Simple way to the S&P 500

6022tivo

Asking for a friend. 

He just wants to simply chuck some money into a S&P 500 type account, within an ISA. 

Someone said open an account with a company called Charles Stanley which he has done. 

Anyone else done this recently, and advice, for sae easy management and low costs? 

eskbanker

It all sounds a remarkably haphazard way of investing, both in terms of choosing a specific index and then selecting a platform  without any apparent idea of what he's doing there either, but there will be S&P 500 trackers available there.  Is he planning to research investing properly?

6022tivo

eskbanker said:

It all sounds a remarkably haphazard way of investing, both in terms of choosing a specific index and then selecting a platform  without any apparent idea of what he's doing there either, but there will be S&P 500 trackers available there.  Is he planning to research investing properly?

Depends what you call researching investing properly. 
Forums like this are useful when a useful person comes along, I think there are some here. I'll hang on for one. 

It's not a difficult task tho. 

Some companies offer these S&P type funds or trackers or whatever they are, and it's just a friendly post to find out what is the best way to get involved in one. 

grumiofoundation

6022tivo said:

eskbanker said:

It all sounds a remarkably haphazard way of investing, both in terms of choosing a specific index and then selecting a platform  without any apparent idea of what he's doing there either, but there will be S&P 500 trackers available there.  Is he planning to research investing properly?

Depends what you call researching investing properly. 
Forums like this are useful when a useful person comes along, I think there are some here. I'll hang on for one. 

It's not a difficult task tho. 

Some companies offer these S&P type funds or trackers or whatever they are, and it's just a friendly post to find out what is the best way to get involved in one. 

Is it not a useful person who questions an investing strategy which appears to involve a) ignoring all but 500 companies in the US and b) opening an account on a platform before checking if that platform has the investments they would want.

Although a) could be a thought through investment decision when put in combination with b) seems less likely.

GeoffTF

He could buy this:

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investments/vanguard-s-and-p-500-ucits-etf-usd-distributing/overview?intcmpgn=equityusa_sp500ucitsetf_fund_link

Nonetheless, it is not a very sensible sole investment for a UK based investor, and Charles Stanley is certainly not a competitively priced platform.

6022tivo

grumiofoundation said:

6022tivo said:

eskbanker said:

It all sounds a remarkably haphazard way of investing, both in terms of choosing a specific index and then selecting a platform  without any apparent idea of what he's doing there either, but there will be S&P 500 trackers available there.  Is he planning to research investing properly?

Depends what you call researching investing properly. 
Forums like this are useful when a useful person comes along, I think there are some here. I'll hang on for one. 

It's not a difficult task tho. 

Some companies offer these S&P type funds or trackers or whatever they are, and it's just a friendly post to find out what is the best way to get involved in one. 

Is it not a useful person who questions an investing strategy which appears to involve a) ignoring all but 500 companies in the US and b) opening an account on a platform before checking if that platform has the investments they would want.

Although a) could be a thought through investment decision when put in combination with b) seems less likely.

Ahh, so these companies are US companies? 
That's a start, thanks for the cryptic response. 

I believe the application to open an account was following internet advice, but again, hence the posting on here. 
It would be great to get help. 
Thanks


Just someone who has some spare cash around for a while and has read/heard that this magic S&P 500 thing gets mentioned a lot and out performs other things....

Again, basic knowledge here and asking for basic beginner advise from what is basically a low level consumer savings website. 

InvesterJones

6022tivo said:

Some companies offer these S&P type funds or trackers or whatever they are, and it's just a friendly post to find out what is the best way to get involved in one. 

Check out the moneysavingexpert stocks and shares ISA page (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/stocks-shares-isas/) and pick a platform that works out best for your friend - nearly every platform has access to something equivalent to a S&P 500 tracker either with their own fund or access to a third party's like (just an example) fidelity index US fund.

grumiofoundation

6022tivo said:

grumiofoundation said:

6022tivo said:

eskbanker said:

It all sounds a remarkably haphazard way of investing, both in terms of choosing a specific index and then selecting a platform  without any apparent idea of what he's doing there either, but there will be S&P 500 trackers available there.  Is he planning to research investing properly?

Depends what you call researching investing properly. 
Forums like this are useful when a useful person comes along, I think there are some here. I'll hang on for one. 

It's not a difficult task tho. 

Some companies offer these S&P type funds or trackers or whatever they are, and it's just a friendly post to find out what is the best way to get involved in one. 

Is it not a useful person who questions an investing strategy which appears to involve a) ignoring all but 500 companies in the US and b) opening an account on a platform before checking if that platform has the investments they would want.

Although a) could be a thought through investment decision when put in combination with b) seems less likely.

Ahh, so these companies are US companies? 
That's a start, thanks for the cryptic response. 

I believe the application to open an account was following internet advice, but again, hence the posting on here. 
It would be great to get help. 
Thanks


Just someone who has some spare cash around for a while and has read/heard that this magic S&P 500 thing gets mentioned a lot and out performs other things....

Again, basic knowledge here and asking for basic beginner advise from what is basically a low level consumer savings website. 

As asked in the first response is your friend planning to research investing properly or just 'chuck' money at something without understanding it? 

Not sure if your reference to the S and P 500 being magic is sarcasm? The S and P 500 has outperformed other markets - no guarantee this will continue hence generally more diversification than simply the S and P 500 (a simple internet search will reveal what the S and P 500 is - again this basic lack of research suggests a haphazard approach...) is suggested as a good idea.

A more diverse option would be something like 
https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investments/vanguard-ftse-global-all-cap-index-fund-gbp-acc/overview
Which is invested in companies across the world.

Although as a 100% equity investment it will be volatile, with drops of 50% eminently possible.

For a less volatile investment a multi-asset fund is generally suggested as the first place to look at 
https://monevator.com/passive-fund-of-funds-the-rivals/

To clarify nothing above is advice - you will not get advice on this forum, without detail on your friends age, general financial position e.g. homeowner, £50k savings of £500, aims for the money, risk tolerance, pension situation any investment ideas/suggestions/feedback are not possible.

dunstonh

Asking for a friend. 

He just wants to simply chuck some money into a S&P 500 type account, within an ISA. 

WHy does your friend only want to invest in the S&P500?
If that is to cover part of his US allocation then that is fair enough. Although the S&P 500 is not really a good choice for the core US holdings.  What is he doing for his UK, Europe, Asia, emerging markets etc?

If he tells you that its about past performance, then you know he is making a right mess of it.   

masonic

Was the person who told him to open an account with Charles Stanley unwilling to tell him what to invest in? If not, I'm sure Charles Stanley has a list of funds that are available, including some of those S&P 500 type thingies.

GazzaBloom

GeoffTF said:

He could buy this:

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investments/vanguard-s-and-p-500-ucits-etf-usd-distributing/overview?intcmpgn=equityusa_sp500ucitsetf_fund_link

Nonetheless, it is not a very sensible sole investment for a UK based investor, and Charles Stanley is certainly not a competitively priced platform.

Hi GeoffTF, what reasons would you suggest make investing solely in the S&P500 not very sensible for a UK based investor? Do you mean it's not very sensible for any investor, regardless of location including one based in the US? Or specifically detrimental for UK investors?