Vanguard Life Strategy 60/40 best platform please

havingaball74

Hi all,
I would like to invest in VLS 60/40.
I am 50 years old and have £60,000 to invest.
Which platform is best to go through? The two that keep coming up are Vanguard direct or via iWeb. I am a complete novice so spend hours doing research but then never actually invest. I need urgent help at pulling the trigger please. Thanks.

Mark_d

Since you're only investing in that one fund then I think it makes sense to go to vanguard direct

dunstonh

I would like to invest in VLS 60/40.

What made you select that fund?  (its not generally considered to be the best in class any more - hasn't been for some time)

If you go with a fund house that only offers their own funds, then you have to change the platform again in the future if you want a different fund house.  If you go with a whole of market platform, then you can change funds easily.

ColdIron

What is 'best' to you? Cheapest? Best customer service? Portfolio analysis and graphs? Regular investing? On site research?

ISA, SIPP or GIA? How often will you trade?

What will be best for one person will not be for another

Aidanmc

Although Iweb is offering free account opening until 30 June, but a £5 charge per trade. No platform fees

If you were buying the fund in one trade, this would be cheaper overall.

Vanguard has 0.15% platform fee

gravel_2

The fund fee is the same on both platforms (of course).
On iWeb you would pay £5 for the trade if you bought 60k at once. This is a negligible % and a one off cost.

If you buy on Vanguard you are signing up to a 0.15% annual platform fee (approx £90 per year, assuming the investment stays at 60k).

havingaball74

Mark_d said:

Since you're only investing in that one fund then I think it makes sense to go to vanguard direct

Thank you for your reply. Some articles I have read, state that a flat fee broker such as iWeb is better with a larger amount such as mine. But, what does 'larger' mean? Some say a flat fee broker is better on amounts more than £12,000. Other articles, say you only need flat fee when it goes over £100,000.

On the Vanguard website it mentions an ongoing charge of 0.22% which is £132. Is this annually?
It then mentions minimums:  What does this mean?

ColdIron

IWeb are great for infrequent trading in an ISA or GIA but their SIPP can be expensive. £180 pa, £360 in drawdown

havingaball74

ColdIron said:

IWeb are great for infrequent trading in an ISA or GIA but their SIPP can be expensive. £180 pa, £360 in drawdown

Thank you!  As a complete beginner who only wants to invest in Vanguard, is iWeb easy to use/ have good customer service? I am trying to balance out cost with ease of use. 

Aidanmc

havingaball74 said:

Hi all,
I would like to invest in VLS 60/40.
I am 50 years old and have £60,000 to invest.
Which platform is best to go through? The two that keep coming up are Vanguard direct or via iWeb. I am a complete novice so spend hours doing research but then never actually invest. I need urgent help at pulling the trigger please. Thanks.

If you are considering Iweb, you could also consider HSBC Global Strategy Balanced Fund.

Similar to LS60, lower OCF at 0.17% compared to 0.22% for the LS60

Just a thought

ColdIron

havingaball74 said:

On the Vanguard website it mentions an ongoing charge of 0.22% which is £132. Is this annually?
It then mentions minimums:  What does this mean?

That is the fund fee or ongoing charge. It's levied by the fund manager (Vanguard investments not the Vanguard platform) and deducted from the fund. It has nothing to do with the platform and will be the same wherever you go, e.g. IWeb

The minimums are what the Vanguard platform will accept, they will differ between platforms, some as low as £25. Not a problem with £60,000