What did the smart pension money do when values dropped in March/April?

Cus

Deleted_User said:

Way to go “us”!  Still, isn’t it remarkable that everyone on this board has nerves of steel and had the foresight to sell before the crash and buy just before the recovery?  I am wowed! And truly humbled. 

Don't think many people said they sold just before, but if you panic sold during the crash then you would likely not be advertising it here..

It does seem many people did nothing, which matches the mantra that investing is long term and not to react.

If you are full DIY then crashes like in march are a real test of discipline I guess, where as some people using an IFA didn't have a choice but to sit and watch.  

resk

I did nothing too.  Just kept buying index trackers every month in my pension and ISA.  I saw it as a good test of my risk appetite rather than any trigger to change direction.   

fred246

IFAs are supposed to phone you immediately with advice. That's what you pay them ongoing fees for.

Joey_Soap

Did nothing. By mid-year had accrued some extra cash so topped up from then till now. Likely last top up will be December. Used the new money to diversify, previously had too much in UK stocks.

[Deleted User]

fred246 said:

IFAs are supposed to phone you immediately with advice. That's what you pay them ongoing fees for.

I was actually in an interview with an IFA (FOR A DB transfer) when the market fell by an enormous amount in one day
I mentioned the market fall to him, he then said because of the % drop he was obliged to send out urgent emails to the rest of his clients

Prism

fred246 said:

IFAs are supposed to phone you immediately with advice. That's what you pay them ongoing fees for.

Nah, the IFA helped you build a portfolio that barely dropped - maybe around 10% - so that it was well within your comfort zone and you could sleep soundly. Of course anyone who knows what they are doing could also have done that themselves

cfw1994

britishboy said:

Partly a theoretical question, and also genuinely interested...
When it was a given that markets everywhere were going to plunge due to Covid in March/April of this year, what were people doing with their SIPP's and pension pots?  Allowing them to ride it out, or transfer it somewhere a little 'safer', if there was anywhere?  

NOTE: For those of you who read the rest of my pension posts on here, I am considering a DB transfer out so want to know what options there are regarding safer investment choices if a period of uncertainty if forecast (I'm talking months, not daily fluctuations)

Have you decided to remain in the safety of your DB now?  

FWIW, for much of this year I tracked the performance of my main pot.  Daily from Feb to May, weekly since....only out of morbid curiosity, & to also see how my “safer” funds behaved during the year.   

Overall, the ‘high to low’ was 16%, with funds ranging from 8% to 22% down.
A fascinating exercise (to me: clearly a bit sad with numbers and spreadsheets!), useful to see how things performed.....but never for a minute did I consider moving or shifting things.   

Now back up about 10% on the high in Feb, and over 30% on the March low....but bear in mind I am still making monthly contributions.....

ossian

Nothing.  I was bemused by those that panicked as I have seen much worse.  I was comforted by my confidence that I was backing tomorrow's winners even if today's investors don't agree.   I am up on this year and I don't even hold any SMT which is my one regret.  I sold out thinking it's holdings were overvalued a long time ago!  Go on laugh.

ussdave

My non-DB provision is quite small but when the market "crashed" I increased my regular salary sacrifice payments in the hope I might get to buy cheap before a recovery.

To be honest the main lesson was that I could afford to pay more and probably should've been doing so earlier.

Everything I read beforehand suggested that reacting to drops is not the thing to do so I left everything where it was.  I imagine that might be more worrying if you had a much higher percentage of your pension provision in stocks that had dropped massively though.

[Deleted User]

Cus said:

Deleted_User said:

Way to go “us”!  Still, isn’t it remarkable that everyone on this board has nerves of steel and had the foresight to sell before the crash and buy just before the recovery?  I am wowed! And truly humbled. 

Don't think many people said they sold just before, but if you panic sold during the crash then you would likely not be advertising it here..

It does seem many people did nothing, which matches the mantra that investing is long term and not to react.

If you are full DIY then crashes like in march are a real test of discipline I guess, where as some people using an IFA didn't have a choice but to sit and watch.  

There are way too many people in this thread claiming “I happened to be in cash before the crash, then I went 100% equities”.  Or “I SAW it coming, sold at the peak, then bought at the bottom”.  Or “I had lots of cash, so I bought lots of shares in March”. 

I classify such comments as financial !!!!!!. They are downright unhelpful to the OP.  “Sell high, buy low” would be a great idea, but stats show that guessing the timing accurately twice AND consistently is next to impossible. And that people trying to time actually lose money over time.  And those patting themselves on the back for sitting in cash then going 100% equity, if true, lost lots of money.  In 2019 equities returned around 20%, they would have missed all the action then and before.   Look at long term stock market returns over the long term. All the crashes are shown as tiny blips. Its ALL about time in the market.  

Also, anyone who is human, invested and watched the stock market would have been worried in March.  Few predicted V shaped recovery following one of the fastest drops in history.  I was certainly worried.  That does not mean “you don’t have the risk tolerance for your allocation”.  That just means humans have normal human emotions.