past success by finding idiosyncratic managers again. Brian Dennehy, at independent financial adviser Dennehy, Weller & Co, describes their style as "seat of pants par excellence".But replacing these managers with people who will run the funds in exactly the same way and produce similar results is asking a lot. UK Growth recorded massive outperformance in the year to February 2000, though it has since underperformed after the bursting of the tech bubble.Such levels of outperformance inevitably involved additional risk, which happened to pay off.

Equity Income and High Income have outperformed their relative indices in each of the past three years, while Select Opportunities has outperformed since its launch in March 2001. However, the situation is slightly different if you were just about to invest in these funds; you might want to think twice.While there has been keen debate over how much influence a manager has on a fund, in this case the idio- syncratic investment styles of the managers have had much to do with the outstanding form of their funds. They will also realise that they are going to be under close scrutiny during this time as inves- tors and advisers monitor their performance.It is worth waiting at least until the new managers have been found before deciding if you want your money to follow the managers to Framlington. Mr Thomas and Mr Luckraft are unlikely to let their standards slip while they wait for replacements to be found as it will affect their reputations. Given that these are flagship funds for the firm, it is looking to recruit new managers rather than simply promote their number twos.There is time to take stock, then, which means investors shouldn't panic and sell immediately. Their distinctive managers, Nigel Thomas and George Luckraft, last week announced they were joining Framlington. So what should investors do? Well, nothing is likely to change in the short term as Mr Thomas and Mr Luckraft are required to work 12 months' notice, or at least until ABN Amro finds suitable replacements. How much influence does a fund manager have over a fund? Moneynet How much influence does a fund manager have over a fund? That's the question for investors in ABN Amro's UK Growth, UK Select Opportunities, UK Equity Income and UK High Income funds.