Minimum investment values

u0362565

Hi all,

When investing in funds using an investment platform, should the platform state what the minimum investment value is for any particular fund? If there is no info on this on the funds details page do i take it there is no minimum value? Do funds often not have a minimum investment value and is it acceptable to invest very small quantities, for example can you invest a percentage of one unit if unit is the right word? So if a unit costs £200, could invest 25% of that or £50? I'm just surprised this is possible as when you try to deal directly with the investment firm often the minimum investment can be crazy money like £100k.

Thanks for the help

Your_Hero

There is normally a minimum amount. You can find this when you choose the fund you'd like to invest in. Typically this is anything between £250-£1,000 for a lump sum payment to prevent minimal amounts invested due to costs.

You've lost me on the 'unit' part. You buy units in a fund. So if 1 unit cost £1, then you would need £250 (minimum) to buy into the fund which would give you 250 units.

jimjames

Monthly amounts are normally £50 per fund. One off payments tend to be £250 or £1000 depending on platform

jimjames

Your_Hero wrote: »

You've lost me on the 'unit' part. You buy units in a fund. So if 1 unit cost £1, then you would need £250 (minimum) to buy into the fund which would give you 250 units.

Its different for funds and shares. You can have parts of a unit in a fund. I invest into a vanguard fund and am still not yet at one unit!

If I put in £50 and unit is £5.21 then you'll get £50/£5.21 units in that fund not just whole numbers.

u0362565

Unfortunately i can't find info on the minimum investment it could be buried in some terms and conditions doc somewhere, I'll perhaps have to speak to them. But should be on the platforms website somewhere? When i search of the fund i find details about it, its performance etc but no minimum investment. Is this what maintaining a valuation of £250 means? Why would it let you place a deal then for less than the value of a unit, surely it should just reject it as too little? Hence my query about investing in a percentage of a unit, you have to invest in a minimum of one unit, so as you say if a unit is £100 then it has to be multiples of £100?

Thanks again

Your_Hero

jimjames wrote: »

Its different for funds and shares. You can have parts of a unit in a fund. I invest into a vanguard fund and am still not yet at one unit!

If I put in £50 and unit is £5.21 then you'll get £50/£5.21 units in that fund not just whole numbers.

Thanks for clarifying that jimjames. I didn't understand what the OP was asking. I had thought (s)he confused the terminology of 'units' and wanted to invest 1/2 a unit to buy into a fund etc. But yes there is of course part units that go up to 4 decimal places.

Your_Hero

u0362565 wrote: »

Unfortunately i can't find info on the minimum investment it could be buried in some terms and conditions doc somewhere, I'll perhaps have to speak to them. But should be on the platforms website somewhere? When i search of the fund i find details about it, its performance etc but no minimum investment. Is this what maintaining a valuation of £250 means? Why would it let you place a deal then for less than the value of a unit, surely it should just reject it as too little? Hence my query about investing in a percentage of a unit, you have to invest in a minimum of one unit, so as you say if a unit is £100 then it has to be multiples of £100?

Thanks again

No, the minimum amount is specified as a monetary figure not per unit. See previous posts.

The platform shouldn't allow you to invest below the minimum per fund, although it's not unheard of that some can. Just try it and see.

u0362565

ah just seen your reply jimjames, thats partly answered by second post thanks for that. That suggests its not ridiculous to invest small amounts-drip feeling if you like rather than large sums, how much work is it for a platform to keep executing small deals like this, will then get annoyed? Or is it an automated process? If there is commission per trade then it makes sense to minimise dealing too regularly.

Your_Hero

Don't worry about making transactions; that's their problem to deal with it as long as it's allowed.

If you are buying funds there isn't 'commission' as such, although there may be an initial charge if it is a soft closed fund. Some platforms do charge per trade even for funds. But majority of platforms include this within their service fee.


This is different for buying individual stocks where there will normally be some sort of commission/broker fee per trade. Check the charges document. What platform are you referring to?

jimjames

u0362565 wrote: »

ah just seen your reply jimjames, thats partly answered by second post thanks for that. That suggests its not ridiculous to invest small amounts-drip feeling if you like rather than large sums, how much work is it for a platform to keep executing small deals like this, will then get annoyed? Or is it an automated process? If there is commission per trade then it makes sense to minimise dealing too regularly.

It's entirely automated.

Most platforms minimum is £50 and there is no problem with that. Most fund commission (if charged) is % so doesn't matter if it's £50 or £500, no cheaper relatively to do bigger amounts.

u0362565

I see a price for a unit at market close e.g GBP 130.8435 and then a value box where i enter a monetary value in pounds and pence. The price listed is a pounds and pence figure i assume!?