Taking the plunge

esmecullen

I'm thinking of taking the plunge into a Stocks & Shares ISA, I'm getting a modest (by looking at some of the threads that people invest) sum following the death of my mother. Not sure yet what the total will be as we are still awaiting final bills for gas, elec, water, and to pay the funeral costs and once those are cleared, we will be in a position to divide the money side of the estate between myself and my sisters. When I was speaking to one of my sisters, it appears that we may........ pending any bills receive about £10,000 - 12,000 each, could be a bit more or could be less, but that is what my sister's calculations were. I've been researching this section and it appears that Hargreaves Lansdown is my best bet.

I'm a complete novice at this and wonder if any of you experienced people could confirm that I should go for it............... if the calculations are correct I would be looking to invest a lump sum of say, £5,000 and say invest their minimum monthly sum and then use some of the money to improve my apartment/holiday and the rest put in an ordinary ISA or in a long term savings

Any advice???????:think:

TIA:question:

Trentenders

How would you feel if you lost 30% of the money within a few weeks, especially with it being an inhertance? Why is Hargreaves the best for you - what are you looking to invest in?

Unless you are very comfortable that you know what you are doing, my advice would be to sit on your hands and think for a while. Read up on investing and then come to a decision.

In my opinion, doing something like investing for the first time, so soon after the death of a loved one may not be smart. Don't rush

esmecullen

I can see you point about loosing the cash............the main thing is I have a number of various savings accounts and ISA's, but thinking of the the interest rates lately......... even with some of the long term savings_pale_........... I was thinking of diversifying into a S & S......... I can see you point however about delaying things until I have read and done a lot more research, I know that I cant rush into this............ and its a big step with a hell of a risk ............ but what I am thinking about now having read your post........ perhaps start small with the bare minimum and then add to the fund when I get more confident........... As for what you said about Hargreaves......... I have read on here that they have a good rep........... charges are low and people here are quite positive in their experience.

thanks for your input on this:beer:

Gadfium

esmecullen wrote: »

perhaps start small with the bare minimum and then add to the fund when I get more confident...........

Just be careful that the fees don't gobble up the bare minimum. £250 is the minimum for HL (AFAIK), but it also may attract a £24 per annum platform charge + any fund fees.

esmecullen

Gadfium wrote: »

Just be careful that the fees don't gobble up the bare minimum. £250 is the minimum for HL (AFAIK), but it also may attract a £24 per annum platform charge + any fund fees.

ahh yes I see what you mean....thanks for that.......... I will take on board what you say regarding fees............. I've downloaded a lot of information regarding investments and will read it before I actually decide whether to go for it............ thanks:beer:

atush

Do you have any debt? Do you have any savings or investments? A pension?

xylophone

Do some research here http://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/isa - a guide to ISAs is offered which may be of assistance.

The big point in HL's favour is that their site is very easy for a beginner to manage.

If you choose a stocks and shares ISA, remember it is for the long term - think of a seven to ten year outlook at the least.

Vanguard funds seem popular with other posters but these do attract a platform fee - most don't at the moment.

esmecullen

atush wrote: »

Do you have any debt? Do you have any savings or investments? A pension?

No debt......... 2 ISA's with around £2,500 each in and a small company pension

xylophone wrote: »

Do some research here http://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/isa - a guide to ISAs is offered which may be of assistance.

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"] already looking that that thanks[/COLOR]

The big point in HL's favour is that their site is very easy for a beginner to manage.

If you choose a stocks and shares ISA, remember it is for the long term - think of a seven to ten year outlook at the least.

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"] thats what I was thinking of....... something for the long term, I would not be touching it[/COLOR]

Vanguard funds seem popular with other posters but these do attract a platform fee - most don't at the moment.

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"] ahhh thats the kicker....... I want to pay as small amount of fees as possible[/COLOR]

bigfreddiel

ahhh thats the kicker....... I want to pay as small amount of fees as possible



taking the above as read you want a passive approach using low cost trackers - you should look at vanguard lifestrategy 60 acc fund

thats a classic 60/40 equity/bonds portfolio - should grow at 10%pa medium risk (volatility) and cheap 0.31% ie for every £1000 invested it will cost £3.10pa in costs to vanguard, plus of course any platform fees £2/month on H-L as already mentioned

anyway why are you saving, rainy day, pension, house purchase, holiday, long term 10+ years, do you have a pension?

make sure you have a target in mind - don't just save for the sake of it

hope that helps

fj

atush

So, is the 5K you are talking of investing, the money from your cash Isas?

You really should have a solid cash foundation for emergencies, before investing anywhere. apart from maybe drip feeding 50% of your extra cash.

Mickygg

Echo atush. Sounds like you don't have enough cash as an emergency fund before ploughing with investing.As a guide you should have 3-6 months of your pay in accessible accounts before thinking of investing.