Experiencing my first mini dip as a new(ish) investor

Bazofts_Revenge

In the last 4 months my overall portfolio has lost £7100 but up $26500 so am I really up or down?

Bravepants

I don't think I intend to move to "safer investments" in retirement, I will likely stick to VLS 60. I will need growth to support my 3.5 to 4% annual drawdown and inflation (now at 2.9%).

I too have invested in AVCs (70% equities and 30% bonds) since about 2010 when I moved into the 40% tax bracket. I am therefore getting an automatic 40% uplift on those savings, so even of they fell 40% I will still have my "net" cash saved. It has only been recently possible to view my AVC online, before then I would have to wait for the annual paper statement, so I too am guilty of looking at it more often.

At the moment I am more heavily invested than my partner. She has a substantial amount in cash. She has been learning a little about investment in order to get more out of her savings. However, I would like us to have a good sum in cash to cover those periods where investments are down, so that we don't have to sell to cheaply. At the moment our basic needs are met by about £1000 per month, we don't have a mortgage anymore. So our annual drawdown strategy could be £6000 from our investments and £6000 from cash, or anywhere in between depending on investment performance over the previous year.

There are all sorts of strategies to employ, but I still prefer the simple approach. For me that means VLS and a Global index fund to provide a 70% / 30% equity/bond mix. I will likely move to 60%/40% in retirement, which I hope to achieve when I hit 55 in about 6 years time.

2010

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/444207/ftse-100-support-collapses

jimjames

AlanP wrote: »

Sorry, but I don't get the point you are trying to make or how it relates to the OPs question?

2010 seems to be anti investment and will post such non misleading quotes ignoring dividends etc, apparently they don't want to learn as it's been pointed out many times before.

2010 wrote: »

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/444207/ftse-100-support-collapses

Misleading title on the article again but I guess you can use it to reinforce your views about investment. I wouldn't call a movement of 5% a collapse in support but I don't really believe charts for prediction. The FTSE has moved more than that and recovered in weeks in the last 5 years or so

cjv wrote: »

If I build some cash savings with the intention of putting it into my S&S ISA if there is a market crash, is that a sensible or stupid plan?

I am not doing this currently, just something I have been wondering as a new investor.

As already mentioned it's not a great strategy as you're sitting on the sidelines for a potentially long period of time. What you can do is have a monthly investment by DD and then top up if the markets really take a tumble.

bostonerimus

The novice investor often gets hung up on high frequency fluctuations in portfolio value when the important thing is the general trend and where you end up when you actually need to spend some of your pot. For many people that end point will be retirement. When you develop confidence in your asset allocation and have rebalanced through some 10% and 20% market variations (ups and downs) and seen your portfolio value recover then you'll stop worrying about the daily value of your investments.

Glen_Clark

Fatbritabroad wrote: »

Soon get desensitised when you see 700 go out of easyjet shares when I bought high and sold out near the bottom. Also taught me if I am going to buy individual shares I should believe in the purchase and ignore volatility and buy and hold as I'd have been way up including dividends by now. Typical

I think you have highlighted a very common feeling.
When your shares have made money it makes you feel like buying more.
When your shares have lost money it makes you feel like giving up and selling out.
Our normal feelings are a recipe for buying high and selling low.

cjv

jimjames wrote: »

As already mentioned it's not a great strategy as you're sitting on the sidelines for a potentially long period of time. What you can do is have a monthly investment by DD and then top up if the markets really take a tumble.

Thanks! That is what I have been doing so far, I just add £100 a month on pay day to my S&S ISA and if I have extra hours at work I will add a little more to that or one of my other investments.

I had a good month at work so I just added another £200 into my LS60. I was actually pleasantly surprised that seeing my little investment go into the red for the first time did not give me any sense of doom, as I am looking at the long term with this account.

It also gave me a real life example of how diversifying is helpful. I am only at small sums at the moment, but my ISA was down £15 on my original investment, my Nutmeg LISA and P2P gains are currently at around £24. So I am essentially £9 richer, happy days

Hopefully I can stay just as calm when the losses are scaled up as my investments grow.

Bazofts_Revenge

Our May (Annual) Rise has just been sorted so hoping for a nice bit of back pay to Top up one or two big fallers.... Carillion, Provident Finance or Interserve! Or may be just shove it on the next loan on ABLRate....

Alexland

Last weeks timing worked out quite well for us as in addition to my small pension reallocation from cash to shares we also have and ISA transfering as cash (it sold on the old platform while the price was still high) and a maturing regular saver lump sum to invest. As such I am hoping for the market sentiment to continue for the week ahead.

Jeems

The £ is now at the same level as it was around Brexit time - so its been at this level before (and higher obviously). In times of high £ value, do people just hope for the £ to drop or what do they do?