Critique My Fund Portfolio

purch

The Cloud .......... that is the future.

Amazon Web Services , Google and Microsoft will be making a killing providing this over the next few years.

Technology !!!

atypical

purch wrote: »

The Cloud .......... that is the future.

Things are certainly moving in this direction. Royal Mail moved from (the hideous) Lotus Notes to a a cloud alternative provided by Microsoft. They're also moving other business applications 'to the cloud'. It's expected that they'll save £1.8 million over 4 years.

There are also strong rumours that Apple will be offering MobileMe (a cloud back-up service) for free soon. Google is expected to launch a cloud-based music service for Android soon too. Tata Communications today launched a cloud-computing service.

DavidHayton

Hi! Your selection is adventurous, but that is not a problem at your age, especially if you are investing monthly - if a fund falls then you get the next tranche more cheaply.

To be honest, I wouldn't bother with the index linked bond fund. You can lose money on these even at a time of rising inflation if the expectation of future inflation and interest rates changes. I am a believer in public utilities and the like that can raise their prices (and hopefully!! profits) in line with inflation.

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

Do you have any suggestions for a US Small Caps fund? I have been debating Schroder US Mid Cap for a while now but have yet to pay much attention to small caps.

I have been very pleased with the Schroder US Small Cap fund. It has done very well for me. However, it has been "soft-capped": even if you buy it through a discount broker such as HL, you will still pay a 2% initial charge. This might put you off.

As for US funds in general, I have just about given up on actively managed funds, and simply plumped for the HSBC American Index fund (it had the lowest charges of any tracker that I could find).

I agree with Bendix about the GLG Tech fund (it was previously called Soc Gen Technology and has a long history). It has served me well in the last couple of years.

Finally don't overlook healthcare (AXA have a fund in this area). The baby boomers are not getting any younger and I reckon that they will prefer to spend their loot on themselves rather than hand it over to the next generation!

Best wishes
David

xx_Law_Grad_xx

One thing which is concerning me is a lack of lower risk funds in my portfolio. Is there anything else I could add? Maybe a large cap focused fund. Or should I just increase the monthly contributions for some of the lower risk funds I currently have?

purch wrote: »

Your Fixed Interest choice isn't Fixed Interest.

I am a big believer that Japan has turned the corner, and will be a good place to invest, especially small caps and REIT's. I don't think the Japanese market is one where a tracker, or fund manager who is just a follower of the Index works particularly well.

Technology is also one to look at. IT's such as Polar Cap and RCM have performed well recently, and I think will continue to do so.

Commodities is an area worth looking at. There is still a huge supply Inelasticity, and pure commodity funds, or funds concentrating on commodity producing nations should benefit. Again I would avoid an Index style fund or ETF to play this area.

Thanks. Renamed it.

I did a little bit of research on Japan last night and was put off. Debt, ageing population, lack of land space, immigration, etc. were all regular issues raised in the articles I have read. I will dig further as I cannot believe it is all doom and gloom there.

Definitely interested in technology based on a lot of the comments here. Narrowed it down to either the GLG or Henderson Tech Fund.

Although I would like to have a number of investment trusts within my portfolio monthly drip feeding with them is not cost efficient due to the fees.

Am I correct in saying were the Chinese property bubble to burst commodity funds would plummet? This is my one concern regarding commodities.

bendix wrote: »

GLG Technology Equity Fund, not GLF. My typo, sorry.

I wasnt meaning to deride your monthly contribution. It is important to start somewhere. My point is that with low monthly payments you don't really need to worry too much about risking a fall of a few percent - it won't kill you.

The important thing is just to get started and to get into the discipline.

Yeah, I understand what you mean. £30 is a small amount of money as over a year that is only £360. When I wont even consider spending any less than £1,000 on shares it is a lot less than what I am usually accustomed to investing. But I guess those small monthly investments across a dozen of so funds amounts to quite a lot. And over the years will add up.

Yes, getting into good habits now will benefit me later in life.

purch wrote: »

The Cloud .......... that is the future.

Amazon Web Services , Google and Microsoft will be making a killing providing this over the next few years.

Technology !!!

Had a look at the wikipedia article on cloud computing and I could not understand it at all lol.

DavidHayton wrote: »

Hi! Your selection is adventurous, but that is not a problem at your age, especially if you are investing monthly - if a fund falls then you get the next tranche more cheaply.

