Advice sought on best way to start a stocks and shares portfolio

[Deleted User]

A_T wrote: »

One of the good things about the Vanguard platform is that you can invest small amounts of cash at any time via debit card - many platforms have a minimum for an ad-hoc lump sum deposit (e.g. Cavendish/Fidelity is £800). So if you're earning and find you have a bit of spare cash you can pop it in your ISA.

At your age you might want to consider going 100% equities with their FTSE Global All Cap Index fund.

I am very interested in this topic as well. I am 31, and I intend to drop lump sums into my iwebShare ISA to top up my allowance. Two lump sums per year, to make sure I have averaged entry, every 6 months one lump sum.


Which fund would you recommend for maximum timeframe and maximum risk & reward potential?
I'm thinking about Vanguard LifeStrategy 80%, but hearing opinions that it's really overweight with the UK market, I'm considering other options. Preferably, I would like to own only one fund, like the one you mentioned.
Is it this one: Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund Investor A GBP Income/Accumulation?

I just checked, both Inc and Acc versions have 0.24% OCF (on iWeb at least). Is there any viable cheaper alternative, for all-in-one investment with 100% equity? Or maybe there is different scenario I should consider?

Lizling

bostonerimus wrote: »

This looks like a start. Now you have to decide how you will manage your portfolio. Are you going to rebalance and if so how often? how will you invest new money? and what happens if a fund drops drastically...? Think through the scenarios and develop a plan so that you don't have to do this in a panic if the markets fall by 20%.

If a fund drops drastically, I plan to try to figure out why and sell or keep it accordingly. A fall of 20% would be annoying, but certainly not panic stations - I don't expect to need the money any time soon and I've got an emergency fund. Even if I did need to cash out at that time, I'd be pretty grumpy but still nothing to panic about.

I think on the whole I'll probably rebalance, or at least consider rebalancing annually, but I might leave it longer this first year if I haven't figured out the weaknesses of my current portfolio by then. No hurry with moving towards a lower risk profile yet - retirement is about 30 years off.

Alexland

pioruns wrote: »

Is there any viable cheaper alternative, for all-in-one investment with 100% equity?

For 100% equities on iWeb consider the HSBC FTSE All World accumulation fund at 0.16%.

However for the OP starting with £250 per month in a S&S ISA they would be better on Vanguard Investor platform as regular trading on iWeb is expensive. VLS80 is a good fund to start with when you are young enough to ride out the ups and downs. The benefits of going 100% equties are marginal compared to the increased volatility however it might make sense when the market looks particularly good value.

If saving for 60+ it is worth the OP considering a LISA for a 25% government bonus although the fees tend to be slightly higher (while in funds in the earlier years until you switch to ETFs for capped fees) with HL or AJ Bell YouInvest. It doesn't make sense to buy ETFs in the early years due to the higher trade fees on these platforms.

Alex