The only fund you will ever need?

Marcusian

To be fair to James (and don't shoot me), he is a financial advisor, not 'just a youtuber'. I find his videos excellent and communicated very well to beginners. I see no difference in what he is advising to what JL Collins does in his 'simple path to wealth'. 

moneysavinghero

That's what Justin Lee Collins is up to these days?

2021

Thrugelmir said:

moneysavinghero said:

2021 said:

DrSyn said:

A Global Multi Asset Fund with a share/bond split you are comfortable with seem a reasonable suggestion.
Another option might be a Target Retirement Fund.
Out of interest which you tube video did you watch?

 'Vanguard Lifestrategy Funds Explained | The only fund you will ever need (Investing for beginners)' by James Shack.

So basically some wannabe youtuber gets paid by Vanguard to promote their product and low and behold he tells you that the Vanguard product is the only product you will ever need. 

Vanguard themselves spend little on marketing. 

Where I live, Vanguard currently have advertising banners on red buses (as does Moneyfarm).

underground99

2021 said:

Thrugelmir said:

moneysavinghero said:

2021 said:

DrSyn said:

A Global Multi Asset Fund with a share/bond split you are comfortable with seem a reasonable suggestion.
Another option might be a Target Retirement Fund.
Out of interest which you tube video did you watch?

 'Vanguard Lifestrategy Funds Explained | The only fund you will ever need (Investing for beginners)' by James Shack.

So basically some wannabe youtuber gets paid by Vanguard to promote their product and low and behold he tells you that the Vanguard product is the only product you will ever need. 

Vanguard themselves spend little on marketing. 

Where I live, Vanguard currently have advertising banners on red buses (as does Moneyfarm).

Advertising on public transport networks is relatively cheap at the moment because people are staying at home and not using the public transport as much, so it would be harder for businesses to justify advertising spend if the pricing wasn't discounted vs 'normal' years, and the transport systems still want to get some revenue in.

Alexland

2021 said:

Where I live, Vanguard currently have advertising banners on red buses (as does Moneyfarm).

Vanguard also seem to spend a lot on web adverts that seem to follow me around the internet using cookies giving the impression to me that they spend a lot of adverts even if it's just highly targeted. I probably see more Vanguard web adverts than any other fund manager or platform. I suspect their advertising budget is not low but just well funded by their economies of scale and desire for growth.

2021

Alexland said:

2021 said:

Where I live, Vanguard currently have advertising banners on red buses (as does Moneyfarm).

Vanguard also seem to spend a lot on web adverts that seem to follow me around the internet using cookies giving the impression to me that they spend a lot of adverts even if it's just highly targeted. I probably see more Vanguard web adverts than any other fund manager or platform. I suspect their advertising budget is not low but just well funded by their economies of scale and desire for growth

Earlier this evening, I also saw an advertising banner on a red bus for Etoro.

2021

ratechaser said:

Thrugelmir said:

moneysavinghero said:

2021 said:

DrSyn said:

A Global Multi Asset Fund with a share/bond split you are comfortable with seem a reasonable suggestion.
Another option might be a Target Retirement Fund.
Out of interest which you tube video did you watch?

 'Vanguard Lifestrategy Funds Explained | The only fund you will ever need (Investing for beginners)' by James Shack.

So basically some wannabe youtuber gets paid by Vanguard to promote their product and low and behold he tells you that the Vanguard product is the only product you will ever need. 

Vanguard themselves spend little on marketing. 

They don't even have an app!

But despite the home bias, I'm comfortable enough with VLS80 as a long term 'park and forget' option for a good chunk of my capital. 0.22% is an acceptable charge for what amounts to minimal effort on my part. I might become more active in a few years when I retire but I lack the time and inclination to do so at this point. 