To be honest, I wouldn't bother with the index linked bond fund. You can lose money on these even at a time of rising inflation if the expectation of future inflation and interest rates changes. I am a believer in public utilities and the like that can raise their prices (and hopefully!! profits) in line with inflation.

I have been very pleased with the Schroder US Small Cap fund. It has done very well for me. However, it has been "soft-capped": even if you buy it through a discount broker such as HL, you will still pay a 2% initial charge. This might put you off.

As for US funds in general, I have just about given up on actively managed funds, and simply plumped for the HSBC American Index fund (it had the lowest charges of any tracker that I could find).

I agree with Bendix about the GLG Tech fund (it was previously called Soc Gen Technology and has a long history). It has served me well in the last couple of years.

Finally don't overlook healthcare (AXA have a fund in this area). The baby boomers are not getting any younger and I reckon that they will prefer to spend their loot on themselves rather than hand it over to the next generation!

Best wishes
David

Should I avoid bonds all together for the time being?

I have had a look at the SWIP North American Smaller Companies fund which looks quite appealing.

Yes, it appears that the funds do not outperform their index. I had looked at the HSBC fund in the past so will give it another look.

Healthcare is an interesting sector. Apparently the future for the pharma companies is biotech.

Ilya_Ilyich

If you want to buy an index-linked bond fund to protect against unexpected UK inflation you're better off picking a UK-oriented one.

atypical

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

Had a look at the wikipedia article on cloud computing and I could not understand it at all lol.

The basics are simple. Instead of everything being stored locally on servers run by the company, everything is stored on remote servers via the internet run by the likes of Microsoft/Amazon. They obviously have greater economies of scale so can do things more efficiently as well as other advantages.

Just when my internship with the civil service was ending they were moving to a cloud computing system. When the civil service is implementing technology you know it must be hitting the mainstream!

xx_Law_Grad_xx

Anyone's opinion on this portfolio now that revisions have been made.

I would like to diversify my exposure to Europe and North America while sticking to large cap funds which should do well with rising inflation. Any opinions on what other funds would provide such diversification?

Drip feed £800 per month (£9,600 per year)

• UK – 25%
• EU – 20%
• North America – 20%
• Emerging Markets – 25%
• Specialist – 7.5%
• Property – 2.5%

UK - £200 - 25%

• Artemis Income - £130
• M&G Recovery - £30
• Marlborough Special Situations - £30

Europe Excluding UK - £160 – 20%

• Neptune European Opportunities - £160

North America - £160 – 20%

• Threadneedle American - £160

Emerging Markets - £180 – 25%

• First State Greater China Growth - Will invest in eventually - £33
• First State Indian Subcontinent - Will invest in eventually - £33
• Neptune Russia & Greater Russia - £33
• First State Latin America - £33
• Investec Africa & Middle East - £33
• Baring ASEAN Frontiers - £33

Specialist - £60 – 7.5%

• Baring Global Agriculture - £20
• JPM Natural Resources - £20
• GLG Technology Equity - £20

Property - £20 – 2.5%

• Schroder Global Property Securities - £20

Thanks for the info Atypical.

Ilya: I thought a global index linked fund would allow the fund manager to invest in countries where inflation is rising and not be restricted to one country.

sajets

I find the tech discussion interesting. What worries me though is that the fund size of GLG Technology (less than 100m, which probably explains the high TER). Also, why is almost 10% of the fund in cash?

Tech sounds interesting but I would see if there are other ways of accessing it.

JamesU

What % split on EMs? Curiosity got the better of me on the ASEAN frontiers, newish fund. Looks a bit heavy on financials for developing markets maybe, but do like the geographical spread. Trouble is at the interface between EM and developed markets, exposure to South Korea and Taiwan seems to be missing and I would not be comfortable with that myself.

JamesU

xx_Law_Grad_xx

JamesU wrote: »

What % split on EMs? Curiosity got the better of me on the ASEAN frontiers, newish fund. Looks a bit heavy on financials for developing markets maybe, but do like the geographical spread. Trouble is at the interface between EM and developed markets, exposure to South Korea and Taiwan seems to be missing and I would not be comfortable with that myself.

JamesU

25% of my portfolio will be for emerging markets.

I am bullish on the frontier market countries.

I am not sure if they will eventually invest in Vietnam but from what I have read very few people there have a bank account. So would be a fantastic opportunity for banks. Maybe that is why they have gone heavy on financials.

North Korea is a big downside on me investing in South Korea.

I have got exposure to Taiwan through First State Greater China Growth.