What to do with my inheritance ?

DiggerUK

I'm going to urge you to see FIL's advisor. Not that I approve of such practices, but because I've heard you know a thing or two about 'interviewing'. I'm sure that you have met some right charmers over the years.

I suspect, if the advisor is any good, that they will tell you how pleased they are to meet someone as wise as you, who has his families best interests to heart, as so few people take such a wise decision as you are proposing to make proper financial plans.
I guess they will urge you to consider planning for an earlier retirement, or light up with a smile of favour if you mention it.

OK, I could carry on in that vein, but I'll leave it there. Also I haven't got a clue why anybody should have mentioned gold, but as a small favour could I ask you to mention it during the interview. I suspect you will receive "I see that as a very brave thing to do prime minister" type rejoinder..._

bcfclee27

So I have an appointment with the IFA next week.

My current thoughts are S&S ISA.

I'm thinking of putting 20k in my VLS80 ISA and then another 20k in next April.

The one criticism I see people have with VLS is the size of the U.K. Investment. So I have be looking at HSBC global strategy which is similar but much less UK weighting.

What are people's thoughts on this as I'm thinking of setting up S&S ISA in my wife's name to invest 20k in now and again in April next year.
We would then hold 40k in HSBC global strategy and 40k in VLS80 as of April next year.

What are people's thoughts on this please ?

JohnRo

Have you given proper thought to the psychological impact of exposure to global equities and their gyrations?

These are high risk funds, which is fine if you understand what you're taking on, but you need to ask yourself some honest questions about how it might affect you if the valuation drops by 30% or more which is by no means a stretch.

What you don't want to do is find yourself losing sleep and being panicked into selling at the worst possible time before a recovery, which might take years, has kicked in.

It's very easy when a bull market is raging to glibly dismiss such concerns but it's what the IFA will or should focus on, their job isn't to pick winners it's to ensure you're invested appropriately based on your tolerance to risk and attitude to (temporary) losses.

Chappers27

(1) pay off loans.
(2) put the rest into your own personal private property, savings or pension (without your missus knowing about it, if you can).

It may seem harsh, but speaking from experience divorce can ravage your financial position. Take private advice.

Audaxer

bcfclee27 wrote: »

What are people's thoughts on this as I'm thinking of setting up S&S ISA in my wife's name to invest 20k in now and again in April next year.
We would then hold 40k in HSBC global strategy and 40k in VLS80 as of April next year.

What are people's thoughts on this please ?

I think they are good funds, but assuming you are going for the HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fund which has similar percentage of equities to the VLS80, then maybe a bit high risk unless you are prepared to face a possible 40% fall in value in the event of an equity crash.

I already have VLS40 and VLS60 and am thinking of investing a further lump sum in the HSBC Global Strategy Balanced fund, which should be less volatile than the combination you are considering.

bcfclee27

Audaxer wrote: »

I think they are good funds, but assuming you are going for the HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fund which has similar percentage of equities to the VLS80, then maybe a bit high risk unless you are prepared to face a possible 40% fall in value in the event of an equity crash.

I already have VLS40 and VLS60 and am thinking of investing a further lump sum in the HSBC Global Strategy Balanced fund, which should be less volatile than the combination you are considering.

Ok then so would I be better off investing in VLS60 and HSBC balanced ? Should that still generate reasonable returns but with a bit less risk baring in mind this is an investment for at least 10-15 years.

atush

Chappers27 wrote: »

(1) pay off loans.
(2) put the rest into your own personal private property, savings or pension (without your missus knowing about it, if you can).

It may seem harsh, but speaking from experience divorce can ravage your financial position. Take private advice.

This is asinine advice. Because, hidden or not yo must delare all assets when divorcing So lying under oath about yor assets will cost you more in the end.

Fatbritabroad

Anonymous101 wrote: »

How about doing your own offset? So rather than overpay your mortgage or pay it off in one lump invest the money you would have overpaid by at a higher rate and earn some money rather than just not pay the interest on the mortgage.

The method of investment can range from a straightforward cash savings account to investing via a S&S ISA.

I'm choosing to invest into an index linked tracker fund within my ISA rather than overpay the mortgage. Mortgage rates are very low at the moment so its not worth just offsetting or paying off for me. By investing in my ISA i'm expecting a much better return on my money over a 10 year period and I still have the ability to take money out and pay a chunk off the mortgage when it comes to remortgaging time if that suits.

Exactly what I'm doing. Fixed mortgage for ten years at 2.49% at 60%ltv. Saving in anything I can that likely to earn me more than that (high interest current accounts stocks and shares p2p ablrate etc). Hopefully if the market is kind being in a position to pay a sizable lump off in ten years

bcfclee27

Update !!!

So after mulling over all the advice on this thread and speaking to the IFA I have done the following....

- 40k - Mortgage - I have just re-mortgaged for 5 years fixed @ 1.9%. I have paid 40k off of the balance.
- 10k - Loans - paid off car loan and money owed to father in law.
- 100k - Investment portfolio going into S&S ISAs.

This leaves 40k to play with which I will consider investing over next few years or maybe even pay down mortgage further.

Just want to thank everyone on this thread for their input - without which, rightly or wrongly I would have paid all into my mortgage.

bcfclee27

Just to add I actually used the IFA to invest the money with, reasons being that he's well known to the family and gave me 25% off the fees due to other family members using him.
Mainly because I wanted to invest but had no idea where to invest and I don't believe a novice should pump such large sums into an unknown area.
I also felt completely comfortable with the advisor and his advice.