Like you, I think VLS80 is useful for someone who just wants to ‘park and forget’. In this respect I found the financial advisor James Shack’s utube video useful in saying that choosing a LifeStrategy fund that suits your risk level (especially for beginners), is the main/only investing strategy one needs. This is a huge burden off the shoulders of someone who doesn’t see Investing as either a job or a hobby!

However, I was wondering about the UK home bias of the LifeStrategy funds and whether this is something one needs to do something about. The VLS80 has a UK allocation of 19.5% whereas the UK only accounts for around five percent of total global market value.

To everyone: I watched another utube video; this time by Money Unshackled called ‘Vanguard: Invest in Which Global Tracker Fund? Vanguard Lifestrategy vs FTSE All-World ETF’ where they explain why the only equity fund you need is a total world equity tracker and explain why they have chosen the Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (VWRL) over a Vanguard LifeStrategy fund. What are peoples’ views on this?

The Money Plant in the utube video ‘Best Vanguard Global Equity Index Tracker?’ says he prefers the Vanguard FTSE developed world UCITS ETF (VEVE) to VWRL. What are forum members’ views on this?

dunstonh

However, I was wondering about the UK home bias of the LifeStrategy funds and whether this is something one needs to do something about. The VLS80 has a UK allocation of 19.5% whereas the UK only accounts for around five percent of total global market value.

There are three main issues with VLS.  This is not to be negative about them but I am just focusing on the potential negatives, not the positives for this post.    

1 - If is fettered rather than unfettered. i.e. the underlying passives are Vangaurd only.  Vanguard do not have the best trackers in every area. In some they do. In some they do not.   So, an unfettered fund of funds may be preferable.

2 - The equity/bond split is fixed.  This means the risk is not constant (in terms of volatility).  Most of the other similar funds are risk targetted and the bond/equity split is fluid.   That is more important to be aware of at the lower risk end of the scale.

3 - The asset weightings are a management decision.  All the multi-asset funds have to make that management decision and so do investors using single sector funds even if every underlying fund is passive.    The home bias with VLS is a concern for some people and it has created a drag that has led to the VLS range underperform the others in recent times.   if the UK outperformed for a period, it would be a positive.  Or if Sterling rose it could be beneficial.    If you like the management decisions then VLS is good on that front. If you dont like the management decisions then an alternative would be better.

Vanguard Lifestrategy vs FTSE All-World ETF’ where they explain why the only equity fund you need is a total world equity tracker and explain why they have chosen the Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (VWRL) over a Vanguard LifeStrategy fund. What are peoples’ views on this?

VLS100 is the weakest of the VLS range.  It looks good on paper to have 20,40,60,80,100 but in 100 is not really a multi-asset fund but a managed global equity fund.   

Vanguard were instrumental in bringing fund charges down.    If you went with VLS you would probably be very happy.   Is it the best option?  In 2011 it probably was the best of what was available comparably.  In 2021, it probably isn't.      No one fund house remains the best all of the time.    

And as always, investing is largely about opinion.   If you picked VLS, HSBC, Liontrust, L&G, Blackrock etc then they are all variations of a theme.   If you dont know what you are doing and don't have access to professional data then any of those will be a very good option for you.  Which of those will be best over the next decade?    All of them.  Each will have its day.   

There is really no point delaying investing and watching videos on youtube deciding which to use as in reality, they all do the job perfectly well.  Differences are minor and opinion and you wont know which one will come out best until you look back.  And each period you look at will likely see a different one being best.

So, make your mind up and do it.

jacklaurence

For simplicity I think a one fund approach works for many- such as a Vanguard Global All cap. Increased diversification and decreased complexity for investing.

underground99

talexuser said:

Wow, one post and a superb recommendation.Trading must be so easy. Obviously you can be so much better than any analyst. It sounds really easy to make huge amounts of money. I can't wait to shovel my savings in. But first I've got my psychiatrist appointment.

I think you are replying to the eToro spammer whose post is now removed, so it looks like you are unduly criticising some other low-post-count forum user