Investments for Beginners

GreersElbow said:

Interesting it has chosen NA and UK equities as its main areas, it doesn't state cap size but with a beta of 1.02, I would imagine they're lower Dom-caps

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dazzer6666 said:

I avoid direct equities because I don't know enough about it and don't have the time to do the research, or trade and certainly wouldn't expect to do better than a pro. I stick to funds, managed by top rated fund managers with good track records and have a decent spread of fund types. Brexit effect is an interesting dilemma as my ISA is up something like 20% since the vote - broadly in line with global markets.

Anything cash-based will give very low returns at the moment so if you're prepared to commit longer term (5 years+) and take a bit of risk then a mix of funds may suit you best. I deal and hold through Barclays stockbrokers (have a look at their website - tons of useful info and aimed at the Uk market) - good online service, low charges and they have negotiated lower charges with the fund managers of the funds available through them. Many funds have regular saving plans available too. This gives you pound cost averaging - smoothing out price variations (because you get more units when the price is lower and vice versa).

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Mouldy Boots said:

I have been playing around with my poorly performing pension and seen good return in the last 8 months, is that the brexit effect or pure luck in your opinion

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dazzer6666 said:

Markets are up generally, so anyone investing in them (with any kind of global exposure/good spread) is going to have seen decent performance............

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reigate said:

Does anyone have any experience of peer to peer lending?

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Mouldy Boots said:

Cheers, thought so I love a good spread. Would I be wise to to raid the bank and start up one of these bank do it yourself investment jobbies, santander have been pushing a investment hub at us for a couple of months

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Cheshire Cat said:

Sent you a PM

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Biscuit said:

I looked into it and decided to avoid. The 7%+ returns look great on paper and none of the big players (Funding Circle/Zopa) are covered by the Government-backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme. That would protect up to £75k. For me, any peer-to-peer investing should sit amongst a portfolio of assets (cash/equities/bonds) I'm just not convinced it's big enough should we hit a downturn. Especially as money is so cheap to borrow at the moment. What happens when rates rise (which they surely will) and the people you've lent to struggle to repay? For me, the 7% return represents the high risk. Not for me, personally.

Mid-term I've invested in property, long term I've upped my pension contributions with Aviva to as much as I can afford each month. I have a wedding to pay for which is means I've got no spare cash at the moment, but once I build up some savings I'll be look at FTSE index trackers,

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dazzer6666 said:

Only if you're prepared to be in for the long term, and take some risk........the 20% rise in the last few months could easily be reversed......but could go up another 20% of course......don't put all your eggs in one basket.

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Mouldy Boots said:

This was my view actually so I am glad you said the same! we are looking longer term I may do the deed tomorrow now, been dwelling on it for too long!

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beorhthelm said:

if your looking for safest options, various banks/building societies offer 3-5 year bonds with relativly decent interest rates.

if you want to accept some risk, and take a medium-long term view, look at putting into FTSE index trackers. over time, they do well well as the weak companies get dropped and replaced by growing companies, but accept risk you might be near a top and have to wait years to see it rise. very long term, dont want to touch, look at pension contributions. all in my non-professional opinion etc.

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Shropshire Seagull said:

No mention of a SIPP yet.
I operate under my own limited company so the opportunity to invest some of my profit [thus legitimately avoiding 20% Corporation tax] into e.g. a SIPP is very tax-attractive.
Anyone else doing similar?

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kingcole said:

NO NO NO!

To maximise gains on the stock market you need to buy low and sell high. A tracker is the opposite of this....

A small company grows and can enter the FTSE100, your fund then buys it at a higher price than it was earlier.

A larger FTSE100 company your fund already owns has a bad spell and falls out the FTSE100 and your fund has to sell at the lower price.

I'm a fairly sophisticated investor but would not dream of offering any advice other than, do your own research or pay for an IFA. I did the former and am happy. When my fund is worth a few quid more I may stump up and get some pro advice to see if I could be doing better.

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Bigtomfu said:

This my friend is the investors curse. When to stick and when to twist. The simple reality is that timing the market is the hardest thing to do and primarily is also why the majority of active fund managers fail to outperform.

As others have told you be clear about why youre investing - for a set objective etc - and stay calm and invest for a considerable period of time - I would suggest minimum a period of 3 years. I would also recommend only investing what you can afford to lose as past performance really is no guide to future returns.

The myriad of information and options is bloody confusing unless you're prepared to invest significant amounts of time to really understand it all so get comfortable with what level of risk you're prepared to take and have a clear achievable objective. For example i'd suggest there's no point investing if you think along the lines of wanting to invest £10k now for 10 years in order to achieve your objective of buying a house with the proceeds. Try as much as possible to remove emotion from the decision making and most of all enjoy the ride!

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