Vanguard Life Strategy

ozzage

gterr wrote: »

OK, a really thick question here:

For holdings outside an ISA, what is the tax treatment of funds like Vanguard LS where the underlying investments include not just equities but corporate bond funds etc.? If the dividends are paid net of 10% tax, is this the full liability for a basic-rate tax payer, or must extra be paid for the bond interest income?

As I understand it, they will be dividends and therefore you're correct that for a BRT no further income tax will be payable.

Generally, funds holding > 60% in cash/fixed income (eg bond funds) pay interest rather than dividends, so something like Vanguard LifeStrategy 20% should have its distributions taxed as interest.

This is never very clearly presented for some reason so I'm never particularly confident about it.

Edit: Here Trustnet shows it. Look at the Tax Indicator column

http://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=ACFDM&univ=U&pagetype=dividends

http://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=ACFDQ&univ=O&pagetype=dividends

ccbrowning

guitarman001 wrote: »

There's no difference in cost between drip-feeding and just 'adding whenever' on a Hargreaves S&S ISA, right?

The fees are the same, but you can drip in quite small amounts, whereas if you do one-off purchases the minimum amounts are higher.

gterr

ozzage wrote: »

Generally, funds holding > 60% in cash/fixed income (eg bond funds) pay interest rather than dividends, so something like Vanguard LifeStrategy 20% should have its distributions taxed as interest.

Edit: Here Trustnet shows it. Look at the Tax Indicator column

Brilliant! Many thanks. Just what I needed.

MadMat

gadgetmind wrote: »

About a week to get the account set up and get online access.

Took about an hour for mine. suspect the time scale depends on how quickly they can verify your identity.

Annoyingly though they only offer one date a month for drip feed DD's so I then had to wait nearly a month for them to take the first DD, which they finally took yesterday, so now around 4 weeks after first making the decision to buy VLS 80 I finally have £100 worth and am officially an investor :rotfl:

Mat

takesyourchances

Well done Mat on getting your first VLS payment in yesterday, I am going to adjust April's drip feed amounts and decide what to put in the VLS and the couple of side funds.

I think I will make another small lump sum this month to my VLS for this tax year.

Carpi, I think I will wait and see what my Halifax stakeholder statement is for April, I might just leave it as it is for the moment with Halifax and maybe increase the monthly payment a bit.

Not sure if a VLS in my S&S ISA and also a SIPP idea is maybe to much the same, but could alter with different side funds. But no hurry to jump and change, I can also speak to Halifax to see what level of risk the stakeholder is at with them and what other options there is.

I would rather put the rest of this years focus into the S&S ISA as I would like to add a bit more side fund exposure with some of the funds on my watch list in this tropic and not be caught up thinking of an SIPP portfolio as well at the moment

Thanks.

Carpi09

takesyourchances wrote: »

Well done Mat on getting your first VLS payment in yesterday, I am going to adjust April's drip feed amounts and decide what to put in the VLS and the couple of side funds.

I think I will make another small lump sum this month to my VLS for this tax year.

Carpi, I think I will wait and see what my Halifax stakeholder statement is for April, I might just leave it as it is for the moment with Halifax and maybe increase the monthly payment a bit.

Not sure if a VLS in my S&S ISA and also a SIPP idea is maybe to much the same, but could alter with different side funds. But no hurry to jump and change, I can also speak to Halifax to see what level of risk the stakeholder is at with them and what other options there is.

I would rather put the rest of this years focus into the S&S ISA as I would like to add a bit more side fund exposure with some of the funds on my watch list in this tropic and not be caught up thinking of an SIPP portfolio as well at the moment

Thanks.

I asked about a SIPP with my situation here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4483333

I won't be starting a SIPP, my current pension is good enough at the moment, I think I will consider a SIPP when/if I become a higher rate tax payer.

I don't know much about Halifax Stakeholders but I have been looking into detail about them and I concluded that there are cheaper and better personal pensions. But you have to find them...

Personally I wouldn't trust Halifax with my investments/pensions, no reason, just an inline. Also, if you are not sure what risk you have with them, is it really a good idea to be investing with them or even considering raising your monthly contribution?

But all this considered, I will probably utilise the S&S ISA for 13/14 and put less within the cash isa. I will probably remain with the VLS.

innovate

Carpi09 wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't trust Halifax with my investments/pensions

Me neither, nor any other bank.

If I want advice and/or management of my pension investment, I will go to an IFA. Never ever a bank. Not even sure Halifax are still selling pensions now that they have got rid of their "financial advisors"?

Self-investing into a pension (usually a SIPP) isn't so different from self-investing into a S&S ISA. Just a few different rules and different tax treatment. Once you have cracked your S&S ISA portfolio and your long-term strategy, deciding whether a SIPP is the right investment vehicle for you, DIYing it like your S&S ISA will be a doddle.

Carpi09

innovate wrote: »

Me neither, nor any other bank.

