Critique my Portfolio

[Deleted User] · 31 May 2017 at 12:44AM

Hi all,
I have had the below portfolio for a while but it feels quite muddled up. I inherited everything apart from the Lifestrategy and know very little about the other funds. Any feedback would be really appreciated. I am looking for moderately high risk, low cost exposure to a wide range of markets - hence the Lifestrategy 80.

Company Valuation
VANGUARD INV UK LT LIFESTRATEGY 80 PERC EQUITY £87,916.23
SCOT MORT INV TST ORD GBP0.05 £19,940.00
SECS TST SCOTLAND RED ORD GBP0.01 £14,598.50
HENDERSON EURO FOC ORD GBP0.50 £11,837.53
BRUNNER INV TR ORD GBP0.25 £11,216.00
STD LIFE UK SMALL ORD GBP0.25 £10,593.00
POLAR CAP TECH TST GBP0.25 £10,352.50
WORLDWIDE HLTHCARE ORD GBP0.25 £9,480.00
RIT CAP PARTNERS ORD GBP1 £7,905.00
FIDELITY SPEC VALU ORD GBP0.05 £7,267.50
ABERDEEN NEW DAWN ORD GBP0.05 £6,497.38
F&C COMM PROP TST ORD GBP0.01 £6,351.10

Cheers

bigadaj · 31 May 2017 at 5:54AM

We can critique but I suppose from what you've said it isn't really your portfolio.

It's half of a vanguard multi asset fund and a whole bunch of someone else's investment trusts that you've acquired.

First thing to say is that if you had the near £100k in the non vanguard investments would you go out and buy that selection of funds, I presume the answer is no. However depending on your platform it could costs you money to buy and sell these funds so probably worth some thought on which you might want to see, before cashing them all in.

You'd generally look at the portfolio as a whole, so set up a dummy portfolio on trustnet or Morningstar and see what the allocations look like in terms of asset class, geography etc

You could sell all of the inherited portfolio and place it into your vanguard fund, or sell and buy some complementary funds, maybe smaller companies, property etc

[Deleted User] · 2 June 2017 at 2:14AM

I am with iWeb so the cost of selling all the other investments and putting it into more VLS wouldn't be huge (around £60).

That is what I am considering but I am worried that it is too much risk having it all in one company. I know VLS is diversified but incase Vanguard makes a mistake or similar.

What I was wondering is if any of the funds already there complement VLS well or do you have any recommendation for funds that do?

bostonerimus · 2 June 2017 at 4:17AM

VLS80 owns index tracker funds in certain amounts....there's no active trading so the only mistake possible is the original selection of the assets and you seem ok with that.

Vanguard itself is owned by the funds, which are owned by the shareholders.......its a mutual company and not publicly traded so the only way you'll lose money is because of the ups and downs of the markets.

[Deleted User] · 2 June 2017 at 8:16PM

Thanks, and would you say that around 200k in just VLS 80 is ok?

bigadaj · 3 June 2017 at 8:39AM

Olivier811 wrote: »

Thanks, and would you say that around 200k in just VLS 80 is ok?

It's ok but probably not ideal.

The first issue is that the fscs limit on investments is only £50k which typically applies to the fund house, vanguard in this case. The underlying assets like the company shares are he,d separately and vanguard are the second biggest asset manager in the world, so it is incredibly unlikely tans limited to issues like fraud, but it's a consideration.

Similar funds are run by other big asset managers like fidelity, legal and general, black rock etc, so you could invest into one of those at your suitable risk level.

Also once you start getting into solid six figures then considering areas that vls doesn't cover can be worthwhile, areas like smaller companies, property etc

I would t rush into anything, have a look at the investment trusts you've inherited and get some understanding of them as there are some good funds there.

Audaxer · 3 June 2017 at 9:01AM

bigadaj wrote: »

Similar funds are run by other big asset managers like fidelity, legal and general, black rock etc, so you could invest into one of those at your suitable risk level.

Another similar type of multi asset passive fund is the HSBC Global Strategy portfolio with an OCF of only 0.19%.

Alice_Holt · 3 June 2017 at 4:31PM

bigadaj wrote: »

I would t rush into anything, have a look at the investment trusts you've inherited and get some understanding of them as there are some good funds there.

+1

Bigadj suggestion of using trustnet to set up a dummy portfolio and see what the allocations look like in terms of asset class, geography, management costs, dividend policy, past performance, etc is an excellent one.

I'd suggest you carefully consider your own investment priorities, and assess the portfolio you have inherited.

mike88 · 4 June 2017 at 1:04PM

A high risk portfolio is fine if you are young (in certain circumstances) or have everything you want in terms of housing, good job, pension and cash. If none of these apply a more conservative portfolio is appropriate. However if you are merely seeking "risk" growth for no particular reason and have a reasonable amount of available cash then risk is fine as long as you are prepared to accept losses. Stockmarkets are performing well at present but historically, after a period of growth, there are falls - sometimes significant.

Generally high risk can mean either high reward or a high risk of losses. Is now the right time to invest in higher risk Trusts? Uncertainties lie ahead in terms of BREXIT and the Election with possible consequences for inflation and currency so going for risky growth might not be the best bet for everyone at this time although I confess I have not followed my own advice but am able to absorb heavy losses.

At the end of the day your attitude to risk and future plans are issues that need to be taken into account when assessing a portfolio.

Audaxer · 5 June 2017 at 10:21PM

mike88 wrote: »

A high risk portfolio is fine if you are young (in certain circumstances) or have everything you want in terms of housing, good job, pension and cash. If none of these apply a more conservative portfolio is appropriate. However if you are merely seeking "risk" growth for no particular reason and have a reasonable amount of available cash then risk is fine as long as you are prepared to accept losses. Stockmarkets are performing well at present but historically, after a period of growth, there are falls - sometimes significant.

Generally high risk can mean either high reward or a high risk of losses. Is now the right time to invest in higher risk Trusts? Uncertainties lie ahead in terms of BREXIT and the Election with possible consequences for inflation and currency so going for risky growth might not be the best bet for everyone at this time although I confess I have not followed my own advice but am able to absorb heavy losses.

At the end of the day your attitude to risk and future plans are issues that need to be taken into account when assessing a portfolio.

I would have thought higher risk doesn't necessarily mean higher 'losses' unless you sell - just higher volatility.

He has inherited the Trusts and is considering selling them and putting in all in a VLS80, which would seem to be quite a high risk as well.

Thrugelmir · 5 June 2017 at 10:31PM

Audaxer wrote: »

I would have thought higher risk doesn't necessarily mean higher 'losses' unless you sell - just higher volatility.

A poorly performing investment is unlikely to be dragged higher in price just because the market is moving upwards.

Critique my Portfolio

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