Why doesn't everyone just buy Vanguard LifeStrategy?

Eco_Miser

The market goes up, if it goes up. If it doesn't go up within the lifetime of the investor, then effectively it never went up. Other investors will have a different view.

When a tree falls, it creates vibrations in the air, whether these are actually sounds, or if a brain is required for sound to be perceived and therefore exist, is indeed a philosophical question.

Audaxer

aroominyork wrote: »

Audaxer has picked up the mistake on trustnet. My fund analysis was from HL (I think the hyperlinks work for non account holders).

Balanced fund
International Equities 42.62%
International Bonds 39.55%
Property 4.75%
Cash and Equiv. 4.15%
UK Equities 3.24%
UK Corporate Bonds 2.35%
UK Gilts 1.49%
Other 1.43%
Managed Funds 0.18%
Investment Trusts 0.12%
Alternative Trading Strategies 0.11%
Money Market 0.00%

Dynamic fund
International Equities 63.43%
International Bonds 19.96%
Property 5.24%
UK Equities 4.81%
Cash and Equiv. 3.82%
Other 1.88%
UK Corporate Bonds 0.35%
Investment Trusts 0.18%
Managed Funds 0.17%
Alternative Trading Strategies 0.16%

There seems to be a mistake on the HL Fund Analysis page as well. If you look on the same HL site, the HSBC's own factsheet for the Balanced fund, linked below, shows the fund has over 60% equities:
http://www.fundslibrary.co.uk/FundsLibrary.DataRetrieval/Documents.aspx?type=packet_fund_class_doc_factsheet_private&id=6cda99df-8382-463b-b6cf-c26b9a8f89e8&user=hl_website_documents

Asset allocation copied from factsheet listed below:
US Equity (29.2%)
Corporate Bond (28.3%)
Europe Equity (9.3%)
Emerging Markets Equity (7.0%)
Global Government Bond (4.7%)
Japan Equity (6.0%)
Property (4.9%)
UK Equity (3.4%)
Pacific ex Japan Equity (2.2%)
Cash (5.2%)

AlanP_2

Audaxer wrote: »

There seems to be a mistake on the HL Fund Analysis page as well. If you look on the same HL site, the HSBC's own factsheet for the Balanced fund, linked below, shows the fund has over 60% equities:
http://www.fundslibrary.co.uk/FundsLibrary.DataRetrieval/Documents.aspx?type=packet_fund_class_doc_factsheet_private&id=6cda99df-8382-463b-b6cf-c26b9a8f89e8&user=hl_website_documents

Asset allocation copied from factsheet listed below:
US Equity (29.2%)
Corporate Bond (28.3%)
Europe Equity (9.3%)
Emerging Markets Equity (7.0%)
Global Government Bond (4.7%)
Japan Equity (6.0%)
Property (4.9%)
UK Equity (3.4%)
Pacific ex Japan Equity (2.2%)
Cash (5.2%)

I get to 57.1% equities based on the numbers quoted, which is what I have it recorded as in my Asset Allocation tracker s/sheet although the exact percentage per class have moved slightly to what I have noted. To be expected given they are managing the fund on a Risk Profile more than on a Performance basis in my view, so will tweak the specifics as they see fit.

Audaxer

AlanP wrote: »

I get to 57.1% equities based on the numbers quoted, which is what I have it recorded as in my Asset Allocation tracker s/sheet although the exact percentage per class have moved slightly to what I have noted. To be expected given they are managing the fund on a Risk Profile more than on a Performance basis in my view, so will tweak the specifics as they see fit.

That's true, checking again I see the equities in the HSBC Balanced fund does add up to 57.1%. I think the equity percentage in the HSBC funds can vary it a bit more than VLS as they are managed, but as the Balanced fund is around 60% equities it can be compared to the VLS60, and the returns over the past 5 years for both funds are pretty similar.

Kernel_Sanders

For those of us who have little knowledge of this type of investment, can you tell us what people mean by 'the yield'? Do Vanguard use all the dividends to buy more stock, leaving the investor to sell a fraction if they need income?

bowlhead99

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

For those of us who have little knowledge of this type of investment, can you tell us what the gross return was over this period and how much of it was fees?

You can see the three year return figures/ charts on their website (or those of the platforms which offer it, or places like Trustnet.com or Morningstar.co.uk.

The ongoing charges figure (management fee and running cost) is a smidge under 0.25% a yr

Linton

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

For those of us who have little knowledge of this type of investment, can you tell us what the gross return was over this period and how much of it was fees?

Published returns are always net of fund manager fees, this being what is important to investors. What you see is what you would have got. You can't get gross data.

zzzt

Eco_Miser wrote: »

No, I'm pointing out that your statement was wrong, markets do not always go up.

Again, I think you are just wilfully misunderstanding me. It's essentially a straw man - you've pedantically taken something out of context in order to correct it. We actually agree - markets can and definitely will go down at some point, so no point continuing this discussion.

dellboy102

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Because I don't want any exposure to bonds right now!

Probably a silly question but can I ask the reasons why?

Chris75

Because he feels that bonds are priced for near zero interest rates & that their price will fall as interest rates rise?

If you have a bond that pays 2% and interest rates rise to 4% you simplistically would only pay half as much for the bond. It is not that simple but this is the basic point of a possible argument.