£250,000 to invest

berbatov10

In a similar thread to another on here. With £250,000 to invest is it possible to achieve a 5-6 % return without employing a financial advisor. I did see someone suggested an IFA could achieve 8% on such a sum but that sounds very high and must include a lot of risk??

sorcerer

An IFA can't guaranteed anything, and 8% in the current climate is very unrealistic unless the risk is very high, not even High Yield bonds pay this for the most part. 5-6% is possible but risk with exist. A question I always like to ask is how would feel if your investment went down to £180,000?

Linton

It is possible certainly. I have a sizable portfolio that has averaged 16%/year over the past 4 years. Not actually too difficult in the recovery from the crash. But getting the maximum possible return isnt the primary objective. If you are investing a large proportion of your wealth the objective is surely to achieve the maximum return in the long term consistent with avoiding a loss in excess of which you are prepared to accept.

That is where the skill of an IFA would come in. Not in finding THE fund that will strike gold, but rather putting together an appropriate selection of investments. If you are justifiably confident you have the knowledge and experience to do this then do it yourself. Otherwise, particularly with a pot as large as £250000, in my view you would be foolhardy not to use an IFA.

berbatov10

And what could I expect to pay an IFA for this?

Glen_Clark

berbatov10 wrote: »

And what could I expect to pay an IFA for this?

About £20 if you buy Tim Hale's 'Smarter Investing' Book.

Its a bit like rebuilding the engine in your car. All the information you need is probably available on the web for free, but would take you months sorting through lots of spam and wrong information to find it - which could well lead to costly mistakes.
Is best to buy a workshop manual.

innovate

Glen_Clark wrote: »

About £20 if you buy Tim Hale's 'Smarter Investing' Book.

Tim Hale doesn't provide advice, he sells books. IFAs provide advice, tailored to the individual's situation and requirements. That's impossible to do for £20. £20 doesn't even pay for the time needed to agree the baseline, never mind for establishing the requirements and tailoring a portfolio that suits the individual.

I would expect to pay between £100 and £200 an hour for a reputable and capable professionally accredited IFA

Glen_Clark

innovate wrote: »

Tim Hale doesn't provide advice, he sells books.

Tim Hale writes books, giving good advice. (Others sell them for him)

berbatov10

Guys all good advice many thanks. I have read a fair bit but its never ending

Nick_C

I've invested £150K in shares without taking professional advice. I'm getting an income of 5.25% net (im a BR tax payer), I've had capital growth of 20% in the last year, and I'm beating the FTSE 100, 250, and all share.

I've trusted managed funds in the past (a property linked insurance fund, and an endowment) and seen disappointing returns. I enjoy managing my own funds, and knowing that I am solely responsible for the success or failure of them.

You need to spend time researching and following the markets. You need to have a spread of risks and sectors. You need to be prepared to tie money up for long periods of time if necessary, and accept the fact that the value of your investments will fluctuate. With £250K, you can build up a well balanced portfolio.

berbatov10

Nick C that is impressive fair play to you. What sectors are you in ?

slinga

I tried a large company of IFAs based in Bath.
They were not very good is an understatement.

I decided to try things myself and have found it gives much better returns.

Read around and start small until you get confidence.

Some platforms allow you a 'virtual' portfolio' to see how things would have progressed.

I'm happy but that's not to say everyone would be.
Read up , start in a small way don't act like a day trader.