Retiready (Aegon): better performing alternatives?

dunstonh

I will be putting in in excess of £5K per year. (I am 40 at the moment so that's £150K between now and when I am 65).

Remember inflation. One of the biggest mistakes people make is paying in a regular contribution but never increasing it. That error is responsible for most of the people saying they got back less than they expected. £5000 this year is the same as £3250 in 10 years and £2112 in 20 years. Remember to increase for inflation as a minimum.

Linton

jdw2000 wrote: »

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EDIT: I had a look at what was in each of their 5 funds. Shares, property and cash. The more risky you want it, the more shares you have as a percentage of your pie. The riskiest option is 75% shares.

According to Morningstar the IV fund is 100% equity.

jdw2000 wrote: »

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So even the BlackRock IV (riskiest of the 5 settings) doesn't look unreasonably risky?

Whether its unreasonably risky for you depends on whether you would panic at a 40% loss over a year or be perfectly happy (well if not happy perhaps calm would be a better word) because you knew it would recover given enough time. The fund's investments are certainly mainstream and are typical of the contents of many people's portfolios. Were you "aiming for the moon" you could reasonably invest in funds with higher volatility.

jdw2000

Linton wrote: »

According to Morningstar the IV fund is 100% equity.



Whether its unreasonably risky for you depends on whether you would panic at a 40% loss over a year or be perfectly happy (well if not happy perhaps calm would be a better word) because you knew it would recover given enough time. The fund's investments are certainly mainstream and are typical of the contents of many people's portfolios. Were you "aiming for the moon" you could reasonably invest in funds with higher volatility.

This is what the website said about BlackRock IV:

"This fund matches risk level 5 and is designed for investors who are willing to take significant investment risk and prioritise growing their savings over protecting their capital.

It aims to grow investors’ savings by investing around 10% in a mix of less risky assets, like bonds and property, with around 90% invested in riskier assets, such as equities (shares) including some in emerging markets equities.

All our Retiready Solutions have an added safeguard that moves some money out of riskier investments into safer ones when things get too risky.

If you're an ISA investor you're invested directly in BlackRock Volatility Strategy IV (E share class) fund"


So the difference between BlackRock II, III, and IV is that you get a 10% rise in each one for risky assetts (70%, 80% and 90% respectively). So even the riskiest still have 10% of less risky assets.