Index Trackers

carnet

EdInvestor wrote:

Sorry, I missed your post, could you provide a link?

Post #14

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=114049

al_yrpal

EdInvestor wrote:

Hi Carnet

Of course it's well known to people like you, but not I suspect to the general public.

Sorry, I missed your post, could you provide a link?

I have always used Chartwell, it costs £20 per Trust, and they usually refund most of the initial fee, and half their ongoing commission by cheque each year. I did consider putting all my funds in Cofunds or the Fidelity but reading all the horror stories about fund supermarkets I decided that the 20 quid was a sum well spent. Also, with a fund supermarket you cannot hold your funds (PEPS/ISA's), your wifes funds, and any joint funds in one portfolio so the so called convenience isn't there. Trustnet's portfolio is a better bet there. Its easy to keep an eye on stock movements inside the trusts, managers and sectors etc. I am not sure if I am getting the best deal with Chartwell, but I feel more in control when swopping an ISA or a PEP to another fund. I suspect that this is where the fund supermarkets let people down.
IFA's get even more access on Trustnet, but I don't know what that is, or whether it might be of any value to me?

carnet

I have always used Chartwell, it costs £20 per Trust

Not so good if, like me/her, you can sometimes hold 40+ funds at any one time between you .

Cavendish have a similar scheme - Initial fee of £20/25 per trust plus annual charge of £10 per plan - plus they reserve the right to charge a further £10 annual admin fee if you hold more than 10 funds.

they usually refund most of the initial fee, and half their ongoing commission

So do the like of HL, but without any charges payable by you.

I did consider putting all my funds in Cofunds or the Fidelity but reading all the horror stories about fund supermarkets

From bitter experience, agree Cofunds' admin. is pretty dire.

Also, with a fund supermarket you cannot hold your funds (PEPS/ISA's), your wifes funds, and any joint funds in one portfolio

With HL's Vantage you can register for online servicing and view daily pricing updates of not only all your Vantage investments ( held both inside and outside ISA's/PEP's) but also list any others you might hold elsewhere (and not wish to transfer to Vantage), as a virtual portfolio. Your wife can view hers with a separate username/password.

al_yrpal

carnet
Thanks for that I'll have a closer look at HL. Yesterday I sent in my latest investment which was two Invesco Perpetual funds. They were on one form, so it was only 20 quid for the two, and, like HL there is no annual fee. They usually rebate half their annual commission. We only hold 7 funds + these new two, and they are fairly reasonable sums, so the 20 quid is not really a problem.
On the Trustnet, you can put anything - your savings accounts, bank accounts, property, credit card debt etc, so you get the whole picture. You can do what I do - create a phantom identity, and put on funds that you are thinking about going for and track their progress. I quite like Trustnet - its also very secure because you are virtually anonymous.

carnet

Yes, I have 15 separate portfolios on Trustnet which I use to track funds I have against others I am considering etc., in various sectors.

BTW, no offence, but don't know of any current IP funds that can't be bettered elsewhere (leaving aside, possibly, Neil Woodford's two behemoths which are far too big for me and, even there, think there are one or two others in the sector better placed going forward).

al_yrpal

carnet

Its Latin America and Emerging Countries that I went for. As you say, on the face of it these can be bettered. I 'drill down' into the fund looking at what they are holding, who the manager is, how long they have been at it, what sectors within the fund it's covering. I also look to make sure I have no big share overlaps in other funds held which can leave me overexposed (everyones got some Samsungs!). I liked EC because it was investing where others weren't, and I liked the look of the manager on LA because he has been there a long time and obviously knows his market. But its all a purely subjective gamble as you know. I will be watching it closely (like I'm watching Carl Stick at present because he is really thrashing about at Rathbone and the fund has had some noticeable setbacks recently)

carnet

Fair enough .

Being confident in your own research and happy with your own investment decisions is a very important element of successful investing.

After over 20 years of doing this I now take a contrarian approach to the whole thing and am inclined to zig when most commentators (including many professional advisors, who rarely go out on a limb, for obvious reasons) are advocating zagging.

If you go with the herd there's always a greater danger of getting pushed over the edge by sheer force of numbers .

As an illustration, I had been planning on committing new money to a couple of investments recently but with many markets reaching four year highs I have kept my powder dry and will bide my time .

al_yrpal

Yup,

Just like we all did when the internet bubble burst (and 87). The economy seems to have become resilient to things like oil shocks, but I suppose a bird flu panic could shut down travel and trade, so its going to be something like that - the unknown...

EdInvestor

Carnet

You said on the other post

With regard to charges, if you are turning over your funds on a regular basis these can work out cheaper than buying/selling shares. Obviously it depends on how long you typically hold them and would therefore only apply to speculative rather than long-term core holdings - and the size of the deal.

You may be right, but I think I have stressed all along that I am talking about long term buy and hold share investment.

I would also reiterate that flat rate charges, as are normal in the discount broker area, will be much cheaper than percentage- based charges for investment funds of any size.

oceanblue_3

EdInvestor wrote:

You may be right, but I think I have stressed all along that I am talking about long term buy and hold share investment.

Possibly, but this criterion is extraneous to the business of investing to make a profit: the quality of the security is of paramount importance.

EdInvestor wrote:

I would also reiterate that flat rate charges, as are normal in the discount broker area, will be much cheaper than percentage- based charges for investment funds of any size.

Not necessarily: often it's possible to buy at "creation price"; if this gives you a broad spread of securities overseen by a proven manager, what could be better?