Spreading Investments

billbumkins

I am fairly new to investing so please be gentle with me. I use Halifax Share Dealing and like to buy shares which hold many other shares eg BAILLIE GIFFORD US ORD GBP0.01 which give me a spread of US companies. I see they have other shares which concentrate on other areas of the world.
They seem to have a good reputation and I am tempted to invest in their other shares but I am wary of putting all my eggs in one basket. Supposing GB had a disaster of some sort?
My question is - Are there any other companies who could be recommended who operate similarly to BG from whom I could purchase shares in this way?
Hope this make sense.
Any advice would be appreciated.

csgohan4

have you considered what your investment strategy is, why a US fund?, why not a global index tracker which far more diverse?
Basing funds on reputation alone is not the best, look at Woodford. 

Base funds/ investments on whether they fit your risk appetite, what I use may not be suitable for you

If you new to investing, monvevator is a good resource

https://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/

tacpot12

There are some very good companies who have Exchange Traded Funds like Baillie Gifford. You might look at Vanguard, iShares (Blackrock), HSBC, Invesco and JP Morgan. 

As per the comment above, you need to look beyond the reputation of the organisation. In particular you should check the charges that the company make.

While you are right to worry about a problem affecting a single investment company like BG, the impact of any such problem is likely to be limited to a very occasional and short-term inability to trade and sudden hikes in charges if the company runs into financial difficulties. The market for such investments is competitive, so companies will be wary of increasing charges if this will take them out of line with the market. The shares that the funds invest in are held in Custody Accounts so there is virtually no risk that you would lose the value of the shares if BG were to go bust. 

billbumkins

Thanks guys.
That is very helpful advice which I mainly intend to follow.

ElephantBoy57

billbumkins said:

Supposing GB had a disaster of some sort?

We already have, COVID19, so a spread of shares is really good. I just invest in UK shares because I find it more interesting.

I understand the UK stock market is down compared to 12 months ago, where as other countries stock markets are fairing much better. Maybe if you were to start to invest today, the UK stock market has a good chance of increasing.