If I want advice and/or management of my pension investment, I will go to an IFA. Never ever a bank. Not even sure Halifax are still selling pensions now that they have got rid of their "financial advisors"?

Self-investing into a pension (usually a SIPP) isn't so different from self-investing into a S&S ISA. Just a few different rules and different tax treatment. Once you have cracked your S&S ISA portfolio and your long-term strategy, deciding whether a SIPP is the right investment vehicle for you, DIYing it like your S&S ISA will be a doddle.

4 years ago, I had a meeting with a Halifax Financial Advisor, lasted about an hour. Done a risk assessment on me, and what I would be contributing etc. 2 weeks later, I received the report and a projection as to how my investment could turn out.

She couldn't have checked it because the investment projections would have given me less than my savings account of 3% so why on earth would I put money into that?

It dampened my confidence with shares which is why I only considered it again this year. So I suppose I could blame Halifax for me investing later than I would have liked looking back at how well they have performed since 2009.

Hey ho!

innovate

Carpi09 wrote: »

So I suppose I could blame Halifax for me investing later than I would have liked looking back at how well they have performed since 2009.

You sure could. It's simply criminal how the banks exploited the public trust in banks.

Good to see that at least some of us have seen right through them and now only do business with them when everything is totally transparent

takesyourchances

Carpi09 wrote: »

I asked about a SIPP with my situation here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4483333

I won't be starting a SIPP, my current pension is good enough at the moment, I think I will consider a SIPP when/if I become a higher rate tax payer.

I don't know much about Halifax Stakeholders but I have been looking into detail about them and I concluded that there are cheaper and better personal pensions. But you have to find them...

Personally I wouldn't trust Halifax with my investments/pensions, no reason, just an inline. Also, if you are not sure what risk you have with them, is it really a good idea to be investing with them or even considering raising your monthly contribution?

But all this considered, I will probably utilise the S&S ISA for 13/14 and put less within the cash isa. I will probably remain with the VLS.

The military has a good pension set up, I know some ex military as well and they have been happy with their pensions.

To be honest I don't think the Halifax is the best option or any bank really for a Pension and that there are better options I am sure. I have not really looked into detail much at other options and the SIPP I have considered and at present I am a lower rate tax payer as well.

The allocations with the present set up don't look to inspiring with the Stakeholder I have that I posted a few days ago. I would be prepared to take a bit more risk for reward long term which was what I meant by the risk with the Stakeholder at present, what potential does it have etc.

I don't think talking to Halifax is the best thing either as they are only talking about what "Halifax" can offer, it is more really that I wouldn't want to jump into something worse

Actually I might just leave the payment as it is rather than up it until I would be fully decided on a pension direction and think about it a bit more, if I thought I would get a better set up I could transfer out, I can increase my pension payments more in the coming years to.

One idea I was thinking of which I was going to ask about on here for possibly transferring to an SIPP was the VLS 100 being an all in one basket with a bit more mixture within one VLS fee base and then adding a second bond type fund holding which could be increased in the portfolio percentage in line with age towards retirement, like Old Mutual Global Strategic Bond Class A Accumulation.

http://www.hl.co.uk/funds/fund-discounts,-prices--and--factsheets/search-results/o/old-mutual-global-strategic-bond-accumulation

Any thoughts on this and it could be ran at 80% VLS 100 and 20% Old Mutual Global Strategic Bonds and the bond percentage increased as the years when on accordingly.

If this was a sensible approach I could easily change to that on what is going in now as there is £150 a month being paid into the Halifax Stakeholder, to add more complications with more trackers or funds I think would take a larger amount which can come later and with larger amounts a possible extra holding for drip feeds. £150 could be split at the moment.

I have my S&S ISA running now which will be a long term view, I have my bit of a mixture with it now and looking at the other funds still, I will use my cash ISA limit for 13/14 and I think I will have the remaining allowance used in the S&S ISA in 13/14 as well.

While the S&S ISA is long term approach also, I know it is not locked to min age of 55 and I have the option for access earlier than 55 if needed which is why I would not want to go as heavy at the moment to my pension for all of the funds to be locked to 55 min if that makes sense.


So in more simple terms, any suggestion thoughts anyone on changing approximate 15K over from a Halifax Stakeholder pension to an SIPP with a simple 2 holding idea maybe. VLS 100 for an all in one larger VLS mixture and add bonds separate, maybe Old Mutual Global Strategic Bond Class A Accumulation.

Per month at the moment £150, age 33 now

Carpi, I agree with your thoughts on Halifax for a pension, I would just want to be careful changing around if it did not make sense on around £150 per month going in at the moment. Are you staying solely with the VLS 80% in your S&S ISA or are you thinking of adding anything else?

Any thoughts on the Halifax Stakeholder v SIPP with VLS100 plus Old Mutual Global Bonds anyone (or other bonds)

Thanks.