What plarform would you recommend?

himalshelat

I am looking to invest some money in funds. I am new to this.
What online platform would you recommend?
I am looking to invest approx 5000 gbp. Probably in somewhere between 5 to 10 funds. Aim is to invest for long term. I dont plan to sell for 5 maybe 10 years unless there is big profit.
So there wont be lots of buying and selling and money is not a lot so if there are annual charges it will hurt.
I have been recommended iweb and which.co.uk recommends hargreaves lansdown only.
Also are there free websites out there where I can get info, review etc. about funds? There is info on hargreaves lansdown website and I also found investinginfunds.org but not sure which are good.

Thanks for reading. Any suggestion will be much appreciated.

dunstonh

I am looking to invest approx 5000 gbp. Probably in somewhere between 5 to 10 funds.

That is massive overkill. You probably only need one fund.

Archi_Bald

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3153942

himalshelat

dunstonh wrote: »

That is massive overkill. You probably only need one fund.

Thanks for the reply. like I said I am completely inexperienced. I was thinking 5 to 10 to reduce the risk. In case the 1 fund I put my money in loses me money.

dunstonh

I was thinking 5 to 10 to reduce the risk.

Using 5-10 funds does not reduce the risk compared to using 1. The asset allocation within the total holdings is where you control risk. Picking 5-10 UK equity funds is higher risk than picking 1 multi-asset fund.

Indeed, a single multi-asset fund could hold more investments than 5-10 single sector investment funds.

In case the 1 fund I put my money in loses me money.

The investments within the fund will lose money at times as well as make it. The number of funds you use does not dictate the loss potential.

e.g. a multi-asset fund could be segmented into 10 investment sectors and spread across those sectors in allocations set to a chosen risk level.

BLB53

For smaller amounts, maybe under £20,000, I think the best platform is probably Charles Stanley Direct which charges a fee of 0.25% p.a. compared to Hargreaves 0.45%. There is no charge for buying funds in your portfolio.

Probably best to stick to low cost trackers e.g. Vanguard. Check out some of the articles on Monevator where you can also compare the different platforms.

Good luck!

coyrls

You may find this guide useful: http://langcatfinancial.co.uk/white-paper/direct-approach-platform-investing/

himalshelat

dunstonh wrote: »

Using 5-10 funds does not reduce the risk compared to using 1. The asset allocation within the total holdings is where you control risk. Picking 5-10 UK equity funds is higher risk than picking 1 multi-asset fund.

Indeed, a single multi-asset fund could hold more investments than 5-10 single sector investment funds.



The investments within the fund will lose money at times as well as make it. The number of funds you use does not dictate the loss potential.

e.g. a multi-asset fund could be segmented into 10 investment sectors and spread across those sectors in allocations set to a chosen risk level.

Thanks for clearing that.
So if I have 5k in 1 fund I can control how it is distributed in different sectors?

Linton

himalshelat wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that.
So if I have 5k in 1 fund I can control how it is distributed in different sectors?

You cant - thats what the manager gets paid for. You can however look at how the assets are currently distributed in any fund you are interested in and make a decision based on that. For £5K its not going to make much difference as long as the allocation is well diversified.

dunstonh

So if I have 5k in 1 fund I can control how it is distributed in different sectors?

Why would you want to control it? it is only £5k. Lets say the appropriate sector allocation for you in global bonds was 3.8%. That is just £190. Do you really want to set up a bespoke portfolio of funds with that sort of amount?

You would then have to review and rebalance going forward

Simpler and better option is to have a multi-asset fund that does all that internally.

JBond007

Invest in anything as part of a balanced portfolio!

Some riskier, some very very safe. In this economy - given present conditions - you might consider safer to be better...

I am considering a little crowdfunding with approx. £5000 into a few different lending sites... but haven't made my mind up yet.