Investment newbie

cynicaldoc

...but my monthly contribution will go into Vanguard so it will become an increasingly larger % of my portfolio. If I have any spare cash at the end of a month or two I'll buy more SMT (to limit dealing charges).

RIT Plc is also worth a look if you are considering 10+ years of holding?

I would read as much as you can on here (I've read almost all the investment subthreads!) and monevator, diyinvesting, telegraph investor and ask a small many questions as you need on here. BEFORE you pick a platform and a fund(s). This way you'll avoid charges buying/selling/swapping. Particularly if you are planning on leaving it in whatever you invest for a long period of time.

migger02

Heard how good Vanguard is, sounds they are worth checking.

inkypinky999

thank you all for your inputs i will read through and come back with more questions

bostonerimus

cynicaldoc wrote: »

...but my monthly contribution will go into Vanguard so it will become an increasingly larger % of my portfolio. If I have any spare cash at the end of a month or two I'll buy more SMT (to limit dealing charges).

Nothing wrong with having all your money with Vanguard; there are plenty of funds to choose from.

inkypinky999

Shall I buy an Van ISA account and only invest in that account - which limits me to only VG funds

I have £490 in HSBC Cash ISA from prev. year giving hardly anything, can I transfer that into Stocks & Shares ISA, to start with ?

what level of monthly investment i should put in these funds or invest all 12K together.

how long term shall I be planning to invest for, I know this is personal based on my circumstances but shows my lack of knowledge on the subject.

cynicaldoc

I would suggest yes to Vanguard.

Alternatively google telegraph platform charges as it has a nice table based on your investment amount and charges.

autonm

I was in a similar position several weeks ago... from going through the learning curve I read:
1) Book "Smarter Investor" via Amazon, great ideas for what to look for when creating your portfolio and why. (Sorry wont let me post a link)

2) I picked up a few back copies of Moneywise and Money Observer this got my mind thinking about the world of finance and what goes on in the news. Pretty high level, but it gets you thinking. There was also a great article on different platforms. moneywisepublishing.co.uk

3) investorschronicle.co.uk . weekly magazine, a bit more in depth than the above two magazines, but again great insight and ideas.

4) After reading through various articles, I had a list of 20 funds I was interested in. Narrowed them down so they were in a wide area of sectors and global locations. Read the various fact sheets, on them and invested in 4 funds to get me going under a LISA with Hargreaves and Lansdown.

5) Lurk / read - reddit.com/r/UKInvesting learnt some good things over there.

Several weeks later form knowing nothing - now currently hold the following funds in an LISA, held by H&L:

Jupiter India - This is a high risk fund, and bets on the long term growth of india. The fund manager is highly experienced in Indian and surrounding markets

Old Mutual UK Smaller Companies - This is another high risk fund, "Smaller companies are an exciting, but higher risk investment proposition. Some will blossom into the giants of tomorrow, but some will struggle or fail altogether. Unlike larger companies such as Tesco or Vodafone, which might have dozens of analysts poring over their accounts, smaller companies tend to be under researched. They might only have one or two analysts covering them which creates opportunities for eagle-eyed fund managers to spot hidden gems. "

CF Lindsell Train UK Equity - This is a medium risk, where as the above fund is on smaller potential companies, this fund covers LSE & AIM companies.

BlackRock Consensus 100 - While this is a risky investment compared to BR 80 (or lower) ... its basically a fund which invests in tracker related funds "The aim of the Fund is to seek to achieve a total return by investment primarily in units of collective investment schemes. " So while I am not expecting this to be a high returns, it should be pretty solid - to offset the Jupiter India.

So in summary I have branched out to take a risk on India developing further as a country, but this is balanced out by Blackrock. The other two funds capture the larger companies, but also the smaller companies with potential.

Until you really know what your doing, invest in Funds and not directly in shares.

bostonerimus

inkypinky999 wrote: »

Shall I buy an Van ISA account and only invest in that account - which limits me to only VG funds

If you have access to a company matched pension you should consider funding that . Then look at filling up other tax advantaged options like the ISA, LISA etc. Going with Vanguard as your platform currently limits you to only Vanguard funds. I don't see that as a big issue as they have plenty of choice. If you feel like you want to play in a larger pond then look at other platforms where you can buy anything you want. But I think Vanguard's low costs, reduced number of funds and simple website are actually an advantage for the vast majority of investors.

what level of monthly investment i should put in these funds or invest all 12K together.

You might put in 1k a month for the next year or do it all at once.......the results will depend on the future investment performance and I don't know that. The key is to regularly/automatically save from your earnings.

how long term shall I be planning to invest for, I know this is personal based on my circumstances but shows my lack of knowledge on the subject.

That depends on what you want to achieve. I started investing for retirement 30 years ago and I plan to be investing in retirement for another 30....hopefully 40.

cynicaldoc

If you don't need to access the funds until you're sixty, and you're currently less than forty, put £4k in a S&S LISA and the Govt will contribute £1k. You could then buy £5k worth of funds (including VG LS) and put the remaining £8k in a normal S&S ISA.

If your age and circumstances permit, there is a good LISA thread on this forum.

inkypinky999

thank you folks, really helpful suggestions.

I am 39 reaching magic figure in couple of months, i didn't realized S&S LISA is also there. So that will be a good investment given government also tops it by 25%.
wrt S&S ISA I may go for one which can offer choices beyond VG but will have VG funds initially to start with.

In terms of company pension I was paying 6% and company paying 8%, i have increased that to 10% with company paying 9% from this month.

thanks again for your inputs.

rgds