Stocks & Shares ISAs for 60+ yrs?

OldBill

dunstonh wrote: »

There are plenty of alternative low cost multi-asset funds with different allocations.

Indeed - as I have been finding out today. Too many!

Throughout the day I have kept referring back to Kroijer's short videos & interviews where he says over & over again: keep it simple, you only need 2 funds, a cheap world equity market tracker, & a low-risk bonds fund, sort your risk balance out - hey presto! Job done - away you go! (or words to that effect).

Trouble is - as I'm sure you are aware - the choice is . . . well, overwhelming.

The equity carve-up geographically in the funds never quite mirror his stats - most seem way too US-heavy. Some of the funds - presumably to cater to UK tastes - are way-too UK-heavy; and some, bizarrely, omit the UK altogether. So in the end, the amateur punter is left scratching his head and cursing. The only comfort I have taken from today is that it seems that, if you are UK-based, it's OK to have pretty much all of the bond-element in UK gov bonds as we Brits have a government that always pays its debts.

I'll stop whingeing now and crack-on!

masonic

If you want lower US than the global market, but not a massive UK bias, then L&G Multi Index is worth a look.

I would favour an FSCS protected savings account or cash ISA over UK gilts whose price has been driven up by forced buyers and which now yield less than 1% for those maturing in <10 years. Longer duration bonds will be adversely affected by interest rate rises if not held to maturity. A mixture of UK, US and other global Government bonds (hedged or unhedged) is perhaps more attractive and this is what most multi-asset funds comprise.

OldBill

The best option appears to be Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator funds. The secor and geographical spread of the funds are good and (sort of) in line with what Lars Kroijer suggests - more so than a lot of the other multi asset fund products. Also, I have ordered Kroijer's Investing Demystified, and DIY Simple Investing by John Edwards - so that should keep me out of mischief for a few days.

Interactive Investor for the platform - despite the forthcoming price-hike the fixed fee will be cheaper than a percentage charge, certainly within a couple of years or so.

Any comments or observations still welcome, and a big thanks to those members who have commented so far. It's only when you start doing a bit of digging into this stuff that you realise just how little you know!

masonic

Wouldn't iWeb work out cheaper for you than Interactive Investor in the long term?

OldBill

masonic wrote: »

Wouldn't iWeb work out cheaper for you than Interactive Investor in the long term?

I'll have another look - thanks for that, masonic.

I've just read, too, that BlackRock are introducing a new range of funds - called MyMap - to rival Vanguard's LifeStrategy products. BlackRock's offerings are cheaper too, at 0.17%, and don't have the 25% UK weighting of VLS.

Just when I thought I had it sorted!

OldBill

iWeb doesn't appear to sell the funds I want to buy - so i presume that's no use, then?

masonic

OldBill wrote: »

iWeb doesn't appear to sell the funds I want to buy - so i presume that's no use, then?

They offer the Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator series. The new Blackrock MyMap funds are not yet listed, but I'd be surprised if they didn't make an appearance soon.

OldBill

They don't have the one that I want.

Aidanmc

OldBill wrote: »

They don't have the one that I want.

Its also possible to contact I-Web and ask them if they can get the fund you want to invest in.

OldBill

Very grateful for that response, Aidanmc - I will contact them.

Can't see the new BlackRock ones being "actively managed" with an OCF of 0.17%.