L&G S&S Ethical ISA, advice?

lynzpower

Hiya all

Wondering if you can help me.

I deposited 7k into the L&G S&S Isa in the last tax year and its now worth 5136 ish.

I know S&S are supposed to be "long term" but Im staggered how much this has lost when the other S&S ISA ( Jupiter) has done quite a bit better ( losses not as great, more recovery in Jupiter).

I jsut want some advice really. I dont see the economic situation getting much better for any time soon, and even if it did, my feeling is that L&G are not particularly good, certainly not as good as Jupiter IYSWIM

I know ive only lost 2k, and to a certain extent I can "afford " to lose that, but to watch it every time I get my statement diminishing, I wonder how long till there is none left.

Im not convinced I need that long term aspect any more, as we may wish to take the money and emigrate/ go travelling /whatever. This years ISAs are full in cash, and the remaining savings are in kaupthing for the time being.

Is anyone else wavering over these- or done anything about it?

jem16

lynzpower wrote: »

Hiya all

Wondering if you can help me.

I deposited 7k into the L&G S&S Isa in the last tax year and its now worth 5136 ish.

I know S&S are supposed to be "long term" but Im staggered how much this has lost when the other S&S ISA ( Jupiter) has done quite a bit better ( losses not as great, more recovery in Jupiter).

I jsut want some advice really. I dont see the economic situation getting much better for any time soon, and even if it did, my feeling is that L&G are not particularly good, certainly not as good as Jupiter IYSWIM

No-one can really comment as you have only mentioned the fund providers and not the actual funds themselves.

How did you invest in your ISAs? Did you go straight to the providers, i.e. L&G and Jupiter or did you invest through a funds supermarket?

It sounds very much like you have all of your £7k in just one single fund with L&G and one single fund with Jupiter (£7k also?). This is not a good thing to do and ideally your £14k should have been spread over different sectors.

lynzpower

Yes, I do have them all in the same fund. I went to them directly.

The reason for this is that I wanted to invest in ethical only. I researched that Jupiter was the best performing, and thus went with those. I picked L&G as they seemed to be much of a muchness- and I couldnt get any advice on the difference between the other ethical isa funds.

I had asked quite a few questions on here, about what S&S isas I shouold go for in terms of ethical performance, and I couldnt get an answer.

Can I move them to a funds supermakret now? Who chooses the funds in the supermarket, is that me or someone else?

jem16

lynzpower wrote: »

Yes, I do have them all in the same fund. I went to them directly.

That was the dearest way to invest in them unfortunately.

The reason for this is that I wanted to invest in ethical only. I researched that Jupiter was the best performing, and thus went with those. I picked L&G as they seemed to be much of a muchness- and I couldnt get any advice on the difference between the other ethical isa funds.

I had asked quite a few questions on here, about what S&S isas I shouold go for in terms of ethical performance, and I couldnt get an answer.

Sorry I can't help you on that either. Obviously it does limit your choice of funds.

Can I move them to a funds supermakret now?

As long as the funds supermarket has the funds you want then there should be no problem in transferring. What are the names of your funds?

Who chooses the funds in the supermarket, is that me or someone else?

If you go DIY to the likes of Hargreaves and Lansdown then you choose the funds and get the appropriate discounts.

If you want advice you can use an IFA who will use Fidelity or Cofunds as the funds supermarket.

lynzpower

I dont knwo what I want to be honest with you Jem. This is really ultimately the problem.

I have just been looking at the fidelity website, and to be honest it totally baffles me.

How do I pay the person who selects my funds for me, do I pay upfront, how do I know if they have "done a good job" or not?

jem16

lynzpower wrote: »

I dont knwo what I want to be honest with you Jem. This is really ultimately the problem.

I have just been looking at the fidelity website, and to be honest it totally baffles me.

Perhaps you need the help of an IFA then? Hargreaves & Lansdown does offer a lot of info on funds and you could look there without investing there. However if you still feel lost(and no shame in that) then find an IFA to do the job for you. Ultimately although you may pay for his/her services it could save you a lot of money if you don't know what you are doing.

How do I pay the person who selects my funds for me, do I pay upfront,

You can choose to pay a fee or pay commission. If you pay a fee you pay the IFA and all the commission that he/she gets from the fund provider gets rebated back to you.

If you pay commission the fund provider pays the IFA although it will mean you pay a higher initial charge on the funds. Most funds have an initial charge of 5%, 3% of which goes to the IFA as commission.

The other choice is the hybrid fee or customer agreed renumeration where you agree a fixed percentage which can be paid out of the commission. So if you agree 1% instead of 3% then your initial charge would be 2% less than normal as it gets rebated back to you.

how do I know if they have "done a good job" or not?

Ask to see the research. You may not understand it but if an IFA is any good he/she will be able to show by their research why the choices were made. If they don't show you any then beware.

dunstonh

Ethical funds have taken a bit of a beating in recent times. Mainly as they havent been able to invest in the main areas that have gone up or havent gone down by as much.

£7k in a single fund is, to be honest, poor quality investing. You mention you have a jupiter fund so it doesnt sound like you have good diversification.

Also, this is a medium/high risk fund where 40% potential losses in a 12 month period are quite possible and will happen from time to time.

EdInvestor

Useful thread on how to get a grip on ethical investing here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1093761

Have a look at the link to Trustnet which gives you all the funds which come under the Ethical heading. Some invest in shares, some in bonds.There are various levels of risk. Have a look at the performance of the two you have and choose a few more.

Then open an account at https://www.h-l.co.uk (the cheapest and move your ISas over there - they will rebate initial charges and something off the annual fee which will be chaper than going direct or using an advisor.

Take your time with this learning process - you may find that the fund you have starts to recover soon. Impatience is often the enemy of good investing.

turbobob

Going on the assumption that you've invested in the Jupiter Ecology fund and L&G Ethical, they are quite different funds so its not a like for like comparison.

I believe the L&G fund is a UK only FTSE-350 index tracker, but with some companies in the index excluded which don't meet its ethical selection criteria. I'm not sure what the criteria is.

The Jupiter Ecology fund is a managed global growth fund. So it can invest anywhere in the world, and the manager can choose shares that meet its aims rather than the negative selection in the L&G fund.

lynzpower

I will have to see if I can find an IFA. I would love a recommendation.
I have no idea what Im looking for, and even hough I read the articles, I dont understand whether I should pay fees or commision. After all , will I get cash back on commission. Even though its only circa 11k now?

jem16

lynzpower wrote: »

I will have to see if I can find an IFA. I would love a recommendation.

Can you not ask friends or family for a recommendation? If not https://www.unbiased.co.uk is the database for IFAs. Try to look for a smaller local firm and avoid the national sales forces (often with 0870 in their phone number)

I have no idea what Im looking for, and even hough I read the articles, I dont understand whether I should pay fees or commision.

Probably commission at this level.

After all , will I get cash back on commission. Even though its only circa 11k now?

Sorry not sure what you are meaning here?