Euros or £Sterling?

Chris_Tibs

I'm British and have lived in Belgium for many years.  I have a Belgian pension paid into a Belgian bank in Euros, and some unit trusts in Belgium, but never trade (because I don't know enough about it), but  have sold several because I needed the money for other purposes.  I'm now retired in the UK, have a few rental properties and some ISAs.  I'm happy to keep my pension in Belgium for trips/holidays in Euroland.  I've just checked HiFEX, and seen the loss of the £ vs € (i.e. more £ than before), but my question is:  is now the right time to bring the Euros back to the UK, or to wait a bit longer?

coachman12

It doesn't matter. Just make whatever decision suits you best.

Linton

No-one knows whetherc the £/euro rate will go up or down.  Gambling on currency movements is best left to the professionals.  You just make your choice based on where you want to spend the money.

Another_Saver

If you intend to remain in the UK but occasionally travel to the Eurozone it is entirely appropriate to keep most of your assets in the UK and keep some € assets. But no one has a crystal ball about the future of currency movements. Anyone who says they do is lying, gambling, or doesn't know what they're talking about.
Say you're thinking of 2 weeks a year for the rest of your life will be spending €, that's 3.85% of your life, call it 5% for the cost of flights and additional holiday expenses etc. If 50% of your assets are in € maybe that's a bit much. If 0% of your assets are in €, it's unlikely to hurt you too badly if the € goes up 10% 20% and you have to convert every time you go over.

Thrugelmir

Currency exchange rates are like the tides they ebb and flow.  Keep the money where it is of most use to you. 

Albermarle

is now the right time to bring the Euros back to the UK, or to wait a bit longer?

If I knew the answer to this , I would be sitting in a luxury yacht in Barbados, counting my billions .

Chris_Tibs

Thank you all for your responses.  I just needed to hear someone to say it...

Thank you "AnotherSaver", for bringing it down to the basic ... "would it hurt?".  The next question I ask myself is:  what should I do with the money in the UK?  I'd feel inclined to buy another rental property, with the thought that, whatever happens to the markets, bricks are bricks...

Thank  you all once again.

Retireby40

Chris_Tibs said:

Thank you all for your responses.  I just needed to hear someone to say it...

Thank you "AnotherSaver", for bringing it down to the basic ... "would it hurt?".  The next question I ask myself is:  what should I do with the money in the UK?  I'd feel inclined to buy another rental property, with the thought that, whatever happens to the markets, bricks are bricks...

Thank  you all once again.

How old are you? Do you have kids? What are your goals over the next 10-15 years? Those are the questions which need answered  before someone can give you an answer as to what you should do with your money.

pip895

Rental properties are an asset like any other - what proportion of your assets are in property?  If that percentage is very high then diversifying might be a better idea.  

Another_Saver

Chris_Tibs said:

Thank you all for your responses.  I just needed to hear someone to say it...

Thank you "AnotherSaver", for bringing it down to the basic ... "would it hurt?".  The next question I ask myself is:  what should I do with the money in the UK?  I'd feel inclined to buy another rental property, with the thought that, whatever happens to the markets, bricks are bricks...

Thank  you all once again.

Well that's something I can't help with because it's always such a personal decision and there's a lot to think about with buy-to-let. If you know about property, say you've been a landlord before or you have a relative who is a landlord/developer/estate agent/construction worker etc. Then go for it. If not then it's something to research very thoroughly, whereas with investing you can just open a S&S ISA or general taxable account with a platform (Vanguard, AJ Bell, iWeb etc) pick a decent global equity index fund or multi asset fund (HSBC FTSE all world, vanguard lifestrategy) and away you go.