New to Investing

[Deleted User]

First Post so quite new to this arena

- I have just had 2 monthly savers monthly and so currently sitting in my current account is about 6k which I dont need access to anytime soon.  Monthly savers are no longer worth it so I was thinking of dumping this lump sum into an mutli asset fund from doing some research.  Has anyone any views on platforms to look at or any investments that can be made directly through the provider i.e. Blackrock etc?

Perhaps multi asset funds arent even worth it?

Any advice?

eskbanker

Multi-asset funds are a good place to start for most, as long as you're clear about the distinction between saving and investing, and understand the risks and timescales associated with the latter.

https://monevator.com/passive-fund-of-funds-the-rivals/ summarises the key players (as at two years ago, since when Blackrock has added its MyMap range) and it's generally better to decide on your risk tolerance, strategy, etc, before picking investments and only after that consider platform selection.  Investing directly with the provider is unlikely to be practical, so you'd need to go with one of the many platforms discussed regularly on here, such as IWeb, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, AJ Bell, Fidelity, etc, etc - there's more to platform selection than cost but you can evaluate relative costs at sites like:

https://monevator.com/compare-the-brokers/

http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/

tacpot12

Multi-asset funds are potentially a good home for money that you don't need for some time. 

The Vanguard LifeStrategy 60 and 80 funds are good options and Vanguard have their own ISA that you can hold them in. I would look to see if you can beat LifeStrategy 80 (or 60 if you think 80 is too risky). 

El_Torro

It's a good idea to have some money in cash, commonly known as an Emergency Fund. That way you can pay for unexpected outgoings with it instead of cashing in your investments.

If this £6k is all the cash you have available I'd think twice about sticking it all in a multi asset fund.

DireEmblem

How long are you willing to have the money sat aside for?

It might be worth looking at some of the signup offers - Nutmeg/Wealthify/FreeTrade/Trading212.

I've had £100 from Nutmeg(£100 deposit pcm for a year), £40 from Wealthify(£400 deposit 6 months), and free shares from FreeTrade/Trading212 from depositing £1 in each of about £300(I referred others and you generally get a share worth up to £100 a go).

Then you can decide if you stick to them in the long term or not, or go it yourself.

Thrugelmir

Deleted_User said:

- I have just had 2 monthly savers monthly and so currently sitting in my current account is about 6k which I dont need access to anytime soon. 

Are prepared for a fall in the value of your savings? Investments carry no guarantees. 

[Deleted User]

For calification

I have a wee rainy day fund with 2 month's salary

I also understand there's a risk to money when investing

I bank with Halifax and was wondering about their ready made investment?

eskbanker

Deleted_User said:

I bank with Halifax and was wondering about their ready made investment?

What 'ready made investment' is that?  Does it meet your objectives and your risk tolerance, and how do its costs compare with the other options highlighted above?

Your current account provider shouldn't really influence your choice of investment platform, although as it happens they do have a fairly cost-effective offering, so you might be doing the right thing but for the wrong reason!