Vanguard

awrightson

Complete novice here hoping for some advice.
With interest rates at rock bottom I am going to put some savings into Vanguard and was thinking about splitting it between LS80 and one other fund.
Any suggestions/advice on which other one I could choose  that would offer a bit of diversity from the LS80?
Or is that pointless and should it all just go in the one I have already decided on?
Timeframe is 10 - 12 years.

[Deleted User]

Without knowing more detail and history all I will offer is this : vls funds are multi asset global funds and are suitable for a stand alone investment,they have a good reputation ( although some on here like to highlight their shortcomings) and many people use them in this manner.  It is up to you how you invest and which fund is suitable for your needs/risk Regards

eskbanker

awrightson said:

Any suggestions/advice on which other one I could choose  that would offer a bit of diversity from the LS80?

Not really practical to make suggestions in a vacuum without knowing what you're trying to achieve - as above LS80 is well diversified already but no fund is going to cover everything.  It's not known for particularly extensive coverage of small cap companies and doesn't include much in the way of properties, but unless you (a) recognise that, (b) identify this as relevant to your strategy and (c) know where to find offerings that could fill those gaps, then it's unlikely to be worth pursuing one or more additional funds, at this stage at least.

Note that if your chosen strategy includes small caps and property, it would make more sense to factor this into your initial fund selection, rather than picking VLS80 and then thinking about what else might be needed....

Albermarle

Vanguard funds and investment approach — MoneySavingExpert Forum
A current thread on a similar theme.

dunstonh

With interest rates at rock bottom I am going to put some savings into Vanguard and was thinking about splitting it between LS80 and one other fund.

Why do you want to add another fund to VLS80?

Any suggestions/advice on which other one I could choose  that would offer a bit of diversity from the LS80?

None from Vanguard and probably none at all.  If VLS80 is not good enough for you (i.e. you dont like the asset weightings) then why are you picking it to begin with?  Why not an alternative that you do like?

Albermarle

The other multi asset funds that compete with Vanguard LS maybe be worth looking at .
Fund-of-funds: the rivals - Monevator

awrightson

dunstonh said:

With interest rates at rock bottom I am going to put some savings into Vanguard and was thinking about splitting it between LS80 and one other fund.

Why do you want to add another fund to VLS80?

Any suggestions/advice on which other one I could choose  that would offer a bit of diversity from the LS80?

None from Vanguard and probably none at all.  If VLS80 is not good enough for you (i.e. you dont like the asset weightings) then why are you picking it to begin with?  Why not an alternative that you do like?

Just thought it might be an idea to not "have all my eggs in one basket" spread the risk? 

I do like Vanguard and their costs are competitive for someone like me who does not have a large sum to invest.

newatc

awrightson said:

dunstonh said:

With interest rates at rock bottom I am going to put some savings into Vanguard and was thinking about splitting it between LS80 and one other fund.

Why do you want to add another fund to VLS80?

Any suggestions/advice on which other one I could choose  that would offer a bit of diversity from the LS80?

None from Vanguard and probably none at all.  If VLS80 is not good enough for you (i.e. you dont like the asset weightings) then why are you picking it to begin with?  Why not an alternative that you do like?

Just thought it might be an idea to not "have all my eggs in one basket" spread the risk? 

I do like Vanguard and their costs are competitive for someone like me who does not have a large sum to invest.

The whole point of Vanguard Life Strategy type fund is that your eggs are not in one basket. The fund is diversified. Unless you are talking about a significant amount, I would find the one whose risk level equates with yours and stick with that.

bostonerimus

VLS80 contains something like 15 funds so your investments are diversified and there is basically no chance that Vanguard itself will fail. Your only risks are the usual ones associated with the volatility of stock and bond markets. If this is a long term investment then VLS80 is a good choice. But before you invest in something like VLS80 inside something like an ISA make sure you have 6 months spending in a saving account for emergencies and have looked into your workplace pension options.

awrightson

Would it make any sense to split investment 50/50 to VLS80 and a target retirement fund 2030 maybe 35 or would this just increase fees unnecessarily?

underground99

awrightson said:

Would it make any sense to split investment 50/50 to VLS80 and a target retirement fund 2030 maybe 35 or would this just increase fees unnecessarily?

The fees are about the same for the two products so doing half and half rather than all of one wouldn't really increase fees, unless you are using a platform that charges you a separate fee for every purchase you make. Vanguard's own platform doesn't charge by the number of purchases.

The target retirement fund gradually reduces the equity allocation over time. The LS80 keeps it the same at 80%.  A mixture of some fixed and some changing is unlikely to give you your preferred mix.  I would just pick a method and go with it, and if later my preferences change, I would change.  You mention you are not investing a large sum, so no point unnecessarily complicating things with two separate strategies at once.