Risk can be measured subjectively by the amount of anxiety it causes an investor.

It is a spectrum: Some people want only “growth” assets, such as shares and property. At the other end of the scale, some want only investments that will preserve their capital, such as term deposits.

Fund researcher SuperRatings classifies “capital stable” funds as having between 20 and 40 per cent invested in growth assets.

For the 12 months ended June 30, Aware’s “capital stable” fund ranked 101st out of 103 “capital stable” funds, according to SuperRatings, earning 4.4 per cent.

Aware’s “balanced” fund – classified by SuperRatings as a “conservative balanced” fund with 41-59 per cent invested in growth assets – earned 12 per cent and ranked 75th out of 86 funds in the that category over the same year.

Aware’s “growth” fund, classified as “balanced” fund by SuperRatings, with 60-76 per cent invested in growth assets, earned 16.6 per cent, ranking it 115th out of 129 “balanced” funds.

While past returns are no guide to the future, the chances are that, if you want a higher return over 8 to 9 years, you could do so with the “growth” fund.

However, I do think Aware should stop calling itself “a top-performing industry fund” on its website because it is not. Not in the past few years, anyway.

I am aged 78, single and on a full age pension. I realise that in order to have my home automatically pass on to my son, that he becoming a joint owner would achieve this and that it would not form part of my estate on my death. My home, being my primary residence for the past 16 years, is worth about $1 million, so Centrelink would deem half of that to be a deprived asset for a period of five years. My son would be subject to paying about $25,000 in Victorian stamp duty on $500,000. If I were to live for that 5 years, I would have lost $126,000 in age pension but my son is not in a position to pay me enough to live on, to counter the age pension loss. T.A.

It sounds as though you have been wrestling with this for some time.

Remember that adjusting your life in order to bequeath a specific property to a child may not exactly achieve your objective.

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The child may not want to uproot his family and live there, or the cost of modernisation may be too high, in which case the property would be sold soon after you fall off your perch and the money applied elsewhere.

You may be better off bequeathing your assets to your son in your will and continue to live in the house for as long as possible, using Home Support services and Home Care packages.

If you health requires that you move into residential care, the lump sum Refundable Accommodation Deposit is just that – refundable to your estate and thus your son.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

If you have a question for George Cochrane, send it to Personal Investment, PO Box 3001, Tamarama, NSW, 2026. Help lines: Australian Financial Complaints Authority, 1800 931 678; Centrelink pensions 13 23 00.