Swapping ISAs from cash -> equity. I'm scared.

grumpycrab

A BOS advisor has recommended that, for my long term (>10yrs) savings plan, I should transfer all (3) of my cash ISAs to a single equity ISA.

I know he has a financial incentive to recommend this but I'm not a great lover of shares et al. I suppose the safest option is buying into an index tracker. I need some advice/info to read to give me some sort of indication that this is a sensible thing to do. Cheers.

brewerdave

If you really can manage without the cash ISAs in the short to medium term (ie you have other readily available savings to cover disasters like redundancy,serious illness etc) and are at least 15 years away from retirement then its worth doing.Where you put the money depends on your attitude to risk.
I find Hargreaves Landsdown a good site for researching various investment options.

dunstonh

A BOS advisor has recommended that

OK, why are you contributing on a money saving site but seeing a sales rep at a bank (the most expensive distribution channel for financial products)?

I suppose the safest option is buying into an index tracker.

good grief no. Index trackers (assuming FTSE) are medium/high risk. That puts them closer to the top of the risk scale than the bottom.

I need some advice/info to read to give me some sort of indication that this is a sensible thing to do. Cheers.

See a real adviser and not a sales rep. Dont do anything you dont understand the basics of and dont DIY if you dont understand risk (e.g. if you think trackers are low risk then dont DIY).

StevieJ

dunstonh wrote: »

See a real adviser and not a sales rep. Dont do anything you dont understand the basics of and dont DIY if you dont understand risk (e.g. if you think trackers are low risk then dont DIY).

I must admit this risk thing has me baffled, we are passing through a severe recession, I was informed that Asia and EM's were very high risk and Income funds, Bonds etc were less so. Well what actually has happened so far with my portfolio over the past two years? just say I am glad I had a reasonable proportion in Risky investments and cash of course

dunstonh

Risk doesnt mean they will all go down at the same time. Risk also doesnt look at potential for gains. It focuses on the potential for loss.

People never complain when their values go up. Its when they go down that they do that.

Sam37

I have no particular expertise in this area, but personally I'd not do anything I am scared of. Of course you may want to get more information from someone who is truly independent before you make a decision about this.

I know people who have been advised by a (true) IFA, and have lost significant amounts after a long term investment at a time they could have used the money to buy a new property, they would have been able to buy if they had put their investments in a bog standard savings account. (They don't moan about this because they knew the risk, and who knows what these investments will bring them in the future.)

However well someone advises you (and personally I wouldn't know how to know if someone is particularly well qualified, except for using the IFA website), there is always a risk. I appreciate a lot of IFAs do a lot of good work, but at the end of the day this industry is based on clients' acceptance of some level of risk -that is higher than on savings accounts, if you manage them properly.

Personally I rather have a life with less money and less worries, than more worries and maybe more money. If you see your investments as 'playing money' it's a different matter.

dunstonh

I know people who have been advised by a (true) IFA, and have lost significant amounts

An IFA doesnt have a crystal ball. The IFA will ascertain risk profiles and invest the money accordingly. If the markets go down 50% then there is no way for an IFA to avoid that if your investments include that area.

Different people have different risk profiles. Some dont mind the volatility, some do.

Sam37

dunstonh wrote: »

An IFA doesnt have a crystal ball. The IFA will ascertain risk profiles and invest the money accordingly. If the markets go down 50% then there is no way for an IFA to avoid that if your investments include that area.

Different people have different risk profiles. Some dont mind the volatility, some do.

Exactly my point!