(lack of) retirement planning

enthusiasticsaver

I second the Vanguard Lifestrategy recommendation. I use Vanguard Lifestrategy 60 as the core holding in my portfolio.

db75

thats great. You mention you didnt have a good experience with an IFA and the only one i have spoken to was on recommendation and was poor. An ex girlfriend lost a huge amount of cash through bad avice too which has added to my caution / lack of trust. Sounds like vanguard is a good place to start

db75

also do you think theres any value in keeping the cash ISA?

dunstonh

I also saw someone at nationwide but I couldnt help thinking that after the fees the stocks ISA is not a great return.

You are paying higher fees on your savings. The difference is that the net interest margin that the bank/building society is taking before it pays your interest is invisible to you. Its known as an implicit charge. Its there but you cant see it.

Investments have explicit charges. You see them.

Whilst everyone here is quite correct that SJP should be avoided. It should also be noted that had you chosen them and proceeded, you would almost certainly made a lot more on your money than you by leaving it in savings.

Yes, you should use an IFA as a preference over tied agents/FAs. However, doing nothing is actually a worse option. (and do not mistake what I am saying by going back to SJP).

You say you are self employed. What structure? is it proper self employed or a limited company? This is important when it comes to pensions.

Im not interested in risking capital

Except that you are risking it. You are replacing investment risk with shortfall risk and inflation risk. Risk is there with every option. If you think of risk as a sliding scale of 1 to 10. Being at either extreme can be damaging. In reality, being somewhere in the middle is usually best. You are currently at one extreme.

You mention you didnt have a good experience with an IFA and the only one i have spoken to was on recommendation and was poor.

So you have seen an IFA as well as someone from SJP? There are over 20,000 advisers out there. (well down on the 200,000 twenty years ago). How long ago did you see the IFA and how long did ago did you see the SJP rep?

Alexland

db75 wrote: »

thanks alex i'll look into that.

would you advise this over pension? especially given my age...

I think a Vanguard S&S ISA is a great place to start and get some investment experience. They will be launching a SIPP pension soon too which might be equally attractive. The choice of wrapper (ISA and/or pension) is mostly down to tax planning but many people should have both so it's really a question of how much to contribute into each (observing the annual limits) in any given tax year.

You did well to avoid both SJP and Nationwide (although as dunstonh comments they probably would have delivered you a better result than cash despite their high fees). In the case of Nationwide they are really geared for cash products and would service their members better by not offering any of their unattractive investment products. Still I guess they have an expensive branch network to maintain...

Vanguard are world leaders in investment funds. You might want to watch some videos of their founder John 'Jack' Bogle on YouTube to see his thoughts on the fees, costs and performance in the investment industry. He has also written some good books maybe start with The Little Book Of Common Sense Investing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Book_of_Common_Sense_Investing

Alex

db75

thanks dunston, im a limited company.

I know i have made a mistake just holding cash but I cant go back now (although i only saw sjp last year

Im happy with some risk associated with investing in the stock market i guess but my poor past experience and lack of trusted advice has left me without a solution

Two people have suggested vanguard already so thats promising. Do they offer advice too?

db75

thanks again alex, i'll do some reading.

can i ask in your experience what you would advise in percentage terms to invest given my age?

Alexland

db75 wrote: »

can i ask in your experience what you would advise in percentage terms to invest given my age?

We don't know your circumstances well enough to offer tailored advice - that's where you would need a regulated IFA or to educate yourself further and make your own decisions.

There is still a place for holding cash for your short term requirements. Investment is appropriate for money you will not need to access for at least 5-7 and preferably 10+ years as you wouldn't want to withdraw money when the markets are down as it would crystallise a loss. The best thing to do when markets are down is to throw more money into them to increase your holdings. Still you can't really wait around for that opportunity as markets are impossible to time with any accuracy.

Alex

db75

also i have already invested 20k in a cash isa this year - i have read you can move some to stocks isa but has to be the whole amount so i might need to start with the life strategy fund until april

db75

thanks alex, ill do some reading form the links you have supplied, If in the end I dont feel confident, can I ask for recommendations for a trusted IFA ?