ISA value drop

lesleyclarke

Have just received quarterly Investment ISA statement to end of March and it has already lost 10% of value. Am waiting to see if dropped further (expecting the worst). Should we move to a fixed interest cash ISA to stop any additional losses, or ride it out in the hope we recoup the losses when/if economy recovers? This is our main savings so getting nervous. 

eskbanker

When do you anticipate needing the money?  Was your choice of investment appropriate for your objectives and risk tolerance?

dunstonh

Have just received quarterly Investment ISA statement to end of March and it has already lost 10% of value.

You will probably find it has gone up again since then as markets have been rising in a zig zag nature since around 23rd March.

Am waiting to see if dropped further (expecting the worst). 

Rather than assume, why not check?

Should we move to a fixed interest cash ISA to stop any additional losses

Why would you move because of a loss period?   You knew there were going to be negative periods before you invested.  So, why do you need to do anything when one happens?

What has changed since you invested the money to now make you question your decision?

mj54

The only income I have is my state pension and my only savings is an ISA,just had the annual report and it has dropped considerably, should i panic and withdraw it or hope that it will start to recover soon

mj54

eskbanker said:

When do you anticipate needing the money?  Was your choice of investment appropriate for your objectives and risk tolerance?

I shouldn't need the money this year. It was an Isa which I received as part of a settlement when my partner and I separated,I've had it for approximately 3 years

mj54

I shouldn't need the money this year,it was an ISA which I received as part of a settlement when my partner and I separated about 3 years ago

Zorillo

"Should I panic?" is a question to which the answer should always be "no", isn't it?

eskbanker

mj54 said:

eskbanker said:

When do you anticipate needing the money?  Was your choice of investment appropriate for your objectives and risk tolerance?

I shouldn't need the money this year. It was an Isa which I received as part of a settlement when my partner and I separated,I've had it for approximately 3 years

My question was to the original poster, lesleyclarke, are you one and the same?

I don't know what you mean by 'receiving' an ISA, as this isn't possible - you could have received some sort of lump sum and then chosen to open or fund your own ISA with it, but in doing so you should have weighed up which of investing or saving was better suited to your objectives.  In general you should only invest money if you accept the oft-repeated statement that investments can go down as well as up, and be confident that you won't be needing it for at least five years and preferably 7-10 or more (exactly so as not to be in this situation where you feel pressured to sell at a bad time).

Alistair31

eskbanker said:

mj54 said:

eskbanker said:

When do you anticipate needing the money?  Was your choice of investment appropriate for your objectives and risk tolerance?

I shouldn't need the money this year. It was an Isa which I received as part of a settlement when my partner and I separated,I've had it for approximately 3 years

My question was to the original poster, lesleyclarke, are you one and the same?

It certainly looks that way. Bizarre.

lesleyclarke

Apologies, new to the forum! Not the same person as mj54. Query was around whether the general feeling was that market would continue to drop, in which case moving to a cash ISA would stop further losses. If consensus is that it will bounce back long term, I’ll sit on the investment. Yes, expected some movement up & down, but no-one predicted a pandemic. I have a few years before retirement so will probably open separate cash isa this year to act as safety net and not put additional funds in bond isa. Thanks everyone. 

dunstonh

Query was around whether the general feeling was that market would continue to drop

The market hit bottom nearly 2 months ago and has been zig zagging upwards since.

in which case moving to a cash ISA would stop further losses.

At the moment its a paper loss.   Moving it to cash would crystallise that loss and prevent recovery.

f consensus is that it will bounce back long term, I’ll sit on the investment.

The odds are that it will recover and go on to to grow much the same as it always has done.   Whether it takes 6 months, a year or 3 years is unknown.

es, expected some movement up & down, but no-one predicted a pandemic.

Irrelevant.   The reasons for a crash vary but crashes are always coming.     The recent drop is only the third-largest fall in the last 20 years and is one of four to exceed 20%.   Historically, a financial crisis occurs on average every 7 years.    So, you knew a loss period like this was possible and would happen again (and again and again....).    

The dot.com period and the credit crunch were worse than this.