Where are people investing?

Masomnia

I was pretty tempted by the BlackRock one, but the charges look pretty high and I'm pretty wary of things that are popular! That's probably a silly way to be. I shan't have any funds to invest until the New Year so I'm trying to do as much research as I can before then.

natman

To be honest the gold I am investing in is my weakest subject.
I dont like risks at all, but i decided to at least have a bit of a play
1% premium bonds - wow

and the gold - a friend invests quite a bit he has about £15,000 tooked away in a website called bullion vault.com

To be honest I have bought some gold at a price and will keep hold of it for a bit. I suppose other people will know more but i am just playing to be honest - the james bond in side of me made me do it!!!!!
sorry that i am no good at answering your question.

wombat42_2

Masomnia wrote: »

I was pretty tempted by the BlackRock one, but the charges look pretty high and I'm pretty wary of things that are popular! That's probably a silly way to be. I shan't have any funds to invest until the New Year so I'm trying to do as much research as I can before then.

Most charges are discounted by fund supermarkets such as Hargreaves and Landsdowne. If you are put off by the fact that the Blackrock has had a huge amount already invested with it, you might consider the Cazenove fund as an alternative (also recommended by Hargreaves and Landsdowne) and it seems has a similar profile - based on UK equities - as the Blackrock fund. The performance of the Cazenove fund since its launch is quite impressive.

tradetime

Not all funds with the word "absolute" in their name are good but the above four seem to be.

True, but it's a great word to include in a fund name
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJmTCYmo9g&feature=related

jamesd

Most charges are not discounted by Hargreaves Lansdown. HL discounts the full initial charge for UK Absolute Alpha but the annual charge is 1.5% and HL only discounts that by 0.1% outside a SIPP and nothing inside a SIPP. In addition there's a steep 20% of the gain performance fee once the fund goes above it's past highs.

cagey76

dudes wrote: »

Just out of interest, how are you investing in gold? Certificates? Trusts?

Do you think gold will keep rising?

Blackrock Gold and General for me. Anyone else out there keen on gold ? Anyone have any thoughts on the dollar being devalued against gold ? Once you get lured into the world of the gold bugs it makes fascinating reading, but as to how much of it is true .....

gozomark

cagey76 wrote: »

Anyone have any thoughts on the dollar being devalued against gold ? quote]

the dollar isn't backed by gold, so it can't be devalued against it. Do you mean will the gold price go up in $ terms, or do you mean will the $ fall against other currencies ?

wombat42_2

cagey76 wrote: »

Blackrock Gold and General for me. Anyone else out there keen on gold ? Anyone have any thoughts on the dollar being devalued against gold ? Once you get lured into the world of the gold bugs it makes fascinating reading, but as to how much of it is true .....

I have Blackrock Gold and General. Quite a few serious economists and serious commentators are very bullish on gold, even talking about gold doubling in 2009 which would more than double Blackrock Gold and General. Gold has been doing very nicely in the last few days including today. However there is absolutely no certainty on this. If you want to invest in Blackrock Gold and General you should first make sure you have a good cash buffer and you should be prepared to hold for the long term - 5 to 10 years if need be.

TechnoBadger

dudes wrote: »

You may get more response starting a new thread. One point to consider, the interest gained from zopa is taxable as income (I think). Also, there is a risk of people not paying.

Indeed, Zopa send a tax statement each year to help. There are / will be more defaulters. Make sure that the rate that you charge takes account of this to some extent.

cagey76

wombat42 wrote: »

I have Blackrock Gold and General. Quite a few serious economists and serious commentators are very bullish on gold, even talking about gold doubling in 2009 which would more than double Blackrock Gold and General. Gold has been doing very nicely in the last few days including today. However there is absolutely no certainty on this. If you want to invest in Blackrock Gold and General you should first make sure you have a good cash buffer and you should be prepared to hold for the long term - 5 to 10 years if need be.

Wombat, I agree with the gold price suggestions.

Gozomark, google for something like "President Franklin Roosevelt gold dollar revaluation", would make more sense than me trying to explain it here.