Investing Questions !

JonnyH

Hi

Basically to get to the point i dont know to much about investing.

At 16 i inherited a good sum of money, which my uncle sorted for me at the time. I invested in Shares with Scottish widows through Lloyds TSB i think.

Anyway at this point its years later and im also in the process of selling the house i also inherited (yes i really have to sell it atm). I've been given quotes of around 140,000 from 4 different estate agents (The house is in middle of Renovation, lots of issues etc)

Anyway at this point i dont have the experience or knowledge to know what to do with my money or any id be getting in this situation with the recession etc.

So questions if you can offer any helpful advice !

A: Is Scottish widows currently a safe place to hold shares ? The value of mine have been going down for a while.

B: What should i do with such a big sum of money from the house? Im looking to start renting a flat atm...so id like any interest i get from the money to go towards that monthly i think.

C: Any sites/pages or general advice you'd recommend i read to increase my knowledge on any of this?

If you choose to help me, thankyou very Much! :T

dunstonh

A: Is Scottish widows currently a safe place to hold shares ?

Scottish Widows are just an adminstrator. You are not investing in them. You invest in funds which in turn invest in a range of assets which will depend on the funds objectives.

Being a bank recommendation, its likely to be limited in quality and expensive (bank versions of Scot Wid are often cut down versions of the IFA product and/or retailed at full price and Lloyds Tied Agents cant portfolio plan) but apart from that, there is nothing wrong with Scottish Widows.

B: What should i do with such a big sum of money from the house? Im looking to start renting a flat atm...so id like any interest i get from the money to go towards that monthly i think.

You dont get interest on the investments. You suffer and gain with investment returns. This means the value goes down as well as up. If you draw on it, it coud either be natural income or capital withdrawals depending on the tax wrapper used and the way you take withdrawals.

C: Any sites/pages or general advice you'd recommend i read to increase my knowledge on any of this?

Its not something you can learn easily or quickly. Its fairly simple if you have £10,000 and you want a basic option but with larger amounts you have to consider a lot more. I would say around 120 hours of reading should give you a basic understanding.

CLAPTON

Just not enough information here

how old are you
what is your income
do you plan to buy a property within the next 5 years
are you willing to take risks with the money (i.e. invest rather than save)
how much are your existing investment worth
do they generate any income

JonnyH

Maybe i shouldnt have said investing....

My main question is what can i do with 130,000 that will create the most profit/interest to go towards helping pay off the rent of an apartment per month.

I hope to be living in America in a years time, so this is a short term measure until this become possible.

As ill need the money monthly do you recommend i put it in a savings account instead of investing it?

I am 20, not working atm...to many other things to deal with.
No idea how much my current investments are making or how to find this out.