After advice for investing.

loken152

Hi all,  have been here once before.  A couple of years ago I wanted to start investing and I done lots of research at the time.  But due to some personal reasons I had to put my plans on hold and wait till my house was in order.  Anyway so I am now ready to start again, but the world is in a very different place this time.  

Last time I was looking at vanguard and some of their mutual funds.  From what I wanted to do last time was something like a fund with large capital, well-diversified, global, mutual fund with low charges that I would be willing to accept.  Now I need to have a good look on Vanguards website again, when I had a quick look on My phone earlier, whilst the kids where playing.  These was a few with X% of bonds included.  Is it best to keep the bond % the fund lowing?  Any tips would be greatly appreciate.  

ps I forgot to mention that I looking to invest about £200 a month and I may add my annual bonus into the pot.

barnstar2077

How long do you think it will be until you need to access the money, and how old are you now please?

Thrugelmir

Which funds are you considering investing in? 

BananaRepublic

loken152 said:

Is it best to keep the bond % the fund lowing?  

What does that mean? 

I don’t invest in bonds, and only invest in equity funds. I don’t see the point of bonds in terms of my investment goals. 

Be aware that these so called global funds are often heavily invested in the US, 60% or more, with a large amount in FAANGs (Facebook, Apple etc). I am concerned that there might be a bubble with some US tech stocks. My preference is to spread money around more evenly, across the UK, Europe, the US and some in Japan. Many would add China, but I don’t as I have concerns about its government and future. Diversification is always a good idea as it reduces risk. Sites such as Morning Star and You Invest have tools for comparing funds. 

dunstonh

Last time I was looking at vanguard and some of their mutual funds.  

Generally, in the UK, we don't refer to them as mutual funds as that is an Americanism.  Some have tried to use that term but most don't.

 Is it best to keep the bond % the fund lowing? 

Typo?  Did you mean lower?    The answer if so, is that you set the level you are comfortable with and what level of risk you can afford to take.

loken152

barnstar2077 said:

How long do you think it will be until you need to access the money, and how old are you now please?

I am 37 and the plan is 5-10 years

loken152

BananaRepublic said:

loken152 said:

Is it best to keep the bond % the fund lowing?  

What does that mean? 

My bad, typo doesn’t help that I didn’t proofread it before posting.   Should have been: is it best to keep bound in the fund low.

Alexland

5-10 years is a fairly short investment timescale so if on Vanguard Investor platform something like VLS60 might be worth considering. If you get a bonus and it's enough to push you into higher rate tax it might be better put into your pension. Ensure you are making good use of any pension options. Also consider opening a S&S Lifetime ISA before your 40th birthday.

loken152

dunstonh said:

Last time I was looking at vanguard and some of their mutual funds.  

Generally, in the UK, we don't refer to them as mutual funds as that is an Americanism.  Some have tried to use that term but most don't.

 Is it best to keep the bond % the fund lowing? 

Typo?  Did you mean lower?    The answer if so, is that you set the level you are comfortable with and what level of risk you can afford to take.

I guess it is a Yankee phrase, I must picked it up a few years back when I was getting us out of debt and I use to listen to a lot of Dave Ramsey.
level of risk I am willing to take, I would be in the on slightly higher end of middle the scale.  

DiggerUK

loken152, I have had a look over your history. You seem capable of acquiring debt, but also know you need to clear those debts. 

I'm not sure if you did indeed buy your house, but if you did, then that debt needs treating with the priority you applied to your other debts. 

Your finances seem manageable if not overabundant, I'd recommend you only keep a small cash fund to hand. You can deal with increasing retirement funds in time.

Concentrate on killing the mortgage, the feeling of clearing that debt will be greater than the debts you have already binned. Then your increased cash flow will allow you to put extra by for retirement.
Best of fortune..._

barnstar2077

DiggerUK said:

loken152, I have had a look over your history. You seem capable of acquiring debt, but also know you need to clear those debts. 

I'm not sure if you did indeed buy your house, but if you did, then that debt needs treating with the priority you applied to your other debts. 

Your finances seem manageable if not overabundant, I'd recommend you only keep a small cash fund to hand. You can deal with increasing retirement funds in time.

Concentrate on killing the mortgage, the feeling of clearing that debt will be greater than the debts you have already binned. Then your increased cash flow will allow you to put extra by for retirement.
Best of fortune..._

The feeling of clearing a mortgage does not always make it financially the correct thing to do.  Most people have sub 2% rates at the moment after all.  Everyones situation is different, but bad debt, like credit cards, are normally the priority, followed by pensions and other investments.  It really depends on how unwieldy the mortgage is, and how reliable peoples wages are.  If neither of those are an issue then why prioritise a debt that will cost you lost opportunity to pay off quickly.