Financial idiot needs help

Ranger8

Invested £150k in a Halifax Collective Investment plan in 2005 with an income of £1650 annually  which has now dropped to £103k and £1000.
What should I do, reinvest ? cash in or leave where where it is and hope for an upturn ?

dunstonh

What should I do, reinvest ? cash in or leave where where it is and hope for an upturn ?

You havent told us what you are invested in.  

However, statistically, I would not be surprised if it was their cautious managed fund as that seems to be the flavour of the month back then for Halifax.  (or that may have just been flavour of the month for the branch local to my area)

Your product (tax wrapper) is out of date and can be improved on.    Halifax were not cheap and not very good.  So, that can be improved upon.

boingy

Ranger8 said:

Invested £150k in a Halifax Collective Investment plan in 2005 with an income of £1650 annually  which has now dropped to £103k and £1000.
What should I do, reinvest ? cash in or leave where where it is and hope for an upturn ?

If you want sensible suggestions you need to provide a few more details about the current plan, about your level of risk, your investment timescales and whether you require a replacement fund to provide an income.

Sg28

Richard1212 said:

Ranger8 said:

Invested £150k in a Halifax Collective Investment plan in 2005 with an income of £1650 annually  which has now dropped to £103k and £1000.
What should I do, reinvest ? cash in or leave where where it is and hope for an upturn ?

I've never liked Collective Investment Plans and do not use them. Have you thought of buying a good flat/apartment/house outright and getting a rent of £700-£1500 every month ( depending on where you buy and the average rents for similar properties---use google) ? I own a number of properties and they add steadily and significantly to my income on top of my investment portfolio containing 46 companies in 8 or 9 sectors. Employ an estate agent for a small fee to manage the property, deal with maintenance issues and collect rent etc etc, so that you don't have any direct dealings ? You could easily earn £12,000 pa or far more----don't pay water or any utilities, make sure the flat is in very condition so you're unlikely to have any outgoings on maintenance.                                                                                                 
Alternatively , why not buy a small flat for rent and invest the remainder in fixed savings accounts for the maximum time you can ?
Just a suggestion---my properties are gold mines , with hardly any hassle. Your estate agent will be able to draw up the landlord/tenant agreement on the basis of a periodic rolling shorthold tenancy.
It makes your Collective Investment Plan look dismal and IMHO you should dump it. But there are lots of alternatives and I advise you to use google for the "best place" to invest £150k, as something might take your fancy. All the very best.

Im not sure what part of the country you are in but Im not aware of any areas (that I could find anyway) that would yield anywhere near those figures on a 100k property after management fees, let alone all the other costs. 

You would be better in a 1 year fixed saver at 6%.

Ranger8

badger09 said:

I seem to have wandered into a ‘wi**y waving’ thread by mistake. 

Hopefully OP will elicit more sensible opinions if he replies to:

dunstonh said:

What should I do, reinvest ? cash in or leave where where it is and hope for an upturn ?

You havent told us what you are invested in……….

and

boingy said:

Ranger8 said:

Invested £150k in a Halifax Collective Investment plan in 2005 with an income of £1650 annually  which has now dropped to £103k and £1000.
What should I do, reinvest ? cash in or leave where where it is and hope for an upturn ?

The hint is in the post title... 'Financial Idiot'  I'm not joking, all I know is that on the advice of a Halifax advisor in 2005 I put £150k in a corporate bond fund to give me an income and keep the money safe for my families inheritance. Since then the funds value is only worth £103k and my income has decreased accordingly.

sevenhills

Ranger8 said:

The hint is in the post title... 'Financial Idiot'  I'm not joking, all I know is that on the advice of a Halifax advisor in 2005 I put £150k in a corporate bond fund to give me an income and keep the money safe for my families inheritance. Since then the funds value is only worth £103k and my income has decreased accordingly.

How is your pension provision and how soon are you wanting to retire?

I would say unit trusts are a good investment for low-risk and those with little knowledge, I prefer the gamble of buying individual companies myself.

Investing in your pension can be miles ahead of any other investments due to the tax relief, which is 20%/40%/45%

https://www.hl.co.uk/partners/search/buy-funds-online?partners=1&action=Buy unit trusts Today&theSource=PCGUN&Override=1&adg=G+FDSN+BUY+E+RSA&gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5bjzjaHFgAMVEobtCh18awCbEAAYASAAEgLNqPD_BwE

dunstonh

When professional fund managers pool together investors' money, it is often just referred to as "Collective Investment Plan." Simple.

So, the answer is no then.

The hint is in the post title... 'Financial Idiot'  I'm not joking, all I know is that on the advice of a Halifax advisor in 2005 I put £150k in a corporate bond fund to give me an income and keep the money safe for my families inheritance. Since then the funds value is only worth £103k and my income has decreased accordingly.

Back in those days, the fund selection with Halifax was with you but it was dressed up badly and would be considered bad advice nowadays.  i.e. if, between you, it was identified as low risk, then they would nearly always put you 100% in a low risk fund.   They wouldnt build a portfolio to average out to your risk rating.   

As it happens, you had a long period of outperformance for that particular asset class but that effectively unwound during 2022/23.    It needs changing.

Ranger8

dunstonh said:

Back in those days, the fund selection with Halifax was with you but it was dressed up badly and would be considered bad advice nowadays.  i.e. if, between you, it was identified as low risk, then they would nearly always put you 100% in a low risk fund.   They wouldnt build a portfolio to average out to your risk rating.   

As it happens, you had a long period of outperformance for that particular asset class but that effectively unwound during 2022/23.    It needs changing.

Thanks so change to what and how ? Would they ever recover if left where they are ?

LHW99

Does this link help find the exact product?

https://www.halifax.co.uk/investing/help-and-guidance/historic-or-branch-investments.html

km1500

The rate of teturn on a (say) 350k flat one bed being let for 1600 a month is about 3% if you are lucky.

From the 1600 deduct the cost of the tenancy agreement and tenant referencing, management fees (15%), ground rent, service charge fees, deposit protection, selective licensing fee (if applicable), gas safety, electrical safety, PAT test, voids, council tax during any voids, and any repairs

Bigwheels1111

km1500 said:

The rate of teturn on a (say) 350k flat one bed being let for 1600 a month is about 3% if you are lucky.

From the 1600 deduct the cost of the tenancy agreement and tenant referencing, management fees (15%), ground rent, service charge fees, deposit protection, selective licensing fee (if applicable), gas safety, electrical safety, PAT test, voids, council tax during any voids, and any repairs

You hit the nail on the head, the cost now are a joke.
I got out just in time.
A CP12 & EPC, landlords insurance and boiler cover was all I needed.
Even got 2 new boilers as tenants were on Housing benefit, £375 ish per house.