200k To Save / Invest .......

Tredegar

Hi,

A quick question from a new user !

I have 200k that I’m looking to invest for a period of up to 5 years. I have paid off my mortgage already, and have no other outstanding loads, etc.

Would anybody have any thoughts on where I should be looking to invest / save?

I’m a standard tax payer (now).

Bonds maybe ? Icesave ?

What would you do ?

GCH888

I think you can afford to speak to an Independent Financial Advisor.

Singh87_2

Please don't treat my advice as anything professional, as I am only 19, but I would look into making use of your ISA allowances. You can use future tax allowances aswell, so say if you put in £15k into the £3K ISA's, you would be using your next 5 years allowances.

If you are 'ok' with taking risk, look into the FTSE-100 related products. I think Barclays provide you with a product, which gives you a 18% percent return over 3 years provided the FTSE-100 is more than or is the same than it is now.

amcluesent

>What would you do <

Use the cash to emigrate. Britain is finished with the thief Brown in charge the coup de grace

or

75k in an India fund, £25k into oils, £25k into alternative energy, £25k gold (bullion), £25K index linked bonds, £25k premium bonds

M3_Sussex

Tredegar wrote: »

Hi,

A quick question from a new user !

I have 200k that I’m looking to invest for a period of up to 5 years. I have paid off my mortgage already, and have no other outstanding loads, etc.

Would anybody have any thoughts on where I should be looking to invest / save?

I’m a standard tax payer (now).

Bonds maybe ? Icesave ?

What would you do ?

I have a similar amount to you invested in an ICICI HiSave account. The interest goes up to 6.05% on the 18th May as well.:T
If you have used up your ISA allowance for this tax year then this would not be a bad place to put it. I am currently getting about £800 a month in interest after tax so compounded over 5 years you'd do quite nicely.
With regard to IFAs, of course they are very knowledgeable and useful, however I am always mindful that they earn comission on what they sell you so could be swayed towards the product with the highest comission. Having said that I sit down with mine regularly as his knowledge of the market is excellent.

dunstonh

With regard to IFAs, of course they are very knowledgeable and useful, however I am always mindful that they earn comission on what they sell you so could be swayed to wards the product with the highest commission.

Cost isn't always that much. Like any retail or service business, you can get expensive ones and cheap ones. I have found March and early to mid April investors have already covered their advice charge. So, in these cases it cost them one month's performance on what is for most of them going to be 10-20 years worth of investing. Also, get an NMA IFA and the remuneration is mostly linked to the performance of the investment rather than a commission up front (which is old model).

The term IFA is used by many different business models and by people with many different skills. You may get someone that deals mostly in mortgages, corporate business or investments or a general practitioner that does a bit of everything. I believe with investments you should see an investment specialist as that will be most of what they do. No point seeing one that does mostly mortgages.

jamesd

What I'd do is start with a stocks and shares ISA and then go on to a selection of unit trusts with sector allocation adjusted to match your risk profile. Possibly 25,000 in the C market at Zopa.

Bank savings bonds and Icesave are things I'd rule out as delivering insufficient return.

plonkee

If I had £200K I'd essentially do what Jamesd suggested.

But, if I didn't have a lot of confidence and was tempted to stick it all in savings, I'd consult an IFA. Personally, I'd rather pay for my advice in fees rather than comission if that was possible, but each to their own.

PosterBoy77

GCH888 wrote: »

I think you can afford to speak to an Independent Financial Advisor.

It does not mean that a financial advisor will have the OP's best interets at heart though.

Conrad

I wouldnt put it in a pckaged investment. Fairly likely you could get a paulrty return over 5 years.

Id want to turn £200k into £600k.

I would buy one or two properties abroad and gear - up with 70% ltv mortgages, in order to aqire assets now worth £666000. Having mortgages also reduces risk as the Bank will only lend on goor titled property.

Obviously invest in a rising / new market not Spain or UK of course.

Use an international law firm to reduce risk. Chose only exceptional property with unique factors and little competition.

City property or property within a golf course might give you year round rent. Many new properties come with minimum rent guarantees.

If you chose well and you dont follow herds you might find the places double in 5 years, so £666000 becomes £1332000, so your pretax profit is £666000 plus your £200000 capital back.

A little more work but a lot more reward.

BTW, I do use packaged investments myself but they are long term and not to be relied upon.

You probably want to look at places where non status mortgages are available.

Id consider the following areas;

Portugals Silver coast (not the Algarve - the easy money has already gone)

Trendy appartments in Berlin - the most undervalued market in the Western world, many London funds have bought property here.

Calabria in S Italy - insist on Bank guaranteed property if new build.

Moroccos stunning Government resorts such as Saidia the like of which you will not have seen before - just a few miles from S Spain. Big safe compounds with unrivalled facilities, property built actually into the golf fairways and with a 6km beach - in Spain this would cost 5 x more. Dozens of Premiership footballers buying in this site as the sports facilities are unsurpassed and you get a 500 shop designer retail centre onsite etc. Only pay 40% now, the rest in 2009.

You must above all when buying touristic property search for uniqueness. Inland golf resorts in Spain are 10 a penny for example so capital growth not worthwhile as all the easy money went a few years back.

dunstonh

It does not mean that a financial advisor will have the OP's best interets at heart though.

Why not?

If the IFA is remunerated on performance then the interests are aligned with the individual in that the higher the fund value, the more the adviser is paid.