Appropriate % cash in portfolio

Bobziz

Hi,
My mother, for who I hold PoA, has a S&S ISA which is managed by an IFA. Her current risk rating is 3, low/medium. At the moment the account is 30% in cash, with the rest in equities, infrastructure, gold and gilts. The account dipped by about 10% at peak crash, but is now back in positive territory. I will have a discussion with the IFA, but  I'm keen to hear views on whether 30% cash is what you'd expect for this risk rating ? 
many thanks,

Prism

If I exclude my SIPP, which I treat differently, I am exactly 30% cash right now, the rest being equities and infrastructure. I had a 13% dip during the crash so it sounds fairly good to me.

Linton

In my view, at the moment cash is one of the better options for holding alongside equities from a rather uninviting set of choices appropriate for a cautious investor.  This is particularly true if you are taking an income or have some other need for shorter term access to the money.

Swipe

Always worth keeping some in as cash in case the market dips so you can buy low quickly.

TBC15

I’ve never had cash sitting about doing nothing until retirement last year. Now there is about 4 years spending money sitting in the background so that I can leave the investments doing what they do best without the worry of having to sell during a bad year or two.

Audaxer

I think 30% cash is absolutely fine at this time, but I'd be concerned if all this cash was held within the S&S ISA. Apart from presumably getting no interest, if the cash is inside the S&S ISA, is it also subject to the IFA's annual percentage charges?

Thrugelmir

Is money drawn from the pot on a regular basis? 
What's your concern with the cash weighting? 

Swipe

Audaxer said:

Apart from presumably getting no interest, if the cash is inside the S&S ISA, is it also subject to the IFA's annual percentage charges?

Depends on the platform. Vanguard Investor charges 0.15% on any cash in the account.

Bobziz

Thank you all for your helpful comments. So, having looked through the account over the last 10 years, it appears that the funds were fully invested until 2015, at which point around 30% were switched to cash held within the ISA. 5% was drawn down for a while, but nothing has been taken since 2018. So, my mum has been paying advisor and platform charges on a cash deposit for the last 5 years. It doesn't look like this cash has been held to buy in the dips. I wonder whether it's just been held to reduce fluctuations in the overall value ? Any advice on how to proceed ? The fund is held with Old Mutual.

Prism

Its probably being held to reduce the volatility and cover withdrawal which as you say are not currently being taken. Cash should really be kept outside of a stocks and shares ISA, either in a cash ISA or directly in interest paying bank accounts. I'm not sure if that approach falls outside the remit of the IFA.

Thrugelmir

When was the last time there was a discussion with the adviser? Perhaps the intention was to draw down the cash.