Can you recommend good General investment trust?

ps3home

My budget is around £30-60 a month.

Archi_Bald

Assuming you really mean investment trusts, you might find this article of interest: http://monevator.com/investment-trusts-for-deaccumulating-income-investors/

ps3home

Thanks for the link. So, would HSBC FTSE All Share Index fund be a good one for me?

greenglide

HSBC FTSE All Share Index fund

That is a fund (a "tracker fund") not an investment trust.

The two are very, very different.

I assume you actually meant funds?

If this is your only investment then a tracker of the FTSE All Share isnt ideal - most of the worlds wealth isnt in the UK.

A global tracker might be better but it depends, crucially, you are trying to acheive?

Drp8713

Bankers and Foreign & Colonial are the ones I use.

I use Scottish Mortgage for my son's trust fund.

I am happy with all 3 for different reasons and would be a good starting point.

I think Scottish Mortgage would suit as the fees on their Investment Trust Saving Plan is very cheap for small holdings.

ps3home

Well, Im looking to invest £40-60 a month into something that will grow over time and possibly pay dividends. Not sure what you would call such a thing as there are many names. I guess I don't want something ultra risky. I run my own business since a year and it's still tiny, so I guess im trying to reinvest little bits here and there.

ps3home

Bankers and Foreign & Colonial looks interesting.

dunstonh

Well, Im looking to invest £40-60 a month

Most fund houses have a minimum of £50pm. Some platforms may have lower or higher but your choice is going to be limited at £40.

Not sure what you would call such a thing as there are many names.

Generically, the investment worlds do not have many names. Unit Trusts and OEICs sit in one universe. Investment Trusts in another. Both have pros and cons. If you are looking at Investment Trusts on a regular income and very small contribution then you should limit yourself to packaged investment trusts due to costs. Although I do wonder if you are really thinking about unit trusts/OEICs when you say investment trusts.

I guess I don't want something ultra risky.

What is that in context? In very simple terms, how much would you be able to stomach in loss before you pulled out? Could you afford to lose half the value?

ps3home

I could work with £50 per month. Perhaps Unit Trusts are what I'm looking for? Yes, I'd need the fees to be very low or zero until point of sale with the amount i'd be placing.

Drp8713 mentioned Bankers and Foreign & Colonial, which seem to offer £50 per month investment - not sure if this is a unit trust?

What would you recommend for me?

masonic

Foreign & Colonial is an investment trust.

Investment trusts are traded like shares, which means there are trading charges (£5-15 pounds per transaction, or £1.50 with a few brokers if you go with a regular savings plan) unless you invest directly with the company running the trust via a savings scheme. If you are planning to develop and diversify your investing, it would probably be best to use a investment platform and S&S ISA, in which case it would be better to stick to unit trusts/OEICs while the amount you are investing is low, since these investments can be bought on some platforms with no trading costs.

If you are focused on minimising costs, then perhaps a diversified passive fund like Vanguard Lifestrategy would be worth considering. You would just need to choose the option that corresponded best with your risk tolerance.

kidmugsy

Scroll down to p44.
http://www.theaic.co.uk/sites/default/files/statistics/attachment/AICStats30Apr15.pdf

You'll see that for £30 a month there are negligible costs at Baillie Gifford; and for £50 at Investec; and for £25 at Scottish Investment Trust.

Then if you scroll down to p53 you'll see the ITs that BG offer: Scottish Mortgage might appeal if you want a trust that holds lots of overseas shares. On p58 you'll see that Investec offer Temple Bar (mainly UK shares); on p 62 that SIT offer, ahem, SIT (like SM, global shares).

Scroll up to learn more about the holdings of the different trusts: p14 for the two globalists, p17 for Temple Bar.

Or you can learn more about each trust by opening this
http://www.aicstats.co.uk
and clicking on their links.