Investment paralysis..

C_Mababejive

My dilemma is that i currently have too much free cash floating around and i am loathe to reinvest it in equity based products at the moment. I have also more or less switched off my DRIPs as dont want to buy in too high.

Im wondering whether to drip feed into bonds..any other suggestions?

Your_Hero

Why not consider absolute return funds? Although not guaranteed, their aim is to generate a positive return regardless of market conditions being good or poor because of the underlying spread of assets and derivatives used.

suebfg

I'm investing in a mix of assets, including stocks, as I'm in it for the long term (20 years plus). The stock market may have a long way to rise before it falls

gadgetmind

Decide on your asset allocation and stick to it. OK, if you feel that something is overbought, then maybe dial that down, and something else up, but only if you accept that you're just as likely to be wrong as to be right.

As it happens, I'm also looking at putting excess cash into bonds, but only because they are underweight versus my target given the way equities have soared.

talexuser

I switched out of Artemis Strategic some time ago because of relative underperformance, because Littlewood hedges almost all of his equities against a fall, and this costs. The next few months or years will tell me if I was completely wrong, but I felt that protecting less than 10% of the portfolio was pointless if the majority of the rest was going to drop, and there is no need to cash anything in for the foreseeable future anyway. If I was 100% bearish the thing to do might be to switch everything into it, and buy again after the fall!

traineepensioner

"Investment paralysis..".....Ahh a fellow sufferer. I share your pain.

I've just reduced one of my single share stocks and moved into strategic bonds (jupiter). Just tinkering at the moment......not sure which way to go. However, if in doubt....do nowt. :-)

kidmugsy

talexuser wrote: »

I switched out of Artemis Strategic some time ago because of relative underperformance, because Littlewood hedges almost all of his equities against a fall, and this costs.

My objection to most active managers are that they are just an expensive way of paying for a closet tracker. At least with Strategic Assets you are not paying for that, but for a distinct investment strategy instead. They are on my "definite maybe" list.

P.S. Isn't it bonds that they short, rather than equities?

Wilkins

C_Mababejive wrote: »

My dilemma is that i currently have too much free cash floating around and i am loathe to reinvest it in equity based products at the moment. I have also more or less switched off my DRIPs as dont want to buy in too high.

Im wondering whether to drip feed into bonds..any other suggestions?

Have you looked at peer-2-peer? I find this a useful alternative asset class up to about 5% of total. When it seems that there is nothing much doing elsewhere, it can be a good way to keep active if that is what you want to do.

talexuser

kidmugsy wrote: »

P.S. Isn't it bonds that they short, rather than equities?

Both, but you're right that bonds may be the majority bets.
http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news-and-analysis/investments/mark-dampier-artemis-strategic-assets-offers-insurance-if-the-markets-go-wrong/2003163.article

Linton

C_Mababejive wrote: »

My dilemma is that i currently have too much free cash floating around and i am loathe to reinvest it in equity based products at the moment. I have also more or less switched off my DRIPs as dont want to buy in too high.

Im wondering whether to drip feed into bonds..any other suggestions?

Suggest you fix a high level asset allocation cash/bonds/equity ( and possibly others) and keep to it. If you are investing for the very long term the % in equity should be high because short term ups and downs dont matter. If you are worried about the fluctuations or have a short/medium time frame have a lower % of equity in the allocation.

The important thing is not to react to events, the chances are that you will over-react. This is especially true if you are drip feeding as the investments you buy at prices that in retrospect prove to be high will be more than matched by the bargains at other times.