Two investment experts help a reader with their portfolio In this new series, Telegraph Money will analyse readers' portfolios looking at the good, the bad and the ugly and providing recommendations on how savings pots can be improved. Teaching yourself about the stock market and picking funds for the first time is a daunting task. But Anna Taylor, 63 from Surrey, was determined not to use a financial adviser when she had £255,000 to invest after selling a buy-to-let property in 2016. The retired editor began investing for income. She bought British stock funds and took out around £12,000 a year in dividends – a 4.7pc yield. However, British stocks fell and the value of her portfolio had dipped to £215,000 at the start of 2021. Now, she has rejigged her funds and is more focused on growing the value rather than taking out income.