LifeStrategy 60 v MyMap 5

masonic

GeoffTF said:

Aminatidi said:
There's no reason it couldn't be the same in the ISA if I did move it to IWeb but rightly or wrongly something about Vanguard just seems to sit right with me.

There is nothing much wrong with Vanguard, but it may not be the cheapest for you. Nonetheless, if your holding is unsheltered, bear in mind that iWeb, Interactive Investor and Jarvis may follow the others and apply heavy percentage platform fee to OEICs. At least Vanguard has a relatively low cap on their platform fee, and may reduce it in future. (The corresponding account is free in the US.)

In the interest of balance, iWeb, ii and Jarvis may not apply a heavy percentage platform fee, and Vanguard might hike theirs.

Nobody need act in fear of a hypothetical future when in the main it costs little (often nothing) to transfer out if the situation changes. It's best that people pick whatever option works for them based on charges that currently exist.

GeoffTF

masonic said:

In the interest of balance, iWeb, ii and Jarvis may not apply a heavy percentage platform fee, and Vanguard might hike theirs.

Of course that is true. Nonetheless, if you choose a Vanguard OEIC, you have the additional option of transferring it to Vanguard's platform.

masonic

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

In the interest of balance, iWeb, ii and Jarvis may not apply a heavy percentage platform fee, and Vanguard might hike theirs.

Of course that is true. Nonetheless, if you choose a Vanguard OEIC, you have the additional option of transferring it to Vanguard's platform.

I suppose should someone wish to transfer to Vanguard's platform in the future, but they had been holding some other multi-asset fund, they could still transfer in cash, paying about a fiver sell fee, then buy VLS, or perform a fund switch for about £10 prior to initiating an in specie transfer.

Linton

If you are comparing equivalent multi asset funds from different mainstream providers you should find any differences in performance to be marginal and could go either way at different times.

So if you are a novice investor your choice will make very little difference. As you learn more you may be more comfortable investing with one rather than another.

GeoffTF

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

In the interest of balance, iWeb, ii and Jarvis may not apply a heavy percentage platform fee, and Vanguard might hike theirs.

Of course that is true. Nonetheless, if you choose a Vanguard OEIC, you have the additional option of transferring it to Vanguard's platform.

I suppose should someone wish to transfer to Vanguard's platform in the future, but they had been holding some other multi-asset fund, they could still transfer in cash, paying about a fiver sell fee, then buy VLS, or perform a fund switch for about £10 prior to initiating an in specie transfer.

We are talking about an unsheltered account here. If the OP sells, he might face a big Capital Gains Tax bill. If he has VLS, he should be able do an in specie transfer for very little. I have a much larger sum that has been invested in Vanguard Developed World ex UK for over a decade. It is likely to be holding for life, unless I want a big tax bill. That fund is a core holding for many institutional holders and is unlikely to be wound up. VLS will probably stay around for many decades too. I would be less confident about MyMap.

masonic

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

In the interest of balance, iWeb, ii and Jarvis may not apply a heavy percentage platform fee, and Vanguard might hike theirs.

Of course that is true. Nonetheless, if you choose a Vanguard OEIC, you have the additional option of transferring it to Vanguard's platform.

I suppose should someone wish to transfer to Vanguard's platform in the future, but they had been holding some other multi-asset fund, they could still transfer in cash, paying about a fiver sell fee, then buy VLS, or perform a fund switch for about £10 prior to initiating an in specie transfer.

We are talking about an unsheltered account here. If the OP sells, he might face a big Capital Gains Tax bill. If he has VLS, he should be able do an in specie transfer for very little. I have a much larger sum that has been invested in Vanguard Developed World ex UK for over a decade. It is likely to be holding for life, unless I want a big tax bill. That fund is a core holding for many institutional holders and is unlikely to be wound up. VLS will probably stay around for many decades too. I would be less confident about MyMap.

Fair enough about not wishing to crystallise a capital gain (seems a strong argument for sticking with HSBC Global Strategy Balanced if that is carrying a gain). I would disagree that Blackrock is more at risk of winding up one of its core multi-asset funds than Vanguard, even one that hasn't been around for very long. It would have quite a bit of reputational damage in either case.

coastline

OP isn't keen on volatility and 50% drops yet the HSBC GSB fund didn't hold up in the recent pandemic either. Let's face it only a very cautious fund would be less than 20%. That's why I posted the simple portfolio earlier in the thread. Set the following to FEB 1st 2020 until DEC of 2020 to see the damage. I make that global tracker down around 27% and the HSBC fund down 18% . Multiply by 2 for the unwanted 50% crash and HSBC is down 35%. There's nowhere to hide really.

  Chart Tool | Trustnet

Again ballpark stuff . Set to 1st MAY 2007 to DEC 31st 2008 for the GFCrisis .

Chart Tool | Trustnet

masonic

coastline said:

OP isn't keen on volatility and 50% drops yet the HSBC GSB fund didn't hold up in the recent pandemic either. Let's face it only a very cautious fund would be less than 20%. That's why I posted the simple portfolio earlier in the thread. Set the following to FEB 1st 2020 until DEC of 2020 to see the damage. I make that global tracker down around 27% and the HSBC fund down 18% . Multiply by 2 for the unwanted 50% crash and HSBC is down 35%. There's nowhere to hide really.

  Chart Tool | Trustnet

Yes, HSBC GS Balanced is approx 60% equities at present, a switch to VLS 60 is a sideways move, and MyMap5 is a risk increase, so your approach would be more suitable for someone who couldn't tolerate a 30%+ pulldown (such a portfolio had the potential to lose almost 50% in 1973-1974). Depending on circumstances, it may be better to do this in the wrapped account, as it would be rather tax inefficient to hold an unwrapped STMM fund. 

It depends how risk averse the OP is, but to end up with ~85% equities as a cautious DIY investor suggests something has gone very wrong at the outset and perhaps an IFA is needed.

Aminatidi

I know how it happened I over-estimated my appetite for risk and didn't quite consider whether I'm really prepared for seeing a very heavy pullback.

The Psychology of Money and Smarter Investing 4th Edition have been very useful.

Done every risk assessment I can find online so Vanguard and a few others and they pretty much all come down at balanced or 60/40 with the one for the Vanguard Managed ISA coming out recommending exactly that but their own blend of ETFs rather than LS60.

masonic

Aminatidi said:

Done every risk assessment I can find online so Vanguard and a few others and they pretty much all come down at balanced or 60/40 with the one for the Vanguard Managed ISA coming out recommending exactly that but their own blend of ETFs rather than LS60.

Then if 60:40 is itself not too risky for you, it would seem a question of what to do with your ISA-wrapped 100% equity fund, as you originally posed. Another multi-asset would make your life easier, as you'd not face the difficult action of rebalancing into a crashing equity fund when its outlook seems bleak. As others have pointed out, between comparable funds, performance is not going to differ significantly or predictably, so it would come down to your personal attitude to things like UK bias, ESG, inclusion of property, etc.

Surprised nobody has shared the following before now: https://monevator.com/passive-fund-of-funds-the-rivals/