Should I get into investing now? (Complete newbie)

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

Thrugelmir said:

afis1904 said:

What do you intend to use the LISA for and when? For Stocks and Shares to reliably pay off you'd need to be invested for at least 5 years

12 years.......

14 years and 8 months.

kiwi_fruit

Alistair31 said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Alistair31 said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Alistair31 said:

Very risk averse and Vanguard LS80 are not compatible. 

Even when I'm planning not to touch it for 30 years? (I'm 32 now, so can't cash LISA until age 60 anyway) That's the one fund I keep seeing people recommend in various places..

So what you are now saying is that for the next 30 years you aren’t going to be “very risk averse” ? 

It’s one or the other really. 

Well, from what I've read so far- the likelihood of losing money in Vanguard LS 80/20 over 20-30 years is exceedingly low, so I guess that's why I thought it might be suitable.

But as a very risk averse person how would you handle logging in to your account one day and seeing your £4K investment sitting at £2400, for example ? 

If you understand that is a very real risk and you are happy with that then that’s fine. I’m heavily invested in VLS80 myself and have a 30year view too, I however would never describe myself or my position as very risk averse.

Thanks. I'd probably leave it well alone and not look at it all that often. I'm also thinking that yearly LISA bonus may help cushion the ups and downs.

Username999

kiwi_fruit said:
Isn't the basic principle -buy low, sell high..? So it seems now (or in the next coming weeks) is the best time for buying, isn't it?

But now is NOT 'low'.
You'd be buying High to try and sell Higher.
IMHO.

kiwi_fruit

Username999 said:

kiwi_fruit said:
Isn't the basic principle -buy low, sell high..? So it seems now (or in the next coming weeks) is the best time for buying, isn't it?

But now is NOT 'low'.
You'd be buying High to try and sell Higher.
IMHO.

Thanks. I guess I meant low in comparison, with say, buying a couple of months ago. Have just read FTSE had the biggest one week drop since the credit crunch though, I imagine it is considered pretty low.

Thrugelmir

kiwi_fruit said:

Thrugelmir said:

If you are risk adverse why are you now considering jumping into the water while all the markets are at their most volatile. Not as if there's a safe haven. Drip feeding is the often recommended route to put ones toe into the water initially. There's no immediate rush. The panic may yet come. If the situation turns out to be financially damaging for an extended period. Markets hate uncertainty. . 

Isn't the basic principle -buy low, sell high..? So it seems now (or in the next coming weeks) is the best time for buying, isn't it?

My comment was directed at a new investor. Can be difficult to make the initial step. Choosing an investment is never easy. There's always be something that performs better. Losing the money when you first invest can likewise be concerning. Majority of return over the longer term is derived from the reinvestment of dividends/income. This "crisis" is going to last for a period of time. There's no rush to commit large sums until the picture becomes clearer. As few companies are likely to report exceptional trading figures, if anything the reverse. Not worth getting hung up on market indices alone. 

Thrugelmir

kiwi_fruit said:

Alistair31 said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Alistair31 said:

Very risk averse and Vanguard LS80 are not compatible. 

Even when I'm planning not to touch it for 30 years? (I'm 32 now, so can't cash LISA until age 60 anyway) That's the one fund I keep seeing people recommend in various places..

So what you are now saying is that for the next 30 years you aren’t going to be “very risk averse” ? 

It’s one or the other really. 

Well, from what I've read so far- the likelihood of losing money in Vanguard LS 80/20 over 20-30 years is exceedingly low, so I guess that's why I thought it might be suitable.

In a monetary enviroment which is geared to having inflation. Then yes values will rise over the longer term. The question is by how much. Choosing the right portfolio will determine how successfull you are though. 

kiwi_fruit

Thrugelmir said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Thrugelmir said:

If you are risk adverse why are you now considering jumping into the water while all the markets are at their most volatile. Not as if there's a safe haven. Drip feeding is the often recommended route to put ones toe into the water initially. There's no immediate rush. The panic may yet come. If the situation turns out to be financially damaging for an extended period. Markets hate uncertainty. . 

