Is now a good time to invest in stocks and shares ISA’s

Sailtheworld

EdGasketTheSecond said:

The FED can prop the markets up to a certain extent but eventually the market wins. Look at Japan's market since 1989 which has had no end of gov't intervention including stock purchases; the index is still way below its peak 30 years later.

In answer to the earlier question "If that’s the case then you are quite right, better buying opportunities will come be coming. I assume that’s what you mean ? " Yes, I mean wait a couple of years and see how it pans out.

Some people are obsessed with Japan. You're using Japan to prove that nobody should be considering investing in shares right now.

It's more a lesson in how over exposure to a single market or asset class can be bad for your wealth.

There's a poster who posts mainly on the pensions board (not as much these days). One of the smartest people on here and generous with his ideas; particularly with how to avoid tax. He spent the last ten years, very politely, warning people about investing in the USA at market highs, pushing P2P and VCTs (Albion I think). Smart, generous, and wrong.

EdGasketTheSecond

Sailtheworld said:

EdGasketTheSecond said:

But eventually market and economy must meet e.g. when companies go bust or make a loss due to the state of the economy then the share price is affected.

The market and economy always meet. Life is simpler and someone is more likely to make money if they start with that assumption.

You have (or think you have) a gift for being able to determine that, today, you've identified they've met in the wrong place and that gold is the answer to whatever the question is. Such is that gift you'll also know when in the future when they've met in the wrong place again and the answer will be selling gold and buying shares. Don't assume everyone else has this heaven sent gift - we'd all be as rich as you.

OP, of course it's a good time to start a S&S ISA if that's what you want to do. The only thing I'd suggest is that you consider what risks you're happy to take and consider those risks against the backdrop of your total financial situation. Investing in shares is riskier than usual at the moment so, unless it really is different this time, investors should expect a higher premium for taking that risk.

Did anyone mention gold??  All I said was the OP would be well advised to wait a while, say a couple of years, as we are in very uncertain times and the BoE has just said we are headed for the worst slump for 300 years; hardly a good time to start out with a S&S ISA imho.

PS do stop shadowing me around the boards and attacking every post, it is very wearing trawling up your same argument as to why my views are rubbish.

Sailtheworld

EdGasketTheSecond said:

Sailtheworld said:

EdGasketTheSecond said:

But eventually market and economy must meet e.g. when companies go bust or make a loss due to the state of the economy then the share price is affected.

The market and economy always meet. Life is simpler and someone is more likely to make money if they start with that assumption.

You have (or think you have) a gift for being able to determine that, today, you've identified they've met in the wrong place and that gold is the answer to whatever the question is. Such is that gift you'll also know when in the future when they've met in the wrong place again and the answer will be selling gold and buying shares. Don't assume everyone else has this heaven sent gift - we'd all be as rich as you.

OP, of course it's a good time to start a S&S ISA if that's what you want to do. The only thing I'd suggest is that you consider what risks you're happy to take and consider those risks against the backdrop of your total financial situation. Investing in shares is riskier than usual at the moment so, unless it really is different this time, investors should expect a higher premium for taking that risk.

Did anyone mention gold??  All I said was the OP would be well advised to wait a while, say a couple of years, as we are in very uncertain times and the BoE has just said we are headed for the worst slump for 300 years; hardly a good time to start out with a S&S ISA imho.

Yes, you've mentioned gold - a lot. Nobody offers an opinion in a vacuum so the context might be valuable for the OP. Obviously my opinion is different but I assume I don't know better than the market and that, give or take, it reflects an efficient reflection of all the data out there. Over the long term there's nothing wrong with getting 'only' a market return.

Don't take it to heart.

hyperhypo

I have a similar issue to deal with as the OP and also in early 60s....a 30k final company pension contribution , there will likely be no more.

Currently sitting in cash on the uncrystallised side of my sipp fence...the crystallised bit ( i took the full 25% to create a cash fund as didn't have one) is sitting in a handful of mixed  asset funds as discussed earlier. Roughly a bit more than my age in bonds as far as risk goes. Plus c. 13% in cash which might be drawn down over next couple of years to align with my personal tax allowance assuming no other external income. I have a db scheme starting at aged 63.

My inclination is , as far as my 30k goes, to purchase a few Investment Trusts , some directed at Capital Preservation, some at growth, looking at companies that might prevail over coming years,  on a 5 - 10 year horizon.  considering Personal Assets , Royal London Sustainable World Trust, F&C, Ruffer.

  But very much a work in progress so sat in cash pro tem inside sipp while i complete my homework.

I also have another issue to consider now is whether to move my existing platform to another provider (Fidelity ?) or even consider engaging an IFA on a pro rata basis to move the lot into something like a Royal London Governed scheme ...this has some appeal as it devolves management to some extent , which i believe OP was looking at too. Plenty to think about !

car1954

HI, I've had stocks and shares ISA going back to 2020. The platform I used was Financial Discounts Direct - who are not using Aegon. I recently got in touch to check on charges and am informed that the charges will be lower if I transfer my holding to Aegon. I was wondering whether there was some obligation of platforms ie Financial Discount Direct to inform me that my charges could have been reduce and if there is any opportunity to make a claim for the additional sums paid to both them and the funds?? Many thanks

bowlhead99

car1954 said:

HI, I've had stocks and shares ISA going back to 2020. The platform I used was Financial Discounts Direct - who are not using Aegon. I recently got in touch to check on charges and am informed that the charges will be lower if I transfer my holding to Aegon. I was wondering whether there was some obligation of platforms ie Financial Discount Direct to inform me that my charges could have been reduce and if there is any opportunity to make a claim for the additional sums paid to both them and the funds?? Many thanks

Going through an intermediary to buy an investment and then realising they have a cheaper way of accessing the same investment that you weren't aware of is bad luck, but presumably you were happy with the fee scale you originally agreed with them compared to all the other choice you have in the market for buying investments.

This sounds a bit like if you have paid your neighbour to do your shopping and they get you baked beans from Waitrose and when you later think to check with them after a year of having them do your weekly shop, they let you know that you could have got the same brand of baked beans cheaper through Sainsbury and you wonder if you can claim because they never told you that you could have got the product cheaper if you had arranged to do the order through a different supplier.

Or perhaps there is an even cheaper way to get the equivalent product from Aldi, but it would be a cheaper brand instead of Heinz, can you claim for the extra profit margin paid to Heinz as well as to Waitrose?  Should the neighbour have researched the market and let you know every option on the planet for getting beans? Did you pay them for the service of finding the very cheapest solution that could possibly exist and constantly changing your service to the very best deal that could be obtained?

car1954

That's not quite the same situation. As I understand it , and I could be wrong, Financial Discounts Direct are in effect now trading as Aegon. However if you invested via them when they were FDD you are paying more annually than you would be had you invested with then when they were trading as Aegon. They have confirmed that if I complete a transfer form from FDD to Aegon, nothing at all changes other than I pay less. So to use your analogy, I'm going to the same shop, buying the same beans
but paying more. It's akin to banks giving more favourable terms to new investor than to existing investors.

Alexland

Alexland said:
Even if the entire index went bankrupt we would still be wondering if the Dow might hit 30k later this year. 

Well around 6 months later it just happened. What a very strange year.