Equities investors have lots to weight up as they decide on the markets, sectors and companies well positioned for the months ahead, and there are both risks and opportunities it would be costly to miss.

Investing in a scattergun manner is an all-too-common trap people fall into; while starting to invest and keeping this up is undoubtedly a good move, doing things in a more structured way always gets better results.

Picking winning stocks, how much to allocate to alternatives and the ramifications of the forthcoming US elections are top of investors’ concerns this month, alongside proactive estate planning.