What to do with £1 Million?!...

Jonnymac

Hi all,

After 25 years of hard work, some luck and good timing, I have recently sold my business and just received the proceeds into my bank account. I'm only 48 years old, and now have nearly £1 million in cash to invest, hopefully to last me for the rest of my life.

I never expected to say this, but its actually quite terrifying. I'm not hugely educated in the area of investments (particularly involving a sum this size!), and so I'm afraid paralysis might set in and I let a year go by without doing anything at all. the last thing I want to do is waste this amazing opportunity by blowing it, or investing it poorly - which is why I'm looking for some input from the real experts: You guys.

Ideally I'd like to find a home for my money where I could receive a good monthly or annual income without taking huge 'unregulated'-style risks, but I am willing to be a bit adventurous if necessary. Do I put it into peer-to-peer lending? Follow Neil Woodward's investment strategy? buy into Forestry? Consider Renewables? Invest in Indian stocks? I honestly have no idea at this stage and I'm quite bewildered. I'm in serious need of ideas, so I thought it might be interesting to see what the community here could come up with.

Thanks to you all in advance.

colsten

What did your IFA say when you asked him/her?

You wouldn't seriously take the advice /opinions of total strangers on the internet if £1m are your lifetime savings (hint: it's a good start but not near enough to comfortably retire on).

If you would, however: send your money to me, rather than to those who PM you. I promise I will do my best to look after it.

masonic

http://monevator.com/asset-allocation-construct/ might be a good place to start (and read around some of the other articles on that site). There are also books like Smarter Investing by Tim Hale that go into a lot of depth on portfolio construction and asset allocation.

masonic

colsten wrote: »

£1m are your lifetime savings (hint: it's a good start but not near enough to comfortably retire on).

Speak for yourself. I'm planning to retire on less than half that.

racing_blue

colsten wrote: »

What did your IFA say when you asked him/her?

JohnnyMac is an IFA

masonic

racing_blue wrote: »

JohnnyMac is an IFA

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

That or a fantasist.

Jonnymac

colsten wrote: »

What did your IFA say when you asked him/her?

You wouldn't seriously take the advice /opinions of total strangers on the internet if £1m are your lifetime savings (hint: it's a good start but not near enough to comfortably retire on).

If you would, however: send your money to me, rather than to those who PM you. I promise I will do my best to look after it.

Thanks for your kind offer to look after my money Colsten... but I think I'll pass! Sadly I think you're right about it not being 'enough' given the number of years I hope to have ahead of me, but I've got to make the most of it.

I have already spoken to several Advisers, and their advice has been a bit underwhelming. Its not that I'll necessarily go straight out and follow the advice of total strangers, but I am open to hear a range of opinions and ideas.

Regards.

greenface

you need to spend some on yourself to keep your feet firmly on the ground . your still young and have the experience to start up again when you or if you want to . I am the same age and did similar in 2007 now I have paid all my bills and debt free . I work less when I want to . enjoy more time for fambo . get a decent IFA draw down what money you want to see you through outside what you earn . because you've earned it and you can . I work enough to live on and draw enough to enjoy with a few holly bobs a year . well done and pat yourself proudly on your back

ikorodu

With 1m you have a lot of options.

If you need time to think about it (and i would) then you need to get the money split up in to 85K chunks in different banks to make sure you are protected. Alternative you could stick it in income bonds while you think about it, they'd give you 1k a month in interest

jimjames

racing_blue wrote: »

JohnnyMac is an IFA

Hilarious. I feel sorry for the clients that asked for advice when clearly using MSE is a far better source of info from people that have no knowledge of personal circumstances or details.

I can't think of any rational reason why an IFA would ask such a question but hopefully we'll get one!

atush

Jonny,

If you are real (and I have no reason to think you aren't) then I would ask you to give more details. such as if you are married, dependents.

you gave your age (to young to really retire IMHO but maybe change life, career etc) but you didn't say IF:

this 1M was your only money. If you have any debt, own a house (mtg or not- say). If you have other savings and investments. If you have any pensions and their size/amt at SA/now if a pot.

Your qualifications and aspirations? What could you do if you wanted to? What would you like to do?

Basically, a IM windfall could set you off on the life of Riley if all the above is in good order.

Or it could pay off debt, buy you a place to live, start a pension and open a new smaller business.

We can't really say. As unlike in Masonic's case, a 500K pension isn't big enough for us. We'll be saving a few more years yet.