ISA fund depletion

Archi_Bald

eggberty100 wrote: »

ESK BANKER....I have taken advice on all investments from respected/recommended Financial Advisors.
...........
What i looking for is some simple advice/thoughts, I'm looking to make money with my savings....

You are taking advice from respected/recommended FAs yet you are trying to verify that advice with a bunch of strangers on the internet?

Eggbertyone

Archi
The advice from FAs has got me an ISA that has underperformed,
I would rather take current advice from every person I can to make informed decisions
I am not complaining about the past performance it's too late to bother, my simple question was as detailed several times.
In this very specific situation that has occurred might the money be recouped just as quickly? I can guarantee there will be people who will have investments similar to me, and not realise what's happened.
I'm asking for help
I have confessed to not being as smart at this as other people are
I'm trying to get it right
I don't want to cash in my product, and then find in 5 weeks it's all back as it was.
I am disappointed with the judgemental nature of so many people here. I asked for help

ChesterDog

Here's an answer as straight as I can give it.

Stock market investments go up and down, sometimes smoothly and sometimes incredibly rapidly and erratically. Generally, over a long period (seven or more years, typically) they show an upward trend, but the way they perform in the interim can be ridiculously, spontaneously, worryingly bonkers.

Right now, problems loom with regard to interest rate rises and especially the situation in China. These are affecting markets all over the world, especially those with a lot of exposure to miners and commodities (eg the FTSE 100), and anything connected to emerging markets.

Markets tend to overreact.

So IF the situation in China stabilises soon then things might bounce back. A little, somewhat, or a lot. But sometimes markets behave illogically, so they might stay depressed. On the other hand, the China situation may not stabilise, or may worsen, or some other factor might step in to upset the apple cart all over again.

So, while you might be able to pin a few people down to what they THINK will happen short term, the reality is that it is unfortunately a futile exercise.

That's why this sort of investment should never be looked at short term; in effect trying to time the market.

Edit: In short, for a one-off situation like your immediate concern, your guess is - quite literally - as good as anyone's.

ViolaLass

Eggbertyone wrote: »

Archi
The advice from FAs has got me an ISA that has underperformed,

Has it? What was it invested in?

No one can even surmise about future performance if they don't know what you've invested in (and even then, they can't say much).

bigadaj

OP what exactly are you invested in, and is this a lump sum for the period you stated, or has it been drip fed.

If you reply to these simple questions you might get some useful opinions, if you just continue to complain then the thread will continue to go nowhere.

You state that the fund has dropped over the last two months, what was the valuation a year ago, two years ago, five years ago etc.

The funds will go up and down on a daily basis, what is important is that those investments match your risk profile and expectations in terms of risk and return. If you purchased these funds some time ago then the financial adviser may well not have been independent, and the funds may well have just been sold. The analogy would be that you've simply been sold this like a car, TV or any other commodity, and this is what they had to sell, a ford dealer won't sell you a Vauxhall, bmw, Toyota or any other car, even if it better meets your needs and requirements.

masonic

eggberty100 wrote: »

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

As others have suggested, this drop does not seem out of the ordinary. Unless you were invested at the very low risk end of the spectrum, falls of 10-15% are to be expected every few years. Much worse than what you have experienced is possible in a severe market crash. If this is a problem for you, then you are invested above your risk tolerance.

Al.

Eggbertyone,

What is it, if anything particular, that you want the money for?

george4064

£18k down to £15.7k in 2 months can be normal movement or abnormal movement (markets have been volatile lately due to China and Greece), but can't be sure without knowing what you are actually invested in.

eskbanker

Eggbertyone wrote: »

I am disappointed with the judgemental nature of so many people here. I asked for help

I don't see anyone being judgmental, just a number of people patiently trying to explain that 'how long is a piece of string?' may sound like a simple question but it can't have a simple answer without more information.

You ask if "investments like mine will recover soon" but then seem indignant that people might want to know what those investments are!

You're aghast at a fall of 13% in two months but say you've been invested for 18 years, covering some of the most turbulent and volatile times markets have seen, so you are highly likely to have had much more significant movements over that period?

No clues about objectives, risk profile, alternative investment strategies, etc - can you understand why it's hard for people to give meaningful advice in this scenario?

Pincher

The general opinion is, this train that is going to depart will take us to Germany, where we can claim asylum and get jobs in McDonalds, hooray.

LET'S ALL JUMP ONTO THIS BAND WAGON AND HOPE IT ENDS HAPPILY.

As it turns out, brain surgeons who get invited to Mayfair parties end up doing the same thing, thinking these smart pretty people must know something good he doesn't. There are also hedge fund salesmen who cruise the same parties, with just the exclusive investment that he ONLY TELLS HIS GOOD FRIENDS.

Bernie Madoff was highly recommended by all the best people, just ask around the herd.