£1000 in an account to forget - i.e. long term

Nine_Lives

Basically, i can't really tie up too much money long term as we'll be looking to get our own place in January.

I thought though, about £1k - putting this in something to just simply 'forget about' (obviously not literally) & one day way down the line check on, or move about. Just to have it 'floating' for many many years basically.

I'm under no illusions, this is not going to be any retirement fund, but i'm hoping over time (many years) it could've perhaps generated a reasonable amount.

First off, with a sum so small (i appreciate 1k isn't "small" to everyone & it's not small to me either, but when i think of long term investing, it 'seems' small to me) is it even worth it?

Secondly, where would you plonk your money?

atush

In an Isa if you aren't full up. In an NSI cert if you were.

TBH, you can't 'forget' as then min yu do they will lower your interest rate. I might be inclined if you want to Forget it, to put it in an investment trust.

Nine_Lives

atush wrote: »

TBH, you can't 'forget' as then min yu do they will lower your interest rate.

This is why i put the following...

K_P83 wrote: »

to just simply 'forget about' (obviously not literally)

Anyway, yeah i've maxed out my ISA this year.

I had a look at that NSI thing a while ago & used their calculator. I can't remember the fee i put in (it was over £1k that's for sure) but it predicted i'd make no money. Made no sense to me.

CLAPTON

1000 put in savings today
will be worth less in 20 years due to inflation

1000 put into investments today may be worth more in 20 years or may be worth less

what exactly is your question

Nine_Lives

Rather than what is my question, i'll tell you my aim.

What i want to do is stick £1000 somewhere (note: i never used the word "account" now, but somewhere). I want to put it somewhere for a long while (lets say indefinitely).
I don't have a problem with moving it around from place to place, but basically i don't want (need would perhaps be a better word) to touch it (draw on it), for a long long time (indefinitely).

I want this money to make as much money over however long it is making me money for, be it savings which i understand to a reasonable degree, or investments which i don't really understand a great deal.

As i say, i'm not expecting retirement money. What do you advise i do with it?

TheMatrix_2

If you're prepared to risk it, for the potential of higher rewards. Pick a good stock and invest it there. Trouble is picking the right stock. Yes risky, but get the right company. Imagine buying google when they were starting up, what that investment would be worth now.

Banks, your money is safe, but overtime your £1,000 will decrease in value the way inflation is at the moment, and the crapy interest rates in their losing accounts.

Nine_Lives

Are you talking about shares then?

So what you'd be saying is sort of close your eyes and pick & roll with it?? There would be no educated selecting as i'm not educated in that sort of game.

Would this NSI thing be no good for me then? Everyone seems to be raving about it at the moment.

TheMatrix_2

Your £1,000 in NSandI at RPI would leave you with the same £1,000 worth of spending power when you come to cash it in as it would have kept up with inflation but it would not have increased in spending power value.

Yes shares are high risk and high reward, you'll have to make your own decision with which shares to go with if you decide this is the way forward. It's just what I would do personally if I was to invest it for the next 20+ years.

Nine_Lives

If going the shares route, then couldn't/wouldn't this be done using the "other half" of your ISA limit? I don't mean the full half, but i mean an amount of the half.

Example -

the way i understand it is i can go online now & purchase some shares. Close my eyes & click sort of thing. I imagine i'll pay tax on this.

I've only ever invested cash money as far as ISAs go as i've never fully understood the other half of it. But couldn't you use a section of this other half to buy shares for example, and then not pay tax on things?

Or doesn't it work like that?

gmgmgm

It sounds as though something relatively simple like an index tracker inside a stocks ISA is what you're after- you may be able to get higher returns, but only with much more work. It sounds as though you haven't maxed your shares ISA allowance.

So one option would be to put it all into a FTSE 100 tracker e.g. the HSBC one (HUKX) which I think has low TER etc. Buy it through iii.co.uk - zero costs.

atush

That is why I said to buy some shares in an investment trust. A general one, or one that specialises in global or emerging markets.

Will be less risky than choosing a single share. But a single share in a large stable company that has a good return via dividends might be an answer too. Something like utilities, or pharmaceuticals.