Legal & General Fund recommendations

dunstonh

I guess you know what is coming next. If you dont have the time or the knowledge then get an [investment specialist] IFA to do it. Doing it on the cheap/DIY but not doing it well could cost you a lot more than getting an IFA to sort it out.

There is no restriction on protected rights (apart from not being able to put in a SIPP which doesnt apply here).

Dithering_Dad

yes, I did wonder if that would be coming. I'm definately not adverse to paying for financial advise, but again, I just don't have the experience to know whether I have a good financial advisor or a bad one. Having bad advice would surely be worse than putting my money with a solid investment company in a good mid-range fund until I (if ever) get the time to monitor it properly?

dipsomaniac

the l & g managed fund is currently in the top quartile. whilst not ideal, it does say on the tin 'this fund is suited to investors who want to leave decision making to our experienced fund managers'

dunstonh

Thats the thing with that type of fund though dipsomaniac. It is designed as the invest and forget option for novice investors. However, it is never going to set the world on fire. Although it will never be that far off the pace. Its a plod along fund.

DD appears to want the better potential of quality investments and that isnt going to occur with the balanced managed fund. However everything DD says at this moment in time suggests that would be the right thing.

dipsomaniac

i totally agree dunstonh but it is probably the best option if dd is going to stick with the l & g stakeholder and review it himself.

£64k+ is a lot of money so time/(money?) needs to be spent ensuring that it is invested properly.

Dithering_Dad

I think the Managed fund wouldn't be a bad place to put my cash and to add to it while I'm freelancing, as it's a "safe harbour" until I find the time to look for a better place for the money. Or possibly, I may leave it in the equity 70/30 index as it's done really well in there so far - it's slightly more risky than the managed fund, but not unduly so.

At the moment I'm just figuring out the complexities of running a limited company, working through flat rate VAT payments, PAYE, Self assessment, P11Ds for Directors, Corporation tax as well as trying to do my freelancing work. The stakeholder allows me to put £300 away without having to prove my income and also allows me to do one-off Employer payments through my company.

This is adequate for now and in a couple of years, when I have the time to look into this properly, I'll hopefully have an even larger amount of money to invest in a more appropriate location. I'll probably keep the stakeholder on to hold my protected rights and shift the rest into a SIPP or whatever the "flavour of the month" is in a few years.

Thanks for your input, it's been really helpful to have a bit of a sounding board.

p.s. I phoned my previous company for a transfer value for the larger pension and was told it was now £62k, making the total from both to £75k. Speechless is how I'd describe myself when that news came in.