Vanguard lifestyle S&S ISA

Tiggermad

I have decided to invest in a S&S ISA and have settled on Vanguard Lifestrategy fund. We have a lump sum of £3k available and would be looking at investing £250 per month, depending on my DH's job situation (he is self employed and his work is precarious).

I am 42 and have 2 DB pensions that will pay out £6k min and £2k with another £500 per year added, for every year I work. I would like to retire between the ages of 55-58 depending on how things go, which will add another £7-£8k to the pot plus my state pension. DH will have his state pension and we are currently paying approx £700 a month into his personal pension to try and get him a decent amount as well.

The S&S ISA will help to bridge the gap between leaving work and pension pay outs. We also have approx £30k in easy access savings.
My question is, if you were looking to invest for 13-16 years would you stick with the more moderate 60/40 or would you opt for the 80/20? 

DireEmblem

Given you are investing over 10 years, I would go with the 80/20 out of the two.

threlkeld53

@Tiggermad
I'd most likely go with the VLS80 if I were your age. I'm 67 and about to put a lump sum in a S&S ISA by using Vanguard LS60.  

Audaxer

Tiggermad said:

My question is, if you were looking to invest for 13-16 years would you stick with the more moderate 60/40 or would you opt for the 80/20? 

I'd probably go for VLS80 if I was contributing over that period, but it depends on your own risk tolerance. You would have to be confident you would keep contributing during equity crashes to benefit most from the greater volatility of having 80% equities.

Aceace

If I were in your position, and they were the only choices, I'd go for VLS80. With 13 to 16 years to invest before starting to drawdown, then 10 to 13 years in drawdown before retirement age, the majority of funds will be invested for a very long time. 

When I was in a similar position some twenty years ago I picked the equivalent of VLS100, I.e. all shares. I didn't regret it. 

Doesn't mean it's the right decision for you though. If you have a lower risk tolerance, or are less greedy, or would simply sleep better with lower risk then VLS60 may be right for you. 

Aceace

Another thought: if you really can't decide between VLS60 and VLS80, why not put half in each? Effectively creating a VLS70.

AnotherJoe

As long as you can grit your teeth and remain invested/investing during crashes forget 80, it's neither fish nor fowl go for 100 and if you can't stomach the idea of big drops from time to time, stick with 60. All 80 will do in the long term is give you a lower return. 

Albermarle

If I was investing in VLS 80 or 100 , I would have some concern over the UK weighting due to the underperformance of the UK stock markets . If it was VLS 60 or 40 , I would have less concern as a UK weighting in the non equity side is less of an issue in my opinion . There are other similar multi asset funds , but not exactly the same 
https://monevator.com/passive-fund-of-funds-the-rivals/