JPM Natural resources & Merriyll Lynch Gold & General

purch

what a useful site!

Here's another usefull nugget of knowledge from Incademy

'Also, if you receive your dividends in foreign currencies, your bank will charge you a fee to convert to sterling, which is usually around the £7 mark. One way round this, of course, is to run a dollar/franc/lira account with a foreign broker and only to use the money when you go on holiday i.e. never convert it to pounds.'

Brilliant !!!!

I can remove all Stock Market risk by pound cost averaging, and I can remove all currency risk by holding money in a non-existant currency !!!

Pure Genius :rotfl:

egamar

purch wrote: »

Brilliant !!!!

Pure Genius

It seems your Hobby Horse is taking you for a gallop around its paddock. I won't be joining you on this particular ride. When you've got control of it again I'm sure you'll calm right down.

Faith and belief are dangerous, you see: they can't be challenged by logic, reason or evidence to the contrary.

egamar

purch wrote: »

Since when does averaging out your cost of acquisition automatically mean you average out to a cheaper price ??

Please pay attention to what is written, not what you think you are seeing.

The important words you are completely ignoring are "tends", "in some circumstances" and "statistically more likely".

Less frenzied readers have probably realised that these words suggest there are circumstances in which 'averaging' does not work, does not work out, or is not appropriate.

Oh, I've already said that ......

robp

It's easy to see that people can fail to understand how this Pound Cost Averaging can be a suitable investment method for them (or not).

Using the power of Google, here is one of many sites (Newton Investments this time, perhaps they know better than Incadamy?) that describe how it might work well for some people.

http://www.newton.co.uk/pub/investors_guide/benefits_of_regular_investing/how_pound_cost_averaging_can_work_for_you.html

Personally, I'm doing both, regular monthly deposits and lump sum payments when I'm in the mood. Might not work for all, but great to discuss pros and cons here.

purch

I won't be joining you on this particular ride.

:rotfl: Oh No ??? :rotfl:

.........nothing in the markets is absolute.

cloud_dog

I think some people, for whatever reason are missing the point of monthly investing. Pound cost averaging is just a way of explaining how you may benefit or not by investing monthly, i.e. you buy more if the price is lower and less if the price is higher.

The other main point about investing monthly is that it takes the 'fear' out of investing, your investments are made irrespective of how fearful, or not, you are on the markets and for novice investors this can be a god send.

As others have said monthly investing may suit some more than others. When I started investing I didn't have access to lump sum(s) but could afford a few hundred quid a month, so identified six funds and started investing - Oh how I prayed for the markets/investments not to rise - not for at least the first five years :rolleyes:

Some appear to understand the logic behind this practise and some don't. The point is, if it is good / works for you then it is a good choice.

cloud_dog

Ian_W

cloud_dog wrote: »

I think some people, for whatever reason are missing the point of monthly investing.

And also missing the point of the OPs question, which wasn't - what are the benefits or otherwise of monthly payments rather than a lump?
It was to the affect that - are monthly payments being suggested so I can stop payments if the market goes down? Entirely the wrong reason for dripping money if that's what they decide to do.
I think it's sad when someone on an ego trip ignores the OP to have their rant and prove their superiority especially when they selectively quote me :rolleyes: but ignore the health warning I attached.

It's not a panacia though - I've been doing this over the summer since June and some fund prices were lower than the first month for most of the time, others dipped for a couple of months but were more expensive for more months - if that makes sense!

Still, if it makes them feel better to have their rant and prove how wonderful their superior knowledge is, their world will be a happier place!

Me, I'm with you. If it works for you - it works!

As someone once said, .........nothing in the markets is absolute.

hyposmurf

Yeh it has gone a bit off topic:D but its an interesting topic, one that I've seen debatd before and there appears to be no clear answer that will suit everyone while investing.The reason I went for a lump sum in the end end ws that I had seen an oipportunity whereby the fund had dropped,so wanted to take advantage of it, also wanted to make a one off payment and not have to worry about having enough cash available in a high interest account to keep making regular payments,The way I see it is that pound cost averaging cuts off the peaks of your investment.Youre more at risk when putting down a lump sum but you can make larger gains if you time it right.

On a side note how does the commodity market look at the moment?
Possible military action by Turkey in Iran may affect oil prices.Further forward Russia have the Winter Olympics in 2014.China urbanisation & migration also look set to increasse demand for commodities.If the emerging marlkets slow down then comodities are likely to.There are many issues affecting the commodity markets its just a question olf sifting through artciles until you can start to see some truth and sense.

purch

Bottom line is that the supply of many Commodities is finite, and demand for them is only going to increase in the long term.

Of course that is not a licence to Invest in these markets and just be guaranteed to make money....these markets always have been, and always will be, highly volatile and prone to swings in sentiment that sometimes are hard to understand, let alone anticipate. ( actually that sounds like the Dow Jones Index over the last few days :eek: )

With commodities there are so many extra factors involved such as seasonality which make the use of a highy experienced fund manager(s) essential.

P.S. If Turkey invades IRAN, then their sat nav will probably be broken and we WILL be in big trouble

P.P.S. I think monthly investing is a fine idea, I've been doing it myself for over 20 years £100 pm into F&C and Monks Investment Trusts building up a nice fund for my lads University funds....but I do object to it being sold as some great panacea to reduce risk and buy your investment cheaper....cos it ain't necessarily so.

meinnit

Which site will give me an up to date price for funds? The Share Centre seem to update the daily prices at 5pm daily (before any other site)