As we approach the New Year it is a good time for investors to think about their portfolio choices and check that they match their appetite for risk. Here are four fund ideas for specific types of investors.

Royal London Short Duration Global High Yield (BD0NHK8)

Cautious investors have benefited from strong returns this year as bonds have performed strongly. Looking ahead, the government is indicating higher spending which could well steepen the yield curve. As a result, traditional corporate and government bonds may struggle.

One alternative would be to look at short duration high yield bonds which are less correlated to interest rates and bond yields. With bonds only one to two years from maturity, these investments could protect investors from the full impact of yields increasing.

With cash rates so low, this may be a way of eking out a little extra return but it does come with some risk.

Jupiter UK Special Situations (B4KL9F8)

Manager Ben Whitmore has managed the fund for 15 years, employing a consistent approach that focuses on companies that have materially underperformed the market.

Whitmore looks for fundamentally sound companies that are unloved by other investors and priced below true value.

As a natural contrarian, the portfolio can look very different from the index which is a positive. The portfolio is currently tilted towards domestically-focused companies that may come back in the spotlight should a resolution to Brexit be found.

CC Japan Income & Growth (CCJI)

Japan continues to be a market seemingly in a constant struggle to get out of the doldrums. Beneath the headline weakness is significant corporate change which is making companies more focused on delivering shareholders returns.

CC Japan Income & Growth Trust looks to capitalise on this changing dynamic with a focus on those companies that offer stable or growing yields.

With a strong stock picking process, overseen by an experienced manager in Richard Ashton, this trust has a well-developed philosophy and process in place that is comfortable investing away from the benchmark and taking a long term view.

The trust has a 2.4% yield and sits at a small discount of 3.3% to net asset value at the time of writing.

Man GLG UK Income (B0117D3)

There are many income funds available that simply allocate to the big dividend payers in the index but this fund is different.

Manager Henry Dixon takes a multi-cap approach and also has a value bias, potentially gaining a double boost from a positive resolution to Brexit.

In addition, the manager can invest in corporate bonds if appropriate, albeit in a limited manger making this a slightly different UK equity income fund. The strategy currently yields over 5% and pays monthly making it an interesting option for income seekers.

At the time of writing, the financial services sector accounted for nearly 30% of the portfolio, industrials and energy both approximately at 14% and consumer cyclical at a little below 13%.

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