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S&S ISA advice

I've recently opened up an S&S ISA and I'm looking for some advice. I thinking really of following a long term growth plan, I'm talking 30 + years whilst drip feeding money in monthly. I'm prepared to go pretty risky due the long time frame but you would like some of my portfolio invested in bonds.
I'm started with the lifestrategy 80% to use as a core fund and added the fundsmith to go along side.

What I would like to know, is there any other core funds I could potentially add to reduce the UK/US weighted VLS? Would adding a Europe, excluding UK tracker fund have too much overlap with the VLS since it already has a small percentage in a similar fund?

If anybody also has any suggestions of what else I could potential add to my portfolio, such as satellite funds or property funds? 

Comments

  • csgohan4
    csgohan4 Posts: 10,600 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I have the VG FTSE developed Ex uk as one of my global index trackers.

    Will depend on your own risk and preferences tbh, some also use L+G and some HSBC e.t.c

    others on here use IT as well

    Some would also argue on here, having home bias is reasonable as you live here, but not for me at this time. 
    "It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"

    G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP
  • AlanP_2
    AlanP_2 Posts: 3,490 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 3 August 2020 at 8:44AM
    If you don't want the allocation that Vanguard use for their VLS use a different core fund as opposed to trying to massage their professional opinions.

    Alternative multi-asset funds are available - HSBC Global Strategy range and the L&G Multi-Index range for example with different allocations to Vanguards so one of those might be a closer alignment with your plan.

    Unless you have invested a significant upfront lumpsum tinkering at the edges of a VLS or HSBC now is unlikely to make a significant difference to your value in 30 years time considering you probably won't have even 50% of your contributions in the ISA inside the next 15 years, and possibly 20+ if you increase your contributions as your salary / inflation increase over time. 
  • Albermarle
    Albermarle Posts: 25,919 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Sixth Anniversary Name Dropper
    To follow the comments above, this could be useful.
    https://monevator.com/passive-fund-of-funds-the-rivals/
  • tealcr
    tealcr Posts: 8 Forumite
    Second Anniversary First Post
    Thank you for the replies. So there's no real reason to add any additional index trackers to use as core funds since the VLS already has them and if I wanted to move away from the UK weighting, I'd be better off switched to an alternative multi-asset fund?
    Is it still fine however to add additional growth satellite funds around the VLS (or alternative), as long as I try to minimize overlap?
  • AlanP_2
    AlanP_2 Posts: 3,490 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It's fine to do whatever you want, at the end of the day it is your money  :)

    Adding satellite's, providing they minimise overlap, is an option. If VLS is the core looking at things like Property, Infrastructure, Gold / Precious Metals etc. won't overlap but you may have to use an Investment Trust or ETF which will add to your transactions costs so not worthwhile for say 5% of a £500 pm contribution.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 118,550 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I've recently opened up an S&S ISA and I'm looking for some advice. I thinking really of following a long term growth plan, I'm talking 30 + years whilst drip feeding money in monthly. 

    Would the pension tax wrapper be more appropriate than the ISA tax wrapper considering that period?

    What I would like to know, is there any other core funds I could potentially add to reduce the UK/US weighted VLS?

    Why use VLS in the first place if it doesnt meet your investment objectives?   Why not use a more appropriate multi-asset fund?

    If anybody also has any suggestions of what else I could potential add to my portfolio, such as satellite funds or property funds? 

    If you start building a portfolio of single sector funds then you start increasing the administration required.   The optimal weightings will change throughout an economic cycle.   So, you will need to a) have the knowledge and understanding, b) the data sources and c) put in the time to make the changes.

    The point of using a multi-asset fund is that they do this for you.


    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • tealcr
    tealcr Posts: 8 Forumite
    Second Anniversary First Post
    When you say a pension tax wrapper I assume you mean a fund in which my money is initially invested in equities but as I grow older would move more in Bonds and such? I have considered this but decided I would prefer to leave in the higher risk category for longer then a pension fund would.

    The VLS does meet my investment objectives as far as I can see but I wondered what other peoples opinions were and if they had any suggestions for any additional core funds. From the responses I can see now that it isn't necessary. 
  • Audaxer
    Audaxer Posts: 3,547 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    tealcr said:
    When you say a pension tax wrapper I assume you mean a fund in which my money is initially invested in equities but as I grow older would move more in Bonds and such? I have considered this but decided I would prefer to leave in the higher risk category for longer then a pension fund would.

    The VLS does meet my investment objectives as far as I can see but I wondered what other peoples opinions were and if they had any suggestions for any additional core funds. From the responses I can see now that it isn't necessary. 
    A pension wrapper like for example a SIPP, can contain the same investment funds as an S&S ISA held with most DIY investment platforms. So if you are contributing to a VLS or any another fund regularly and don't need access to it for 30 years, then if it is in a SIPP, any contributions get 25% tax relief added automatically, so it may be more beneficial for you than an S&S ISA.

    HSBC Global Strategy Balanced fund is a similar type of multi asset fund to VLS60, but with much less UK equity. 
  • Linton
    Linton Posts: 17,925 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Hung up my suit!
    If you have a good core fund satellite funds are not necessary but relatively small holdings of niche funds may be useful.  One common example is where you want to take extra risk for the possibility of extra return - for example Technology, Emerging Markets or small companies.  The latter two areas may not be well covered by some index funds or other very general funds.
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