Vanguard Lifestrategy 60% equities: bunch of questions!

caper7

Researching what to put in a stocks and shares Isa with I Web. Considering Vanguard LS 60%
Any help on the following greatly appreciated: 

* Transaction cost of 0.5% on the investment, wasn't expecting that on top of the OCF of 0.22%.
Real ongoing charge is 0.72% in fact then, is this considered reasonable?

* How does one actually pay the charges? Preferably from outside the ISA.

* On I web LS60 doesn't come up when searching index trackers, ie passive funds. 
When looking at Hargreaves Landsdown, I Web and Vanguard's own site the allocations are all slightly different, presumably from different dates, but if it changes a lot, is the fund really passive or active?

* As to the make up of the fund, I don't think it has:
-Commodities 
-Property
-Small cap shares
-Value shares
-Is it a little low on emerging markets and maybe developed Asia excluding Japan? 
From things I've been reading, I'm minded to forget about property and commodities, unless you all think otherwise? I can't research everything, so which areas should I prioritise? 
Should I find tracker funds for the other four and do you have any recommendations?

* I believe LS60 is an OEIC, are these FSCS protected in a stocks and shares Isa?

* Does anyone know if all the corporate bonds are investment grade? No junk bonds? They have quite a few different bond funds.

* Are all the global government bonds from developed countries?

* I was under the impression one was to avoid derivatives, but this has some. It does say only a small percentage and not used speculatively, so should I be concerned?

Apologies for the length of the post 😳

NottinghamKnight

You are asking some fairly detailed questions about what is supposed to be a fairly simple multi asset fund that is a 'sort of' tracker'.  If you want to invest in that level of detail then sector funds that you have selected would make more sense. 

Albermarle

caper7 said:

Researching what to put in a stocks and shares Isa with I Web. Considering Vanguard LS 60%
Any help on the following greatly appreciated: 

* Transaction cost of 0.5% on the investment, wasn't expecting that on top of the OCF of 0.22%.
Real ongoing charge is 0.72% in fact then, is this considered reasonable?

* How does one actually pay the charges? Preferably from outside the ISA.

* On I web LS60 doesn't come up when searching index trackers, ie passive funds. 
When looking at Hargreaves Landsdown, I Web and Vanguard's own site the allocations are all slightly different, presumably from different dates, but if it changes a lot, is the fund really passive or active?

* As to the make up of the fund, I don't think it has:
-Commodities 
-Property
-Small cap shares
-Value shares
-Is it a little low on emerging markets and maybe developed Asia excluding Japan? 
From things I've been reading, I'm minded to forget about property and commodities, unless you all think otherwise? I can't research everything, so which areas should I prioritise? 
Should I find tracker funds for the other four and do you have any recommendations?

* I believe LS60 is an OEIC, are these FSCS protected in a stocks and shares Isa?

* Does anyone know if all the corporate bonds are investment grade? No junk bonds? They have quite a few different bond funds.

* Are all the global government bonds from developed countries?

* I was under the impression one was to avoid derivatives, but this has some. It does say only a small percentage and not used speculatively, so should I be concerned?

Apologies for the length of the post 😳

Vanguard LS 60 is not an index tracker . It is a multi asset fund composed of mainly index trackers.
It is relatively low cost ( ignore the transaction charges and the .22% fund charge is paid directly by the fund ) very low maintenance  simple product . If you want to construct your own portfolio of index trackers then it would be marginally cheaper but more work and you might get it wrong.
It is FCSC covered for £85K but if things were so bad that Vanguard went bust we would all be barricaded in our houses protecting our last tin of beans . Money would be the last thing on your mind. 

caper7

Albermarle said:

caper7 said:

Researching what to put in a stocks and shares Isa with I Web. Considering Vanguard LS 60%
Any help on the following greatly appreciated: 

* Transaction cost of 0.5% on the investment, wasn't expecting that on top of the OCF of 0.22%.
Real ongoing charge is 0.72% in fact then, is this considered reasonable?

* How does one actually pay the charges? Preferably from outside the ISA.

* On I web LS60 doesn't come up when searching index trackers, ie passive funds. 
When looking at Hargreaves Landsdown, I Web and Vanguard's own site the allocations are all slightly different, presumably from different dates, but if it changes a lot, is the fund really passive or active?

* As to the make up of the fund, I don't think it has:
-Commodities 
-Property
-Small cap shares
-Value shares
-Is it a little low on emerging markets and maybe developed Asia excluding Japan? 
From things I've been reading, I'm minded to forget about property and commodities, unless you all think otherwise? I can't research everything, so which areas should I prioritise? 
Should I find tracker funds for the other four and do you have any recommendations?

* I believe LS60 is an OEIC, are these FSCS protected in a stocks and shares Isa?

* Does anyone know if all the corporate bonds are investment grade? No junk bonds? They have quite a few different bond funds.

* Are all the global government bonds from developed countries?

* I was under the impression one was to avoid derivatives, but this has some. It does say only a small percentage and not used speculatively, so should I be concerned?

Apologies for the length of the post 😳

Vanguard LS 60 is not an index tracker . It is a multi asset fund composed of mainly index trackers.
It is relatively low cost ( ignore the transaction charges and the .22% fund charge is paid directly by the fund ) very low maintenance  simple product . If you want to construct your own portfolio of index trackers then it would be marginally cheaper but more work and you might get it wrong.
It is FCSC covered for £85K but if things were so bad that Vanguard went bust we would all be barricaded in our houses protecting our last tin of beans . Money would be the last thing on your mind. 

