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Debate House Prices


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Where are your savings and/or investments going?

chucknorris
chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
edited 2 March 2013 at 10:59AM in Debate House Prices & the Economy
I've put this post here rather than in the savings and investments forum board because it is posters' views over how the economy will affect shares over the next 10 years that interests me.

I must admit as much as I want to balance out my portfolio:

23% cash savings
10.5% pension
6.5% investments (shares)
60% property

I just haven’t been able to talk myself into investing anything substantial in shares, I will buy another couple (incl. in my wife's name) mini stocks and shares Isa’s in April. But that isn't going to make much of an impact on the above percentages.

I am not really attracted to bonds (as in corporate bonds), should I be? Why?

This is me being optimistic trying to talk myself into buying shares:

I don't want to get involved buying individual shares so I would tend to stick to trackers. My feeling is that the stock market possibly has the potential to get up to 8,000. But that might take more than 8 years, which is only a 25% increase from current levels. So not that much of an annual return, around 3%. Of course you can add something for dividends so possibly 4.5%, if I bed and breakfast it, but changing slightly as I do so I could avoid capital gains tax (eg alternate between ftse 100 and all share trackers). So that would give a net return of say 4% (dividend income is at taxed as income tax). 4% is equivalent to a 6.67% gross savings account (why didn't I think of this when the ftse was sub 6,000!). On the face of it, it does look worth doing but how optimistic is it that the ftse 100 might hit 8,000 within 8 years?

What do others think?

I'm also quite interested in freehold grount rent investments but I'll save that for another thread on another day.
Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
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Comments

  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Should I be looking to invest in shares abroad? Is there a currency risk (and possible gain of course).
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • kabayiri
    kabayiri Posts: 22,740 Forumite
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    I suspect we will shift more to property, to compensate for dire returns on the cash front. We may also bulk up on what might be termed conservative stocks.
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    kabayiri wrote: »
    I suspect we will shift more to property, to compensate for dire returns on the cash front. We may also bulk up on what might be termed conservative stocks.

    I'm trying to talk myself out of buying more property though, but I'm not winning that arguement at the moment.
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
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    edited 2 March 2013 at 9:27AM
    I don't like shares, you don't know what return that you are going to get I will stick with savings accounts

    But the problem with that is that savings accounts are losing accounts!

    Especially for higher rate tax payers, the best rate around at the moment seems only be about 3% and that is for a 3 year bond which is only 1.8% net, which is below the level of inflation. I can't force myself to sign up to lose money for 3 years, fair enough property or shares might also under perform but at least you have a chance of coming out on top.
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
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    edited 2 March 2013 at 9:33AM
    meljm2 wrote: »
    I now have enough for a 10% deposit for a flat, but lots of people are saying that gold is a much wiser thing to buy now than a flat

    Hmm thats interesting, can I buy gold with a mortgage, offset the mortgage interest against tax and rent the gold out to achieve a decent yield?

    No! Oh well count me out then.
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
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    edited 2 March 2013 at 10:01AM
    meljm2 wrote: »
    Are you a debt junkie?

    What happens when the government take away all the props?

    Theere is a real risk of a big crash by Christmas


    No I am not a debt junkie, I am a value junkie.

    EDIT: Pity we are out of pantomime season:

    There is a real risk of a big crash by Christmas
    Oh no there isn't! But if there was why are you thinking of buying flat then? At least try and keep up the pretence of your foolish easily seen through cover while you troll!
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
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    meljm2 wrote: »
    But there really is

    Everyone knows that houses are just waaay too dear.

    Don't invest then!
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • grizzly1911
    grizzly1911 Posts: 9,965 Forumite
    Why simply stay with trackers?

    Why not spread it around a bit. Other funds purport to offer better returns, albeit with slightly higher fees, part refundable depending on platform?

    What do you use to analyse performance and review options?

    Also depends on what you want to do with your money (wealth?) in the short/medium/long term and what your attitude to risk is. I take you have an accountant, bearing inmind your "sideline" does he have any more tax efficient suggestions, other than pension?

    Against your historic property portfolio the returns may seem relatively low but in the context of average sustainable returns perhaps not so low.
    "If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....

    "big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 2 March 2013 at 10:35AM
    Why simply stay with trackers?

    Why not spread it around a bit. Other funds purport to offer better returns, albeit with slightly higher fees, part refundable depending on platform?

    Trackers might be boring but I do like the simplicity of them.

    What do you use to analyse performance and review options?

    I don't want to spend time analysing, individual companies or funds, I am happy with trackers but possible making less (but with less risk).

    Also depends on what you want to do with your money (wealth?) in the short/medium/long term and what your attitude to risk is. I take you have an accountant, bearing inmind your "sideline" does he have any more tax efficient suggestions, other than pension?

    No I don't have an accountant, I do my own accounts etc.

    Against your historic property portfolio the returns may seem relatively low but in the context of average sustainable returns perhaps not so low.


    My attitude to risk that I have made my money now and the only way that I can lose it is by being too greedy, so I am happy to adapt to a lower risk/lower reward approach. So as you say I am only comparing potential returns against other current alternatives rather than the past performance of my properties, I realize that I will never see that level of performance again.
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    meljm2 wrote: »
    But if you agree that there wull be a big crash by Christmas, why are you still investing in property?

    shoud you not sell up and rent, like wise peeps do

    I don't agree, we have 8 properties in London which are doing well and making good profits and are also are above 2007 peak levels.

    Our house in Dorking is our home and I didn't even sell it when a developer offered me 100k over market value, so I won't be selling it now.
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
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