Is my pension doing OK

horlicksjan

atush wrote: »

Sounds to me they are over tweaking, and perhaps overcharging? Check.

5.5% isn't awful, but if your highly paid managers can't beat the Ftse 100 with all their talents, then a diversified group of well allocated trackers (ie not all UK), income investment trusts, lifestyle funds and some bonds you might be able to DIY cheaper?

Thanks. Can you give me any names of funds? I don't know what income investment funds and lifestyle funds are.

horlicksjan

redbuzzard wrote: »

Are you rebated all the commission when funds are switched?

If you want a tracker that you can know the price of when you buy or sell it, use an ETF.

Commission - I have no idea about rebating or whatever. I don't know what they do. All I know is the fund value if I login and have a look.

Is there an ETF I could look at for FTSE 250 tracking with very low costs? I think I should be looking for the lowest cost on a tracker?

redbuzzard

horlicksjan wrote: »

Is there an ETF I could look at for FTSE 250 tracking with very low costs? I think I should be looking for the lowest cost on a tracker?

iShares FTSE 250 (MIDD), HSBC FTSE 250 (HMCX), db X-trackers FTSE 250 (XMCX)?

factsheets here -
iShares
HSBC
db X-Trackers

Not advice of course, just examples. Thanks atush.

atush

horlicksjan wrote: »

Thanks. Can you give me any names of funds? I don't know what income investment funds and lifestyle funds are.

It sounds to me you haven't checked yet?

We here do not advise, as that is a regulated industry. We just give our opinions.

There are plenty of threads here on the subject, look at income investment trust, and high income and income funds.

Names might include invesco perpetual high income, Ruffer IT, Personal assets trust- there are many. Do searches and read threads.

the Motley Fool website also has some good threads on this subject.

bigfreddiel

5.5% - not good

a cheap balanced lifestrategy fund would have averaged 10-12%

fj

Linton

bigfreddiel wrote: »

5.5% - not good

a cheap balanced lifestrategy fund would have averaged 10-12%

fj

Really? Could you let me know a balanced fund that achieved an average of 10-12% since 2005? About 20% of the non-cheap balanced funds managed that since 2003, but 2003-2005 showed a major rise in the stock market as it recovered from the tech boom crash. I havent found one balanced fund apart from the rather specialist Ruffer European that averaged 10-12% since 2005. The Vanguard funds werent available then. In my view to get that sort of return in that time period you would need to be invested in a far riskier portfolio of funds.

Incidentally the Vanguard 80% fund has provided 3rd quartile performance in its sector for the past 12 months.

dunstonh

Linton wrote: »

I am not so sure it has done so well, or at least as well as it should have bearing in mind the relatively high risk of many of the current investments. If the OP had invested in a FTSE100 tracker in 2005 he would have been better off (depending to some extent on when in 2005 he started). However if he had invested in a portfolio similar to his current one and didnt change it he would have done even better.

Perhaps the management firm is over-tweaking, assuming they are responsible for the allocation.

Relative to risk, it has done well. It is higher risk than a FTSE100 tracker. In that period it may have done worse than the tracker but in a different period, that mix could easily do a lot better.

The spread is higher risk than most investors you deal with but it would be unfair to compare it to a FTSE100 tracker (plus 100% in a FTSE 100 tracker would be poor investing).

horlicksjan

dunstonh wrote: »

Relative to risk, it has done well. It is higher risk than a FTSE100 tracker. In that period it may have done worse than the tracker but in a different period, that mix could easily do a lot better.

The spread is higher risk than most investors you deal with but it would be unfair to compare it to a FTSE100 tracker (plus 100% in a FTSE 100 tracker would be poor investing).

I did not know whether those funds were higher risk but I suppose it must be compared to a lower risk FTSE100 tracker. If it is higher risk it is not giving a higher return so maybe it is not worth carrying on with the risk with my pension. It may do better over the next few years but then again if it is risky it may do worse and I may lose a lot!! I don;t know now if I should keep with it or move it somewhere else.

dunstonh

I did not know whether those funds were higher risk but I suppose it must be compared to a lower risk FTSE100 tracker.

A FTSE100 tracker would be regarded as medium/high risk. Or moderately adventurous depending on the words you want to use. If used in isolation with no other investments it would increase in risk.

If it is higher risk it is not giving a higher return so maybe it is not worth carrying on with the risk with my pension.

You cant look at short term volatility. higher risk funds will have periods of greater out performance and periods of greater under performance. During the credit crunch/recession, the higher risk funds lost the most. During the recovery, you would expect them to make the most. You have to average out those ups and downs.

I don;t know now if I should keep with it or move it somewhere else.

You probably need a new risk analysis and review based on the outcome of that risk analysis. My gut tells me that you are currently invested above your risk profile.

N1AK

horlicksjan wrote: »

As a comparison I have a UK Index Tracker which I started 3 years ago and have put money in once a year. That has gone up 28% over 3 years, and is closer to 10% a year.

There will be funds outperforming your collection and others under-performing it. Additionally as you say, we've just been through a considerable market fall and those funds may be poor choices in crashes but good choices afterwards.

You're comparing return against a tracker set up in 2010. To be direct: If it isn't extremely obvious to you that the comparison means very little, if anything at all, then you don't know enough about the stock market to effectively pick funds yourself.

If you don't intend to become considerably better informed then I'd strongly suggest either getting professional advice or invest in a mixture of tracker funds; I have chosen to do the later.