Best way to invest £250k

ds1980

Chris at least you make valid points!

Again i never said they weren't risky but mine havnt been and even if there was a crash like i say it only means you lose money if you actually sell.

Im not on here to justify myself remember that a lot of the assets don't belong to me as such (the mortgages) but will do and get paid for by other people the sums don't lie. Borrow borrow borrow thats what the chancellor does isn't it!

Chris could is a lot different to actually doing so. If you were doing that you wouldn't be on here you'd be in Buckingham Palace being knighted or even using your hard earned cash to pay for a peerage!

Bottom line id invest in property before anything else but of course you need to diversify which is why i have unit trusts, i own a large stock of art, fine wine, savings, isa's peps etc etc etc the list goes on. I don't think im doing that bad for someone who comes from a council estate and earns just £20k a year through my job doing something i love.

To those with £250 k to invest please do it wisely however you would like to but remember to have a little fun!!

be good

ds1980

that is why i say assets and then real money please bear in mind all my gains are post 2003 and a lot of my investments have doubled since then i only wish now that i had started before because i certainly wouldnt be on here talking to others while at work!!! Id be in the carribean!!

Chrismaths

ds, congratulations on making money - I mean that genuinely. You took a risk and it paid off, which is what making money is all about. However, what you were saying didn't explain the risks of investing in property, only the rewards. I was simply trying to explain the risks, and the effect of leverage. I'm not seriously suggesting I would have leveraged a stock market investment up 50 times (unless I was a hedge fund manager ), in fact our portfolios are running at c10% cash at the moment, and I'm not saying property is necessarily going to crash. I'm just saying there are endemic risks in the system at the moment, and it could go either way.

I suppose I'm technically "short" property, as I rent rather than own where I live. That's because
a) I can't afford a situation of negative equity,
b) I pay rent of less than 2/3 of the interest cost on a mortgage to buy the property.
c) I can make more money with less risk in other investments.
d) I can spend my money on holidays, instead of guttering.

Diffr'nt strokes for diffr'nt folks...

ds1980

Again valid point i bet you make more money than whoever that other person is!!

Im not naive enough to know that there are pitfalls wherever you are and with whatever you do but im a massive believer in that there are so many numpties out there that i can't not succeed....selfish i know but i don't care. Having so much diversity now, because of the initial risks means that i'll never go short and ill always be able to live how i want to as you obviously do. Ive never ever scrimped and always had what i needed bar maybe a ferrari or aston! spose i dont need them but they would be nice!

I totally see where your coming from but all i ever wanted in life was to look after my family and live in a massive house with a beautiful wife and my kids. Im well on the way to doing that and my family lives a happy life which they didn't have before i moved away and became successful.

My one regret is that im not there to share it with them as i live away now but this is my price of success i suppose.

If i were the OP (i think that means original poster??) sorry new to all this. Id speak to you if they want financial help

be cool

missile

:spam: I am surprised no one suggests investing directly on the stock market.

EdInvestor

pauldb wrote:

I'm in no position to give complicated financial advice but I'm amazed that no-one has suggested they buy the house

I think the OP's parents have just sold their house.Thus suggesting they buy another one seems a little pointless.

Chrismaths

First decent post I've seen from you in ages, well done Ed :T

However, before the large sidetrack, the OP wanted to know what the elderly parents should do with their money.

This is where it becomes impossible to say without knowing full circumstances. We know they want an income (after tax) in excess of 5%, but what we don't know are a) attitude to risk, b) mother's income c) if they are worried about long term care or have made provisions etc. etc.

A combination of the objective of 5% net income and and a) will let us know what it needs to be invested in, and b) c) and d) thru z) will let us know what (if any) tax wrapper is needed, and any other provisions that need to be made.

Investment strategies is my speciality, the rest is an IFA/financial planner's domain. But no one who's opinion is worth anything can recommend anything without knowing more.