isa portfolio

john0

hi guys,

i have just started my isa portfolio and so far i have put 1000 in vanguard life strategy 80% and 1000 in to lindsell train global equity.

i am a passive investor, my question is that, currently it is very high equity, what should i look to add to my isa? or should i just drip feed, 300-500 in to each fund each month depending on form?

thanks for any guidance

gadgetmind

That depends entirely on your age, what you're investing for, for how long, and how much large drops in value would scare you.

Ash1982

Alright John.

Im fairly new to investing too, it looks like you need some bond exposure. I've heard old mutual global strategic bond is a good fund (I've just set up a drip feed investment into it)

john0

hi gadget, sorry i forgot to include background, im 25, looking to invest the full 5640 in to my isa as i have a cash isa as well.

investing for the long term,yes large drops will undoubtedly scare me but as i am currently using funds i should be ok as looking for 10+ years. ideally a decent drop for me to get more for my money initially.

yeah ash you’re right i do need some bonds, was thinking of possibly GLG Global Corporate Bond Fund A Acc, havent looked at the one you mentioned,

if i added the glc does that mean it would cost me another £2 per month to hold with HL, if so is there a more effective way of getting bonds in to my portfolio?

gadgetmind

Ash1982 wrote: »

I've heard old mutual global strategic bond is a good fund (I've just set up a drip feed investment into it)

M&G, Fidelity, Jupiter and Kames also have good strategic and corporate bond funds, as do many others. It is however a very diverse area, particularly when unconstrained by type of bond and territory.

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/professional-adviser/feature/2165853/future-holds-strategic-bond-funds

You may also like to look at M&G Optimal Income, but this also holds equities.

Personally, I like the steady eddie approach of Old Mutual's bond funds as went "strategic" for the same reason as most others, namely that I'd rather leave the calls here to someone else.

john0

thanks for that gadget, i don’t know a lot about bonds really, what are the main differences between strategic bonds and mutual bonds? or could you point me to the correct place to find out?

gadgetmind

john0 wrote: »

i don’t know a lot about bonds really

Here is the first google hit I found -

http://www2.skandia.co.uk/Investing-With-Skandia/Understanding-Investment/Understanding-Bonds/

Their first point is important: lots of different things in the investment world are called "bonds" and you need to understand what it is you're talking about.

That Skandia guide covers the basics, in that you're lending a government or a company some money in return for being paid interest. The level of interest depends on the risk, and this risk can change which the bond is held, which makes life interesting.

Only those who know what they'd doing should buy individual bonds, so the decision then becomes which type of bonds to hold and in which collective investment vehicle.

There is a current fad for "high yield", which would perhaps not exist if the fund managers were forced to call it "high risk"!

A few years ago, people would just buy some gilts (UK government sovereign bonds) and be done with it, but life is no longer so simple, which is why myself (and many others, perhaps too many) are going for strategic bonds where you let the manager decide.

Regards "mutual" this is part of the name of the "Old Mutual" fund company and isn't a type of bond, at least not one that I know anything about.

"Smarter Investing" by Tim Hale explains the role of bonds in a portfolio, (and the role of everything else!) and everyone knew to investing should read it IMO.