sensible mix of funds?

pedro789

I've just turned 40 and have a bit of spare cash (300 per month) and want to invest in S&S Isa. I'm a novice investor, but have done quite a bit of research on Morningstar and Trustnet to try and identify 3 funds that could offer a decent return.

I'm happy to invest for 5+ years and don't mind taking a bit of risk. I would really appreciate any thoughts on the proposed mix of funds, whether the asset allocation is sensible or any other advice.

Jupiter Merlin Worldwide
M&G Global Basics
Artemis Income

Thanks
Peter

Lokolo

I was tempted to buy into M&G Global Basics. But I suspect its more towards 10 years for it to a good buy.

sabretoothtigger

I dont usually like global funds as they are unfocused I think and sometimes expense. I got a tech global instead

artemis has a good absolute fund I think. How did you decide on these three, if you enter them on morningstar portfolio as entries it will tell you what mix of companies you will then have under the xray tab

pedro789

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

I dont usually like global funds as they are unfocused I think and sometimes expense. I got a tech global instead

artemis has a good absolute fund I think. How did you decide on these three, if you enter them on morningstar portfolio as entries it will tell you what mix of companies you will then have under the xray tab

Thanks for replies. I chose these funds based on performance over past 5 years, good ratings on Trustnet and Morningstar and trying to get a sensible spread of UK and global funds.

I've used the X-ray tool and the allocation is dominated by equities, 89%. As I mentioned in OP, I'm new to this but should I have a more even spread i.e. bonds, property?

Would appreciate any advice, just trying to get as much info as possible.

Thanks
Peter

sabretoothtigger

Im fine with all equity personally, I just meant sector wise and geographically

pedro789

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

Im fine with all equity personally, I just meant sector wise and geographically

Nothing very scientific, just wanted to spread my investment across a range of sectors/countries, read through the Morningstar research reports and other sources to find out more about performance, managers and their philosophy/approach to fund management.

I'd be happy for someone to tell me my suggestions are completely nutty as long as they explain why? Just looking for as much advice as poss.

Thanks.

artha

Lokolo wrote: »

I was tempted to buy into M&G Global Basics. But I suspect its more towards 10 years for it to a good buy.

Would you like to expand on your views please? I,d be interested to know how you came to that conclusion

tt07

Firstly you say a bit of risk if the fund dropped 25% would you be spooked?

Between the worldwide and global funds have you looked to see if there is much stock overlap, as it maybe they invest in similar things as they sound similar be worth checking if they are similar pick another fund.

If I was picking just 3 funds for growth I'd probably do something like this with a little weighting

emerging markets - 35%
natural resources - 40%
Sector Specific Focus Fund - 25% Fund based on a sector rather than a bit of everything.

The risk on the above is higher than what you suggest but potential returns are higher. but really depends how comfortable you are with risk.

This doesn't constitute advice and you need to do your own research it's my thoughts.

Good luck it's good fun investing in funds and picking them.

cepheus

Before using historic data to select funds, go back 5 years, see which were the most highly rated then, and see how they subsequently performed. Out of thousands of funds two or three by chance might do exceedingly well. Don't get drawn into the data-mining trap!

Portfolio selection is also about minimising risk, to me this is drawdown (the max drop from any maximum portfolio profit) rather than volatility. To achieve this requires a diverse market which is rather difficult nowadays due to globalisation. You can diversify a bit by using quality bonds, commodity related instruments and gold. However, anything in a foreign demoninated currency will be subject to exchange rate risks.

Linton

pedro789 wrote: »

I've just turned 40 and have a bit of spare cash (300 per month) and want to invest in S&S Isa. I'm a novice investor, but have done quite a bit of research on Morningstar and Trustnet to try and identify 3 funds that could offer a decent return.

I'm happy to invest for 5+ years and don't mind taking a bit of risk. I would really appreciate any thoughts on the proposed mix of funds, whether the asset allocation is sensible or any other advice.

Jupiter Merlin Worldwide
M&G Global Basics
Artemis Income

Thanks
Peter

Not convinced by any of your list if you are looking for >5 years bit of risk growth.

Assuming you have a reasonably amount remaining in cash and other safe investments and can accept (hopefully) temporary major drops, for a small growth portfolio I would be looking at

• Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan)
• Raw Materials
• possibly Emerging Markets although I am a bit concerned by something I read that the amount of money now going into this sector may be larger than it can accommodate without causing a bubble.
• For the UK I like Fidelity Special Situations (though this seems to have fallen behind a bit recently) or M&G Recovery

It is a bit dangerous to rely too much by searching through Morningstar or Trustnet. These only provide returns for up to 5 years. The past 5 years have been a little unusual - with historically unusual rises and falls. I would put as much reliance on one's judgement as to the long term nature of the world and UK economy.

Lokolo

artha wrote: »

Would you like to expand on your views please? I,d be interested to know how you came to that conclusion

High risk. I wouldn't be trying to go for something high risk and plan on keeping for around 5 years.