Vanguard Life Strategy

Zekko

bigfreddiel wrote: »

i hope longer term means 5-10yrs

cautious by usinh half your isa allowance but risky with the 100% fund - you really should have picked the VLS60% acc fund, should return 10+% over the long term, the 100% fund will be more bumpy and you may be tempted to sell out if you cant handle a 20-30% loss

fj

Yes, certainly, 10 years at least, more like 15/20+. I'm certainly not planning on cashing in during the short term even if the fund crashes at some point. It will form part of my long term strategy along with my pension provision.

Only half this years allowance is in so far as the remainder is currently in a cash ISA for deposit savings.

gadgetmind

Zekko wrote: »

I've always held most of my savings in cash, however with the shocking interest rates on savings accounts lately, I've decided now is the time to start looking more seriously into investing, and taking a longer term view on some of my savings.

I applaud the sentiment but question your timing. Why doze through one of the most intense bull markets for many decades and decide to wake up now?

Of course, now is a perfectly good time to invest if you have a long time window, but why now rather than when there were bargains everywhere you looked?

People puzzle me at times. I'm sure it's my problem, but still.

Zekko

gadgetmind wrote: »

I applaud the sentiment but question your timing. Why doze through one of the most intense bull markets for many decades and decide to wake up now?

Of course, now is a perfectly good time to invest if you have a long time window, but why now rather than when there were bargains everywhere you looked?

People puzzle me at times. I'm sure it's my problem, but still.

Agreed. With hindsight I would have got in a lot sooner!

Unfortunately I didn't (likely because I needed to satisfy myself with the ins and outs of investing, and the risks involved before taking the plunge), so now is probably as good a time as any.

Time in the market, not timing the market, right?

gadgetmind

Zekko wrote: »

Time in the market, not timing the market, right?

Yes, absolutely. Just don't try market timing in the future unless you think your past performance has been splendid.

Yorkie1

gadgetmind wrote: »

Yes, absolutely. Just don't try market timing in the future unless you think your past performance has been splendid.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. For various reasons, people may not have the funds or other ability to invest at a particular time.

Where someone now has the funds to invest, would you therefore have them stick the money in cash for an unknown period of time until the market does level off? Inflation erosion is a risk, too.

latecomer

gadgetmind wrote: »

Yes, absolutely. Just don't try market timing in the future unless you think your past performance has been splendid.

But if you are investing for the first time you will always be timing the market to some extent. This is my problem and its whats stopping me from taking that first step - I really appreciate the need to get out of cash ISAs and into a passive investment but all the talk highlighting the continual new index highs being hit and the reasons for it are decidedly off-putting for folk like me.

Yorkie1

latecomer wrote: »

But if you are investing for the first time you will always be timing the market to some extent. This is my problem and its whats stopping me from taking that first step - I really appreciate the need to get out of cash ISAs and into a passive investment but all the talk highlighting the continual new index highs being hit and the reasons for it are decidedly off-putting for folk like me.

I echo your dilemma.

d4v34

latecomer wrote: »

But if you are investing for the first time you will always be timing the market to some extent. This is my problem and its whats stopping me from taking that first step - I really appreciate the need to get out of cash ISAs and into a passive investment but all the talk highlighting the continual new index highs being hit and the reasons for it are decidedly off-putting for folk like me.

Well put latecomer.

I only started investing into my S&S ISA in April as I was in the process of purchasing a second house.
Circumstances changed and so unfortunately I missed the opportunity to invest in the VLS 80 at a lower price.

I still have part of previous year's allocation to invest, it's currently sitting as cash on account at HL so I'm thinking of drip feeding that in. I still have half of this years allocation to go in at some point too.

Carpi09

bowlhead99 wrote: »

I'm curious over which long term period a portfolio of 60% index trackers and 40% bonds has returned over 10% compound annual return when both components started at virtually all time high prices.

The advice to avoid going 100% equity for your first proper investment is sound, but a lot of the reason people over-risk themselves is because they being fed unrealistically high expectations about return prospects, albeit by well-meaning folk like your good self.

IMHO.

latecomer wrote: »

But if you are investing for the first time you will always be timing the market to some extent. This is my problem and its whats stopping me from taking that first step - I really appreciate the need to get out of cash ISAs and into a passive investment but all the talk highlighting the continual new index highs being hit and the reasons for it are decidedly off-putting for folk like me.

If you are in for the long run, you should just put everything you feel comfortable with into it anyway. I initially added a smaller lump sum and regretted the fact i didn't put the rest in because i was trying to time the market. I will never again try this and put what i have in with what i am comfortable with.

This is the one thing i do not understand, people assume just because highs are being hit, that there is going to be a massive drop. Why? What makes drops? Look over the many years, its always gone up and down but not massivley but has always continued to get higher and higher. Stop trying to time the market

gadgetmind

Carpi09 wrote: »

This is the one thing i do not understand, people assume just because highs are being hit, that there is going to be a massive drop.

And they also ignore the fact that we're well off recent highs in real terms.