What funds to add to my portfolio?

elwy

Does anybody recommend that book? (The Long and the Short of It: A Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren’t in the Industry By John Kay).

asdv

It's the first and only finance book I've ever read and it seemed to make a lot of sense. It is a good education. I've recently been shocked by IFA and Pension fund charges which is why I read it.

The advice and recommendations for constructing a conventional portfolio give you the basics of how to do it but not the fine detail to get you through finally clicking exactly the right purchases in your Selftrade (or equivalent) account lists. There are just so many variations on individual very similar items.

I came here hoping to find others like me needing that last tiny bit of help and was surprised to find almost no talk about this book. It's been published for a couple of months now and seems so ripe for discussion on this site.

Janie2008

Don't go direct as you will have to pay the full initial fees. I've used bestinvest in the past which are good if you are investing relatively small amounts as you can split the minimum £1000 investment and invest £500 in two different funds.

jg-ms

elwy wrote: »

Does anybody recommend that book? (The Long and the Short of It: A Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren’t in the Industry By John Kay).

Yes I found it really interesting. Something of an indictment of the current financial services industry in terms of how well it actually serves small retail investors. Also found "When Markets Collide", by El-Erian - the FT book of the year 2008 - well worth reading. Some similar guidance in terms of indexing and charges, interesting ideas on long-term direction for portfolios.