Advice appreciated for researching and picking funds compared to what I currently do

isayhello

I have a pension with Prudential which was invested in one of their standard funds 2 years ago, since then I've tried to pick my own funds and then leave them alone to grow. The other day I changed one of them and wondered how people pick and research which funds to choose, any recommended sites or tools as my way feels basic.

With Prudential I have a limited choice of maybe 60 funds. I look at the factsheet that prudential give for each fund and look at their past performance and how I think they'll do along with looking at their charges but I'm sure there are ways to be more thorough and improve my choices, can anyone share tips for how they approach funds in this scenario or in a more general way (as I'd like to use this approach for an ISA too if the general sites and tools can be used).

I'm currently invested in the following funds, with most invested in the first 2 funds:
Prudential s3 north america equity index
Blackrock aquila uk equity index
Blackrock aquila world-ex-uk
HSBC Islamic
Prudential s3 europe equity index
Prudential dynamic growth v

Thanks for any feedback and avice

El_Torro

Why not just go with a global tracker? Or if you want bonds in the mix you could always go with a multi asset fund.

If you really want to go wild you could even add a smaller companies global fund. Smaller companies are not well represented in global trackers or multi asset funds.

isayhello

El_Torro said:

Why not just go with a global tracker? Or if you want bonds in the mix you could always go with a multi asset fund.

If you really want to go wild you could even add a smaller companies global fund. Smaller companies are not well represented in global trackers or multi asset funds.

I'll have to check if they offer a global tracker, but would still be good to know how other people research their choices.

GazzaBloom

I look for the lowest fees, passive index trackers with a solid past performance, and global coverage. Taking particular note how the fund performs during market downturns, not that there have been many in the last 10 years, which is the furthest back some trackers history goes. It all comes down to what selection of funds you have access to on your platform. Filtering for low cost equity trackers with my Aviva pension gives me a choice of either holding individual regional large cap trackers (US, UK, Europe, Pacific Rim, Japan etc) or hold a single global tracker such as the Blackrock MSCI World Index which can be held in the currency hedged or non hedged version or the HSBC Islamic Index.

I really like the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index you have listed and have 40% of my pension invested in it. It is a bit “growth”, tech and US leaning which some people will get their knickers all in a tizzy over though, plus, it tracks an index of only 100 companies which combined with the committee inclusion rules for constituents means you could almost view it as a quasi active fund, albeit low cost and it does cover most global regions of large cap companies.

But, aware of all of the above, I like it and happy to hold a chunk in it.

I have been heavily skewed to US holdings for some time so thoughts on currency and valuations comes into play and are on my mind as I gear up for retirement and prepare to move from accumulation to drawdown. So, there will be some asset class mix and portfolio adjustment changes over the next year or so for me.

Linton

I base my choice of funds on the overall allocations to sectors, countries, sizes, etc given by Morningstar XRay with the intention of achieving a well balanced portfolio compatible with my objectives. So the over-riding criterion for buying a fund is what it invests in.

boingy

+1 for a global tracker.
I'd also suggest checking the fees you are paying with Prudential. With something as long term as a pension fees can make a real dent in the growth. It might be prudent(ial) to look at moving to a cheaper provider. If you choose to do so you'll get plenty of suggestions on this forum. 

It also depends how close you are to retirement and on your general attitude to risk.

dunstonh

since then I've tried to pick my own funds and then leave them alone to grow. 

What investment strategy have you been looking to use?
The fund selection is a bit of a hotchpotch  that suggests one method was thought about being used (sector allocation) but then a change of mind with multi-asset.   

orange-juice

I’m a bit of a beginner.

Lars Kroijer - Investing Demystified https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXy71rkGuCjXLg9N8zowwUpXCYfBcMJFK

Look at the benchmark in the fact sheets.

LHW99

Linton said:

I base my choice of funds on the overall allocations to sectors, countries, sizes, etc given by Morningstar XRay with the intention of achieving a well balanced portfolio compatible with my objectives. So the over-riding criterion for buying a fund is what it invests in.

Plus, if more than one possibility if available, I check (at least) the top ten companies to ensure I am happy with a reasonable part of the fund portfolio (eg a number of the companies included in the Woodford fund were IMO never investable propositions, hence didn't invest, although I had historically used his Invesco fund)

isayhello

GazzaBloom said:

I look for the lowest fees, passive index trackers with a solid past performance, and global coverage. Taking particular note how the fund performs during market downturns, not that there have been many in the last 10 years, which is the furthest back some trackers history goes. It all comes down to what selection of funds you have access to on your platform. Filtering for low cost equity trackers with my Aviva pension gives me a choice of either holding individual regional large cap trackers (US, UK, Europe, Pacific Rim, Japan etc) or hold a single global tracker such as the Blackrock MSCI World Index which can be held in the currency hedged or non hedged version or the HSBC Islamic Index.

I really like the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index you have listed and have 40% of my pension invested in it. It is a bit “growth”, tech and US leaning which some people will get their knickers all in a tizzy over though, plus, it tracks an index of only 100 companies which combined with the committee inclusion rules for constituents means you could almost view it as a quasi active fund, albeit low cost and it does cover most global regions of large cap companies.

But, aware of all of the above, I like it and happy to hold a chunk in it.

I have been heavily skewed to US holdings for some time so thoughts on currency and valuations comes into play and are on my mind as I gear up for retirement and prepare to move from accumulation to drawdown. So, there will be some asset class mix and portfolio adjustment changes over the next year or so for me.

@GazzaBloom Thanks for that, just a few questions, I'd never thought about currency hedged or non hedged, what do you mean by that?

The HSBC Islamic fund seems to be doing ok, I haven't heavily invested in it because with Prudential it has a higher charge than some of the others, I think its 0.6%, do you pay less with Aviva for this fund? Thanks for the tip about looking at how they perform in downturns, good to consider.

isayhello

Linton said:

I base my choice of funds on the overall allocations to sectors, countries, sizes, etc given by Morningstar XRay with the intention of achieving a well balanced portfolio compatible with my objectives. So the over-riding criterion for buying a fund is what it invests in.

@Linton Thanks, I think I've looked at that site for some info, are there any sites or places you look for opinions or forecasts on the funds you pick or you don't bother with that?