Small Pot for First Investment

Cotta

Hi All,

I have three Regular saver accounts running at 5% and an emergency fund held in a Tesco current account at 3%. I have £2k sitting in a dormant account that I would like to lock away in investments. What are my options for getting started?

Thanks in advance.

masonic

You have many options. It would help if you could narrow them down by stating your objectives, time horizon and attitude to risk.

Alexland

Also it would be good to know if this is a one-off investment or you are going to be regularly contributing each month?

xylophone

Below might be of interest?


https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/stocks-shares-isa?cmpgn=PS0617UKPABIS0001&gclid=EAIaIQobC

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

Cotta

Just on the questions posed:

1. Happy to leave for a few years.
2. Not against risk.
3. I can top it up monthly with small amounts, around the £100 mark.

eskbanker

Spend some time reading up on investment principles at the likes of:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/investments/
http://www.monevator.com
http://diyinvestoruk.blogspot.com/
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en

Bear in mind a number of key points:

1. Only consider investing once you have adequate accessible cash reserves.
2. Only invest if you're happy to commit for at least 7 years and preferably 10-15.
3. Diversify - ignore individual shares, etc, and concentrate on collective investments that spread your eggs over many baskets. Global multi-asset funds are a good place to start, available from the likes of HSBC Global Strategy, Vanguard LifeStrategy, Blackrock Consensus and L&G Multi-Index.
4. Choose what you want to invest in before considering which platform to hold it/them on.
5. Keep an eye on ongoing costs for funds and platforms - they shouldn't be the primary consideration but can make a noticeable difference over the long term.

Alexland

If 'a few years' means at least 5-7 years then consider Vanguard LifeStrategy 60 in a Vanguard Investor S&S ISA. Their minimum for a regular investment plan is £100 per month.

kidmugsy

If you have never owned a property but you'd like to in future, and if you are under 40, consider a LISA.

Zero_Sum

Alexland wrote: »

If 'a few years' means at least 5-7 years then consider Vanguard LifeStrategy 60 in a Vanguard Investor S&S ISA. Their minimum for a regular investment plan is £100 per month.

Not strictly true.
If you pay the minimum lump sum of £500, then any ongoing regular investments can be as low as you want. The £100 limit is only for those that dont have an initial lump sum.

Alexland

Zero_Sum wrote: »

Not strictly true.
If you pay the minimum lump sum of £500, then any ongoing regular investments can be as low as you want. The £100 limit is only for those that dont have an initial lump sum.

Do we know anyone that has managed to setup a regular investment at under £100 per month? The help page suggests the £100 minimum should still apply on an existing account?

Can I set up regular investments?

Yes

Whenever you open an account or add new investments, you will have the option to make one-off and monthly contributions. You can start from as little as £100 per month.

Alex

masonic

This:

eskbanker wrote: »

Only invest if you're happy to commit for at least 7 years and preferably 10-15.

"A few years" doesn't sound long enough to be choosing investments that are primarily shares-based.