Creating multiple portfolios in single ISA platform?

kitchencrazy

I've been looking at the various S&S ISA platforms out there and not really too sure if I can achieve my desired aims or not.

Lets say I have £250 per month to invest into a S&S ISA, I want to do this for long term but with different aims in mind, some for me and some so I have separate pots of money to provide for 2 children when it becomes appropriate timing in their life.

The way that makes sense to me to achieve this is to open an ISA with one of the fund platforms and then create 3 separate portfolios within that to divide the money eg A - £150, B - £50, C - £50. They would probably contain some of the same funds but would at least have some logical separation, making it easier to invest additional lump sums and sell when needed at different times.

Is this approach achievable, and also achievable in a way that doesn't incur unnecessary charges?

I've considered Junior ISAs but am not that keen on the idea of losing control of the money.

xylophone

Seems a lot of faff for little purpose.

Consider Vanguard ISA, make your monthly investment, see where you are when the time comes?

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/stocks-shares-isa

http://monevator.com/vanguard-direct-uk/

http://monevator.com/using-vanguard-lifestrategy-funds-life/

Alexland

Holding multiple sets of funds in the same account seems unnecessarily complicated but maybe you could just hold different target date funds for when you believe each pot of money will be withdrawn?

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/what-are-target-retirement-funds

bowlhead99

kitchencrazy wrote: »

The way that makes sense to me to achieve this is to open an ISA with one of the fund platforms and then create 3 separate portfolios within that to divide the money eg A - £150, B - £50, C - £50. They would probably contain some of the same funds but would at least have some logical separation, making it easier to invest additional lump sums and sell when needed at different times.

Is this approach achievable, and also achievable in a way that doesn't incur unnecessary charges?

The way to achieve it is to just have a spreadsheet to track how many units you 'each' have of each fund (albeit, it's in your name under a single account number from ISA manager's perspective.)

FWIW, although I know the £250 might not be your real number (as you were only saying "let's say"... ) but at £50pm and the occasional small lump sum, you can't practically build a bespoke portion for your child with "some of the same funds, some different ones" implying each of the £50s is getting allocated maybe five ways at a tenner a month. Even with a £200 boost every birthday and Christmas you are still only at £1k a year and It is just not worth them having multiple funds anyway for the first fifteen years at £1k a year.

Far easier to invest the whole lot in a core portfolio and just have a defined three way split or track what shares have been bought for each on a piece of paper or computer file. Or one of them exclusively uses ABC Global Fund Accumulation Class and the other uses ABC Global Fund Income Class with the resulting dividend income reinvested for them when you get out once or twice a year.

I've considered Junior ISAs but am not that keen on the idea of losing control of the money.

That's a reasonable attitude.

To avoid putting them all in your own personal ISA, you could instead invest in a dedicated "designated account" for each of them where the ownership is yours and the tax responsibility is yours, but with the amounts being so small there will be minimal issues with CGT or dividends.

Or to save restricting your search to platforms that make a big deal of promoting special kid friendly investment methods, just have all the accounts in your name and three different providers and three passwords and three lots of minimum annual fees etc...

dunstonh

With the amounts being relatively small, it would seem sensible to use a different multi-asset fund for each objective.

kitchencrazy

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate that it may sound like a lot of hassle, which is one of the reasons for asking the question as I don't know how straight forward this might be with one of the platforms, from the responses so far then I gather it's not very practical/possible and that kind of functionality isn't present.

I was looking at Vanguard as a preferred option initially, but it didn't seem like it would actually work for what I wanted to do in terms of separation and that has led me to explore what other options might be out there. Maybe ultimately will return to Vanguard.

it would seem sensible to use a different multi-asset fund for each objective.

Assuming by this you mean something like the Vanguard Life Strategy? I had considered this as an approach, I guess if I picked 3 different ones, but had one I viewed more favourably based on anticipated performance, it might just be better to put it all in one. It would provide the separation though so thanks for that suggestion.

Appreciate your input bowlhead99, tracking on a spreadsheet seems like will be the only way to keep sense of how many units each contribution might relate to, and what ad-hoc deposits have contributed at a given point in time.

To avoid putting them all in your own personal ISA, you could instead invest in a dedicated "designated account" for each of them where the ownership is yours and the tax responsibility is yours, but with the amounts being so small there will be minimal issues with CGT or dividends.

Or to save restricting your search to platforms that make a big deal of promoting special kid friendly investment methods, just have all the accounts in your name and three different providers and three passwords and three lots of minimum annual fees etc...

By this did you mean to open investment accounts, not invest in ISA? eg 1 S&S ISA, 2 investment accounts

kitchencrazy

Alexland wrote: »

Holding multiple sets of funds in the same account seems unnecessarily complicated but maybe you could just hold different target date funds for when you believe each pot of money will be withdrawn?

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/what-are-target-retirement-funds

Hadn't come across those before, thanks. Will do a bit more reading up.

Alexland

kitchencrazy wrote: »

Hadn't come across those before, thanks. Will do a bit more reading up.

Target date funds are most useful when the money is likely to be withdrawn over a relatively short period of time (e.g. VTR2035 for a toddler to fund university from 18). Now most people seem to be going into drawdown they are less useful for retirement purposes.

As such you might take a VTR for each child and a VLS for yourself? Unless you also have an anticipated withdrawal date or value a glide path to reduced volatility.

Alex