Many thanks. 
Would LS 60 overall be considered passive investing? 

caper7

NottinghamKnight said:

You are asking some fairly detailed questions about what is supposed to be a fairly simple multi asset fund that is a 'sort of' tracker'.  If you want to invest in that level of detail then sector funds that you have selected would make more sense. 

I think the fact I have so many questions shows I'm far from equipped to be fully let loose on my own! 
This forum rightly puts great emphasis on not investing in things one doesn't understand. It is also pretty critical of those who leave their money in savings. Pretty awkward for novice investors like myself, but perhaps I'm over thinking things... 

Audaxer

caper7 said:

Albermarle said:

caper7 said:

Researching what to put in a stocks and shares Isa with I Web. Considering Vanguard LS 60%
Any help on the following greatly appreciated: 

* Transaction cost of 0.5% on the investment, wasn't expecting that on top of the OCF of 0.22%.
Real ongoing charge is 0.72% in fact then, is this considered reasonable?

* How does one actually pay the charges? Preferably from outside the ISA.

* On I web LS60 doesn't come up when searching index trackers, ie passive funds. 
When looking at Hargreaves Landsdown, I Web and Vanguard's own site the allocations are all slightly different, presumably from different dates, but if it changes a lot, is the fund really passive or active?

* As to the make up of the fund, I don't think it has:
-Commodities 
-Property
-Small cap shares
-Value shares
-Is it a little low on emerging markets and maybe developed Asia excluding Japan? 
From things I've been reading, I'm minded to forget about property and commodities, unless you all think otherwise? I can't research everything, so which areas should I prioritise? 
Should I find tracker funds for the other four and do you have any recommendations?

* I believe LS60 is an OEIC, are these FSCS protected in a stocks and shares Isa?

* Does anyone know if all the corporate bonds are investment grade? No junk bonds? They have quite a few different bond funds.

* Are all the global government bonds from developed countries?

* I was under the impression one was to avoid derivatives, but this has some. It does say only a small percentage and not used speculatively, so should I be concerned?

Apologies for the length of the post 😳

Vanguard LS 60 is not an index tracker . It is a multi asset fund composed of mainly index trackers.
It is relatively low cost ( ignore the transaction charges and the .22% fund charge is paid directly by the fund ) very low maintenance  simple product . If you want to construct your own portfolio of index trackers then it would be marginally cheaper but more work and you might get it wrong.
It is FCSC covered for £85K but if things were so bad that Vanguard went bust we would all be barricaded in our houses protecting our last tin of beans . Money would be the last thing on your mind. 

Many thanks. 
Would LS 60 overall be considered passive investing? 

Some people would say it's not truly passive investing, but I would say it is better if you want a low cost, globally diversified and balanced portfolio of index trackers that is rebalanced automatically so you always have 60% equities. I am retired and have a holding in VLS60 and consider it a good balanced fund. There are of course others good multi asset funds available like for example, HSBC Global Strategy Balanced which has a similar risk level.

steampowered

This fund is very well diversified. You shouldn't be concerned.

The shares which make up the thousands of different shares within the VLS will include property developers and businesses dependent on commodity prices (e.g. oil and gas companies), so you are exposed to property and commodities - as you are exposed to many other things!

No, you should not be worried about limited use of derivatives. Derivatives are useful to manage things like currency rate risk. They are only to be avoided.

Yes a fund like this will be low on emerging markets because they have smaller stock markets, and often very limited corporate governance. 

You should focus on understanding the type of investment you want to make (e.g. passive vs. active); the level of risk you are planning to take on (e.g. 100% vs 60% or 40% stocks); and the fees you are paying (Vanguard funds are low fee already). If the Vanguard Lifestrategy 60 meets your requirements on that front, it's a  very reputable fund and a fine choice.

doe808

caper7 said:

NottinghamKnight said:

You are asking some fairly detailed questions about what is supposed to be a fairly simple multi asset fund that is a 'sort of' tracker'.  If you want to invest in that level of detail then sector funds that you have selected would make more sense. 

I think the fact I have so many questions shows I'm far from equipped to be fully let loose on my own!

  No, its best to ask these questions. You are doing the right thing, even if they might be slightly misplaced in terms of this particular fund.

jimjames

caper7 said:

* Transaction cost of 0.5% on the investment, wasn't expecting that on top of the OCF of 0.22%.
Real ongoing charge is 0.72% in fact then, is this considered reasonable?

* How does one actually pay the charges? Preferably from outside the ISA.

Apologies for the length of the post 😳

In addition to the replies already Transaction cost is a one off fee when you buy the fund. It's not an ongoing charge. The OCF is paid by the fund so you don't need to do anything and because it's paid by fund it's inside the ISA.

You may have other charges for holding the fund depending where you buy it

Albermarle

Passive investing (monevator.com)
You may have read the above article , it explains how to passively invest by buying your own very low cost index trackers.
At the end of all the detail it basically says ' if you can't be bothered /don't fully understand /lack confidence ' then just buy VLS funds ( or one of their competitors ) instead and let the professionals do all the work for you for a modest fee.
Regarding the definition of active and passive management , there is some dispute .In simple terms a fully actively managed fund makes choices as to the best way or place to invest. They may pick specific shares or sectors or countries to invest in . They cost more to run .
Buying one index tracker following the S&P 500 would be passive investing .
If you buy various index trackers and decide what % of each there should be ( like these multi asset funds do ) you could say they were managed passive or passively managed .
I wouldn't get too hung op on it .

barnstar2077

Have you compared the cost of buying LS60 with Vanguard instead of IWeb?  I'm not saying it would be better, I'm just interested myself, as Vanguard don't have an initial charge when you buy the fund.  Well, not in their SIPP or S&S ISA anyway,