What to do with £1million ?

fred990

Deleted_User wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.
I've never used financial advisors since the dawn of the internet - I can find all the information I need online and then make an informed choice using my own money.

Popcorn at the ready.......:D
Not that I don't agree!

seekstris

Linton wrote: »

1) Decide what you want the money for eg immediate spending, immediate gifts, inheritances, long term income. How much and when?
2) If you dont have an emergency cash fund of up to several years income, set one up
3) Dont have too much faith in advice from the net
4) Consider seeking professional advice from an IFA - problems with tax, unbalanced diversification, inflation and sub-optimal investments that fail to meet your objectives could well cost much more than the cost of advice.
5) Get your objectives, strategy to meet them and plan clear before you start thinking about investments - which particular investments you choose is about the least important factor you have to decide to make optimal long term use of the £1M.
.

Can't really argue with this.


Convential wisdom seems to be if you are close to retirement (within 5 years) then you should start to increase emergency funds to 2-3 years worth of living expenses just in case the markets that you are invested in turn. This should allow you to ride that out.


Ultimately what you do with that amount depends on so many variables it is hard for anyone here to provide a detailed answer. Is this the money you plan to live on while you are retired? Is it a bonus pot? Do you want your children / spouse / others to inherit some? Do you need it in the short term? An IFA can help you decide where best to put it based on that, as well as a spread if needed.

AlanP_2

Deleted_User wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.
I've never used [STRIKE]financial advisors[/STRIKE] doctors since the dawn of the internet - I can find all the information I need online and then make an informed choice [STRIKE]using my own money[/STRIKE] about my health.

I know this isn't what you meant but the internet is not a substitute for professional advice in many fields, and can actually be harmful to wealth and health.

Getting a sanity check on the plan you come up with by an experienced IFA would cost you relatively little but could pay for itself many times over if one missed opportunity is highlighted. Particularly as regards tax and inheritance.

[Deleted User]

Medical expertise is very different from financial expertise - there's very little about tax and inheritance that I can't find online from official Inland Revenue information and I would merely be paying someone to read the same things for me.
I have no intention of investing in anything remotely dubious or high risk.
In all other areas such as equities or bonds a financial advisor is no more knowledgeable than someone with a modicum of intelligence and the ability to research competently.
Ultimately most financial advisors want to sell you something or earn commission and the ones I have come across have no more skill in predicting the future than someone who reads tea leaves.
It goes without saying that if you're reaching retirement age and contemplating how to invest a million pounds one is not a complete novice at the old financial lark.