Some difficult decisions to make

redmalc

I took a considerable amount of profit last November and now I am sitting with over 150k in cash in my ISA,s.
The issue is when do I get invested again given the market hit 7100 this morning,or do I just sit with the cash for the foreseeable future letting the markets dictate.
I know it's crystal ball time but what is the general consensus

Keep_pedalling

I think the question should be what rather than when.

Linton

Assuming that you are investing for the long term, my view is that "taking profits" into cash is poor investing and in general is counter productive. This is particulalrly true if you have no re-investment plan. Much better to hold a wide variety of different investments in defined %'s and if one part of the portfolio, eg UK large company equities, performs particularly well use the excess to buy more of the less well performing areas. - eg UK small companies which followed the £ rather than increasing with the $.

So what should you do now? Decide on an allocation and buy it now, or if it makes you happier, steadily over the next few months. Then check the allocation once a year and rebalance if necessary.

Thrugelmir

Why did you decide to cash in without a plan or a purpose. At least remaining invested would have meant receiving further dividends to reinvest.

Linton

Another point...

You say that the market hit 7100 this morning. Presumably you are talking about the FTSE100. Its rise over the past 6 months is more a reflection of the world currency market than an indication of some dangerous out of control boom. In any case the FTSE100 is just a fairly small part of the global equity market - why should its behaviour matter so much? Arent you invested across the world?

redmalc

Linton
I am invested all over the world and in property,that is global now.
I took the profit on advice from my IFA who was suggesting the markets would fall over and we could than come back in.
I am 61 years of age with a couple of years work left in me,I also took profit from my pension and left it in cash so all in all I have 220K cash to go back into portfolios of some 750K in total

AnotherJoe

redmalc wrote: »

I took a considerable amount of profit last November and now I am sitting with over 150k in cash in my ISA,s.
The issue is when do I get invested again given the market hit 7100 this morning,or do I just sit with the cash for the foreseeable future letting the markets dictate.
I know it's crystal ball time but what is the general consensus

Not for anyone here to say since (a) no crystal balls here (not working ones anyway), and (b) very few here think that was a good idea in the first place,and (c) what is "the market"? The FTSE100 certainly isn't "the" market its just one (and a small one), and not one I would invest in, its incredibly unbalanced in numerous respects.

What was so special about November? Was that pre or post-Trump? Or if it was that whatever index you were tracking (FTSE100?) reached an arbitrary figure, did you not have an arbitrary figure at which you'd reinvest ?

And indeed what were you invested in and what would you invest in now? Same as before? Different? No one here knows what your investment strategy is or would be either, so even if I was a super-IFA with oodles of experience I'd have no basis on which to recommend anything.

One small example. I think Apple shares are a fantastic bet in my portfolio for next year, considering my knowledge and what other investments I have. Should you invest in them? No idea.

EDIT

redmalc wrote: »

I took the profit on advice from my IFA who was suggesting the markets would fall over and we could than come back in.

Well ask your IFA for the magic number at which to go back in, and why he thinks you should be so concentrated in just oil, banks and big pharma (if you are buying FTSE100 funds).

ColdIron

redmalc wrote: »

I took the profit on advice from my IFA who was suggesting the markets would fall over and we could than come back in

Seems odd advice from an IFA, perhaps he can tell you when the best time to reinvest will be?

Linton

redmalc wrote: »

Linton
I am invested all over the world and in property,that is global now.
I took the profit on advice from my IFA who was suggesting the markets would fall over and we could than come back in.
I am 61 years of age with a couple of years work left in me,I also took profit from my pension and left it in cash so all in all I have 220K cash to go back into portfolios of some 750K in total

I can see some point in having a significant amount of cash when you start retirement, but not in taking profit on the basis of the latest news and then planning to come back into the market some time later. Has your IFA told you when the markets will fall over? How will he or you know that the problems have passed? There is a good chance that this will be long after the event by which time prices will probably have risen to more than when you sold.

The one circumstance where I would recommend "taking profits" would be if you were getting seriously worried. Nothing to do with the actual circumstances but rather your reaction to them. If this is the situation, you possibly had too high a % in equities anyway - you were investing beyond your risk acceptance. Different people have different attitudes to risk, there are some who wont accept any and others who are pretty blase and many in between.

joujou

This is so dumb.

Mathematically, over the long term the makets will go up.

There will always be the new "all time high" around the corner.

I know it's crystal ball time but what is the general consensus

THE GENERAL CONSENSUS IS THE MARKET ITSELF.

jimjames

ColdIron wrote: »

Seems odd advice from an IFA, perhaps he can tell you when the best time to reinvest will be?

^^ This. Surely if the IFA told you when to exit he also has a plan for when you should buy back. Seems very bizarre that he told you to sell up to cash but then expects you to consult an internet forum for advice on when to get back in?