Isn't the basic principle -buy low, sell high..? So it seems now (or in the next coming weeks) is the best time for buying, isn't it?

My comment was directed at a new investor. Can be difficult to make the initial step. Choosing an investment is never easy. There's always be something that performs better. Losing the money when you first invest can likewise be concerning. Majority of return over the longer term is derived from the reinvestment of dividends/income. This "crisis" is going to last for a period of time. There's no rush to commit large sums until the picture becomes clearer. As few companies are likely to report exceptional trading figures, if anything the reverse. Not worth getting hung up on market indices alone. 

So would your advice to me (the new investor) is to NOT invest during this volatile time? I have until the end of financial year to open LISA in order to benefit from this years bonus, which I'd like to do but have been putting off for months now, just feel like maybe this drop is the push that I needed. Surely it's better to buy now that at all-time-high, right?

JohnRo

The key word is suitability, by all means invest now, this tax year. Ignore the current noise and look to the long term.

Just don't invest in something that is going to scare the crap out of you when you log in to your account and it eventually shows you a 20% paper loss which then has you hovering over the sell button to stop it going even lower..

Alistair31

kiwi_fruit said:

Thrugelmir said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Thrugelmir said:

If you are risk adverse why are you now considering jumping into the water while all the markets are at their most volatile. Not as if there's a safe haven. Drip feeding is the often recommended route to put ones toe into the water initially. There's no immediate rush. The panic may yet come. If the situation turns out to be financially damaging for an extended period. Markets hate uncertainty. . 

Isn't the basic principle -buy low, sell high..? So it seems now (or in the next coming weeks) is the best time for buying, isn't it?

My comment was directed at a new investor. Can be difficult to make the initial step. Choosing an investment is never easy. There's always be something that performs better. Losing the money when you first invest can likewise be concerning. Majority of return over the longer term is derived from the reinvestment of dividends/income. This "crisis" is going to last for a period of time. There's no rush to commit large sums until the picture becomes clearer. As few companies are likely to report exceptional trading figures, if anything the reverse. Not worth getting hung up on market indices alone. 

So would your advice to me (the new investor) is to NOT invest during this volatile time? I have until the end of financial year to open LISA in order to benefit from this years bonus, which I'd like to do but have been putting off for months now, just feel like maybe this drop is the push that I needed. Surely it's better to buy now that at all-time-high, right?

You do know you could open an account, fund it with £4K, get the “bonus”, but remain uninvested until you are comfortable to do so. 

kiwi_fruit

Alistair31 said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Thrugelmir said:

kiwi_fruit said:

Thrugelmir said:

If you are risk adverse why are you now considering jumping into the water while all the markets are at their most volatile. Not as if there's a safe haven. Drip feeding is the often recommended route to put ones toe into the water initially. There's no immediate rush. The panic may yet come. If the situation turns out to be financially damaging for an extended period. Markets hate uncertainty. . 

Isn't the basic principle -buy low, sell high..? So it seems now (or in the next coming weeks) is the best time for buying, isn't it?

My comment was directed at a new investor. Can be difficult to make the initial step. Choosing an investment is never easy. There's always be something that performs better. Losing the money when you first invest can likewise be concerning. Majority of return over the longer term is derived from the reinvestment of dividends/income. This "crisis" is going to last for a period of time. There's no rush to commit large sums until the picture becomes clearer. As few companies are likely to report exceptional trading figures, if anything the reverse. Not worth getting hung up on market indices alone. 

So would your advice to me (the new investor) is to NOT invest during this volatile time? I have until the end of financial year to open LISA in order to benefit from this years bonus, which I'd like to do but have been putting off for months now, just feel like maybe this drop is the push that I needed. Surely it's better to buy now that at all-time-high, right?

You do know you could open an account, fund it with £4K, get the “bonus”, but remain uninvested until you are comfortable to do so. 

I didn't actually know that, thank you. Presumably this is applicable to Hargreaves Lansdown?