Financial Institution

jimjames

FlyByNite said:

.  General grumpiness is probably also exacerbated by poor returns over the last couple of years.  Common comment is  - “they may have the lowest fees but you get what you pay for”. 

Poor admin is one thing but poor returns on their mainly index tracker funds are nothing to do with Vanguard or related to their fees.

masonic

jimjames said:

FlyByNite said:

.  General grumpiness is probably also exacerbated by poor returns over the last couple of years.  Common comment is  - “they may have the lowest fees but you get what you pay for”. 

Poor admin is one thing but poor returns on their mainly index tracker funds are nothing to do with Vanguard or related to their fees.

Quite right. It's important to separate the investment platform from the fund manager. The latter is low cost, but also high quality. That said, the competition is tough and I would not wish to be restricted to Vanguard funds. They can be held elsewhere when they are the best option, alongside those of other providers when they are not.

GeoffTF

I think the OP may be talking about low returns in general over the last two years. I am using Vanguard funds and I am in healthy profit in nominal terms over two years, but I am also losing by roughly the same amount after adjusting for RPI inflation.

masonic

GeoffTF said:

I think the OP may be talking about low returns in general over the last two years. I am using Vanguard funds and I am in healthy profit in nominal terms over two years, but I am also losing by roughly the same amount after adjusting for RPI inflation.

It would be unfair to blame the fund manager for the returns if they are just tracking an index or running a multi-asset fund of defined composition, assuming the tracking error is low. Personal responsibility kicks in when you choose such funds and they don't meet your personal expectations.

GeoffTF

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

I think the OP may be talking about low returns in general over the last two years. I am using Vanguard funds and I am in healthy profit in nominal terms over two years, but I am also losing by roughly the same amount after adjusting for RPI inflation.

It would be unfair to blame the fund manager for the returns if they are just tracking an index or running a multi-asset fund of defined composition, assuming the tracking error is low. Personal responsibility kicks in when you choose such funds and they don't meet your personal expectations.

Yes, I agree. I cannot say that my results did not meet my expectations. Losing money after inflation was always a likely outcome.

masonic

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

I think the OP may be talking about low returns in general over the last two years. I am using Vanguard funds and I am in healthy profit in nominal terms over two years, but I am also losing by roughly the same amount after adjusting for RPI inflation.

It would be unfair to blame the fund manager for the returns if they are just tracking an index or running a multi-asset fund of defined composition, assuming the tracking error is low. Personal responsibility kicks in when you choose such funds and they don't meet your personal expectations.

Yes, I agree. I cannot say that my results did not meet my expectations. Losing money after inflation was always a likely outcome.

RPI inflation over the last 10 years has totalled 49.6% or 4.1% annualised. My passive investments have done better than that, despite the recent spike. A FTSE All-world tracker would have been up nearly 150% or 9.3% annualised. It is best not to pay too much attention to the recent past. Years of ultra low inflation was always going to catch up to us eventually, but in the mean time some very nice real returns were enjoyed. Chances are the coming decade will be more like the average than the extremes.

GeoffTF

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

I think the OP may be talking about low returns in general over the last two years. I am using Vanguard funds and I am in healthy profit in nominal terms over two years, but I am also losing by roughly the same amount after adjusting for RPI inflation.

It would be unfair to blame the fund manager for the returns if they are just tracking an index or running a multi-asset fund of defined composition, assuming the tracking error is low. Personal responsibility kicks in when you choose such funds and they don't meet your personal expectations.

Yes, I agree. I cannot say that my results did not meet my expectations. Losing money after inflation was always a likely outcome.

RPI inflation over the last 10 years has totalled 49.6% or 4.1% annualised. My passive investments have done better than that, despite the recent spike. A FTSE All-world tracker would have been up nearly 150% or 9.3% annualised. It is best not to pay too much attention to the recent past. Years of ultra low inflation was always going to catch up to us eventually, but in the mean time some very nice real returns were enjoyed. Chances are the coming decade will be more like the average than the extremes.

My 60/40 portfolio has more than doubled over the last 10 years after allowing for inflation, so I am not doing badly. (That includes the addition of some excess pension income.) I do not expect the next 10 years to be as good.

masonic

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

masonic said:

GeoffTF said:

I think the OP may be talking about low returns in general over the last two years. I am using Vanguard funds and I am in healthy profit in nominal terms over two years, but I am also losing by roughly the same amount after adjusting for RPI inflation.

It would be unfair to blame the fund manager for the returns if they are just tracking an index or running a multi-asset fund of defined composition, assuming the tracking error is low. Personal responsibility kicks in when you choose such funds and they don't meet your personal expectations.

Yes, I agree. I cannot say that my results did not meet my expectations. Losing money after inflation was always a likely outcome.

RPI inflation over the last 10 years has totalled 49.6% or 4.1% annualised. My passive investments have done better than that, despite the recent spike. A FTSE All-world tracker would have been up nearly 150% or 9.3% annualised. It is best not to pay too much attention to the recent past. Years of ultra low inflation was always going to catch up to us eventually, but in the mean time some very nice real returns were enjoyed. Chances are the coming decade will be more like the average than the extremes.

My 60/40 portfolio has more than doubled over the last 10 years after allowing for inflation, so I am not doing badly. (That includes the addition of some excess pension income.) I do not expect the next 10 years to be as good.

Indeed, through the 2010s the tide lifted all ships, things only started zig-zagging thereafter. We'll be lucky to see the same over the next decade.