Investment advice - IFA???????????

Ark_Welder

darkpool wrote: »

there is more to property investment than flats/ houses....

have you considered commercial property? longer leases, no void periods and often the tenant is responsible for maintenance.

have a look at allsop if you're tempted.

Commercial property can be subject to void periods so careful research should be carried out beforehand. Some independent advice may be required, especiallly before approaching a company that may have a vested interest in seeing a transaction go through.

slopemaster

Yes I did have a quick look (not having thought of that before), and the sort of commercial properties I could think of affording had, on the face of it, pretty high yields. But I would think that reflects the fact that they are fairly high risk - shops on run-down estates etc. I suppose even if you have a long let, the company can jsut go bust...

darkpool

slopemaster wrote: »

Yes I did have a quick look (not having thought of that before), and the sort of commercial properties I could think of affording had, on the face of it, pretty high yields. But I would think that reflects the fact that they are fairly high risk - shops on run-down estates etc. I suppose even if you have a long let, the company can jsut go bust...

if you do look at commercial property the things to look for are

a. the type of lease. Full Repair Insurance (FRI) is best. the tenant pays for maintenance
b. length of lease. the longer is generally better
c. strength of tenant. ie tesco is better than a corner shop.

i'd expect about 6% a year for a property let to a bank/ major supermarket on a 15 year lease. a lot better than comparable government gilts.

Linton

darkpool wrote: »

i'd expect about 6% a year for a property let to a bank/ major supermarket on a 15 year lease. a lot better than comparable government gilts.

Not too different then in practice from a broad portfolio of dividend paying shares. These could well be companies investing in commercial property. Holding the portfolio would involve much less hassle and the income would be more easily protected from the taxman.

darkpool

Linton wrote: »

Not too different then in practice from a broad portfolio of dividend paying shares. These could well be companies investing in commercial property. Holding the portfolio would involve much less hassle and the income would be more easily protected from the taxman.

maybe not too different from dividends. but a smart investor with cash should be able to find some bargains available from the banks selling zombie assets....

renting property is considered a trading activity by the tax man.... shares are considered investment.......

slopemaster

Ark_Welder wrote: »

Incase you do want to spend a bit of time looking at different investment types then you could start off here: http://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/

Wow, that site looks useful. Just been back for another look and discovered you can actually get 1 hour free face-to-face financial advice. They won't recommend particular products, but hopefully will be able to help me straighten out what kind of thing i might invest in.

Surprised it doesn't seem to get mentioned anywhere on this site unless I've missed it?

Anyway, I've booked an appointment for Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how well-informed and helpful they are, and either way I'll report back, as it might be interesting for others.

dunstonh

Wow, that site looks useful. Just been back for another look and discovered you can actually get 1 hour free face-to-face financial advice. They won't recommend particular products, but hopefully will be able to help me straighten out what kind of thing i might invest in.

No they wont do that. It is a generic and basic flow chart service. it will wont recommend sectors or investment areas.

Surprised it doesn't seem to get mentioned anywhere on this site unless I've missed it?

Because it doesnt do what you think. It is more of an education of the basics. i.e. they may say you should use an ISA. You will no doubt say how should I invest in that ISA? They will say they cant tell you that and you need to see an IFA.

as taken from a media article a few months ago... "The MAS says consumers will be signposted to IFAs and other services where appropriate."

slopemaster

Oh, that's a pity. I did sort of wonder if it might be very basic.
I'll go along anyway and see whether its helpful.

dunstonh

slopemaster wrote: »

Oh, that's a pity. I did sort of wonder if it might be very basic.
I'll go along anyway and see whether its helpful.

You should still have the appointment as it would be interesting to see what they say compared to what they say they are going to say... if you get what I mean. i.e. what they tell us they are telling people may not be the same as what they are actually telling people.

They will use product tables for some products (like savings). But be wary of them using the same in investment or higher regulated areas where tables are virtually worthless due to pricing being based on economies of scale and agreed remuneration via the distribution channel you use. Tables tend to only use the RRP.

slopemaster

dunstonh wrote: »

it would be interesting to see what they say compared to what they say they are going to say... if you get what I mean. i.e. what they tell us they are telling people may not be the same as what they are actually telling people.
.

Yes, sure.
I'll report back.