500k to invest advice please

paolomol

Hi,
I`m new to the forum and the financial world. I`m 52, own my house plus another one abroad and get a pension which is enough to live on.
I have to kids, 9 and 16 years hold, live in the UK and have 500.000 gbp to invest.
I do not know anything regarding investing money but I do know why I want to invest the money :
my kids, I want them to benefit from the money in 10 / 15 years time.
I have no time neither the ability to make this money grow so I want a kind of invest once and forget about it.
Could someone give me any advice please.
I went to banks which offered me off the shelf solution and saw also independent adviser who you have to commit big money before getting any advice.

Thanks a lot for your help and sorry English is not my main language

Paolo

tacpot12

£500,000 is a lot of money to invest and you have said you don't know anything about investing, so I would say that you need the help of a professional advisor. You need to search for an Independent Financial Advisor who can offer you the service you want at a price you are prepared to pay.

To be honest, an off-the-shelf solution might be suitable for you, but you haven't said anything about what solutions you were offered or why you didn't think they weren't suitable for you.

xylophone

This is a substantial sum and if you know nothing about investments and are not inclined to learn then independent financial advice would appear to be required.

https://adviserbook.co.uk/

You could try the above - you would type in your location and then use the filters on the left hand side.

You would tick "confirmed independent" and then such other requirements as you have.

If you are sure that you want this money to be invested for the benefit of your children in more than ten years time , it may be that you would wish to create a discretionary trust - this requires expert advice. There is a filter entry for this.

MK62

As tacpot12 says, that's a fairly large sum of money - if you use an IFA, make sure he/she is an IFA (as in Independant), and is fully licensed and regulated.

Make sure any investments are also regulated - while it's unlikely a genuine IFA would put a novice investor into unregulated investment schemes, it's not unheard of, and there are people masquerading as IFAs, who are in fact nothing of the sort.

Ask the people you know about any local IFAs they might have used or know a friend or family member who might have used them, and then check them out on the FCA website - https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/finding-adviser.

I can understand the reluctance to pay for advice, but if you lack the knowledge about investing (and it's potential tax implications), and lack the time (or inclination) to learn, then for this kind of money it might be unwise to attempt to go it alone, especially if English is not your first language (and so the potential for misunderstanding is higher).....if you can find a good adviser, you may well find that over time the advice pays for itself, if he/she then helps you avoid the common mistakes new investors often make......

kidmugsy

paolomol wrote: »

my kids, I want them to benefit from the money in 10 / 15 years time.

It's conceivable that you might want to put some of the money in trust for them. You may be unfamiliar with the English (or Scottish) law on trusts: the person to speak to about that is a suitably qualified solicitor.
https://www.step.org

But even if you put the money into trusts for them you will probably still seek advice on investing, so an IFA should still be on your shopping list.

Meantime, to keep £500,000 safe from financial calamity while you sort things out your best bet might be to put it with ns&i, which has a guarantee from HM Treasury.
https://www.nsandi.com/our-products

dunstonh

I went to banks which offered me off the shelf solution and saw also independent adviser who you have to commit big money before getting any advice.

IFAs wipe the floor with the banks. IFA charging is explicit. Banks build a lot of it into the annual charge of the fund. So, you end up paying more without realising it. Plus, banks don't give full advice. Its effectively flow chart guidance on mainstream options.

With £500k you are likely to be looking at multiple tax wrappers. unwrapped, ISA, pension and potentially onshore or offshore bond. You are looking at annual CGT allowance use along with bed & ISA/bed & pension. Typically, you will be looking at a bespoke portfolio.

All of which you can do yourself if you know what you are doing. If not, then an IFA.

paolomol

Hi Thanks for your reply.

the off the shelf option was a 250.000 in santander max 70% shares porfolio sa and
250.000 in santander atlas portfolio 4 ia the first with 1.48% charges and second with 1.71% plus advice fees.

Would not a vanguard lifestrategy or hsbc global strategy or blackrock consensus do for me?
Thanks

Paolo

xylophone

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

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

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/general-investment-account?intcmpgn=flexibleinvesting_GA_learnmore_cta

paolomol

Hi thanks for your reply.
I have seen an IFA but, maybe it`s me, before getting any advice you need to commit. what is it clear is only the fees: 3% of 500.000 plus if more contribution to fund 3% plus ongoing service 1%
plus I suppose fund charges.
are those normal charges or depend on IFA?

Thanks

Paolo

Aegis

paolomol wrote: »

Hi thanks for your reply.
I have seen an IFA but, maybe it`s me, before getting any advice you need to commit. what is it clear is only the fees: 3% of 500.000 plus if more contribution to fund 3% plus ongoing service 1%
plus I suppose fund charges.
are those normal charges or depend on IFA?

Thanks

Paolo

That strikes me as very expensive indeed. You could probably get the initial charges to under a third of the quote, and the annual fee down to maybe half of the quoted level.

dividendhero

paolomol wrote: »

Hi thanks for your reply.
I have seen an IFA but, maybe it`s me, before getting any advice you need to commit. what is it clear is only the fees: 3% of 500.000 plus if more contribution to fund 3% plus ongoing service 1%
plus I suppose fund charges.
are those normal charges or depend on IFA?

Thanks

Paolo

Yikes, that's expensive!! I'd expect very very very good advice for £15,000

I'd suggest someone who charges by the hour

Also given sums involved, it might well pay for you to get an interpreter - one misunderstood word might cost you a fortune:money: