ISA fund depletion

eggberty100

Hi Folks
I'm new here and not great with money and investments
I have an isa that has been invested in for some 18yrs and (when i got a statement 2 months back) was worth approx £18K
as a result of it not doing as well as i had hoped (basically doing nothing), i had a new investment op. lined up and today rang the ISA group to as how much it was worth to cash in etc. The response was that the ISA is now worth only £15.7 k...... i was aghast to say the least and the bloke said (basically) it is due to the Chinese financial crisis/situation ( it had never entered my head that this would have happened)
My understanding from talking to folk today is that the Chinese president is doing something currently that may appease the situation and thus in the short term the stocks/share in these markets will recover.... i have no idea if this is accurate or not. ( it was a financial adviser i spoke to)
What is the opinion in the short term please .... is it possible/likely that i may recoup some of the 2K lost in the last month or so, or could it get even worse.
(I KNOW I KNOW.... if we had a crystal ball etc...risks etc... stock markets go up and down etc etc...long term investments etc....) I'm looking for some kind helpful advice/thoughts etc.
many thanks in anticipation
cheers

eskbanker

eggberty100 wrote: »

The response was that the ISA is now worth only £15.7 k...... i was aghast to say the least

Sorry if this sounds harsh but it sounds like you invested without any real knowledge of what you were getting into - any investment product has the risk of decreasing in value instead of increasing, and clearly the recent drop in markets has had an effect on this, as with most other products with an equity component.

If you don't know already, find out what your money is actually invested in (i.e. specific product names, not the ISA manager) - if you post back then you'll probably get some views about whether it's suitable for a novice investor, especially if you also give some info about your objectives, i.e. what you're looking to achieve over what sort of timeframe, plus attitude to risk, etc....

AndyT678

eggberty100 wrote: »

I'm new here and not great with money and investments

eggberty100 wrote: »

i had a new investment op. lined up

Are you sure that's wise? If it's anything to do with vineyards, motor homes, rare earth metals or Nigerian princes; run away!

eggberty100 wrote: »

is it possible/likely that i may recoup some of the 2K lost in the last month or so

Yes, it's possible.

eggberty100 wrote: »

or could it get even worse.

Yes, that's also possible.

If it helps I have not sold any of my holdings and am still thinking of adding more money. But I don't need to access it in the short term.

jimjames

eggberty100 wrote: »

What is the opinion in the short term please .... is it possible/likely that i may recoup some of the 2K lost in the last month or so, or could it get even worse.

Yes it is possible you could recoup £2k or more. It's also possible that it could get worse before it gets better.

eggberty100

ESK BANKER....I have taken advice on all investments from respected/recommended Financial Advisors.
Like many its not my forte and i trust the advice i have been given.
I do understand that there are risks with investments etc and that the stock market is unpredictable, of course that is the nature of these investments.

What i looking for is some simple advice/thoughts, I'm looking to make money with my savings... The problems that i have had to date are unfortunately in the past.
Im just wondering if there is a feeling that the dramatic drop in shares values that has happened due to the situation in china, is just as likely to reverse in a soon or not.

eggberty100

ANDYT678 i posted looking for some simple advice/thoughts
I felt i made it clear that i am a pretty naive investor (like many people)
Im not complaining about what has happened.
I realize that there are risks, higher risks in some investments. This is why i am looking to move my investment elsewhere. No not into any of the flippant suggestions you made.
My simple question was if there is a feeling that the markets and thus investments like mine will recover soon.

dunstonh

i was aghast to say the least and the bloke said (basically) it is due to the Chinese financial crisis/situation ( it had never entered my head that this would have happened)

Whilst you are currently down, you need to look at the period of growth that occurred before it. You acknowledge that you know these things go down as well as up. So, you shouldnt be aghast.

What is the opinion in the short term please .... is it possible/likely that i may recoup some of the 2K lost in the last month or so, or could it get even worse.

It could get worse before it gets better. The last time there was a correction (as this is not actually a crash/major drop but a relatively typical correction so far) the markets took about 3 months to recover. However, this could go on from being a correction to a crash. Nobody knows.

it goes up, it goes down. You have to average out the ups and downs. An economic cycle is around 10 years nowadays. So, to get the complete benefit of a full cycle, you need to invest for around 10 years. So, you are asking us what is going to happen in the next 2 months of that 10 year cycle. We dont know is the only answer that is correct.

AndyT678

eggberty100 wrote: »

This is why i am looking to move my investment elsewhere. No not into any of the flippant suggestions you made.
My simple question was if there is a feeling that the markets and thus investments like mine will recover soon.

Good that you feel that you have a genuine investment opportunity but I think you're looking at it the wrong way.

If you think that your other investment is the best course of action over the longer term then take what money you have and put it in that. It is that simple.

If you decide to wait for your original investment to climb back to £18k next month/year/decade you might feel like you haven't "lost" anything but how much more expensive will your other option be then? If it would cost £20k to buy what you could have for £15k now then you're losing out...

eggberty100

Andy T

yes this is the conclusion i had arrived.
which is why I'm not going to complain about the initial investment not going as i had hoped.
thanks

ChesterDog

eggberty100 wrote:

My simple question was if there is a feeling that the markets and thus investments like mine will recover soon.

The equally simple answer is that nobody can say.

End your question with the words "at some point in the future" and it's much easier to get a consensus. (Which just might still be wrong.)

eskbanker

eggberty100 wrote: »

ESK BANKER....I have taken advice on all investments from respected/recommended Financial Advisors.
Like many its not my forte and i trust the advice i have been given.
I do understand that there are risks with investments etc and that the stock market is unpredictable, of course that is the nature of these investments.

What i looking for is some simple advice/thoughts, I'm looking to make money with my savings... The problems that i have had to date are unfortunately in the past.
Im just wondering if there is a feeling that the dramatic drop in shares values that has happened due to the situation in china, is just as likely to reverse in a soon or not.

The point I was trying to make was in response to your being "aghast" at a drop of 13% in your portfolio over a two-month period, which suggests to me that you weren't expecting it. The scale of that decrease may be indicative of higher than average exposure to Chinese equities, or insufficient diversification, or any number of factors, so I was (am) recommending that you review exactly what you're invested in and make an informed decision about whether it's appropriate for your needs - if you don't wish to post details here that's your prerogative (albeit this constrains the ability of other posters to offer suggestions) but if you're already engaged with FAs then they should be able to help you with this, as that's what they're there for.