Leaving it late

JuniorG

I've been procrastinating over our ISAs for this year and now leaving it late.  I usually put mine into VLS60 and my wife's into HSBC Global Strategy Balanced.  But they seem so high right now, I've been putting off pressing the button.  I won't need the money for at least another 5 years, maybe 10. Time to stop dithering. Does anyone think there any bargains anywhere for S&S ISA's?

Alistair31

You could always put the money into a S&S ISA account and leave it as cash while you ponder, so as not to lose out on your allowance before the new FY.

wmb194

JuniorG said:

I've been procrastinating over our ISAs for this year and now leaving it late.  I usually put mine into VLS60 and my wife's into HSBC Global Strategy Balanced.  But they seem so high right now, I've been putting off pressing the button.  I won't need the money for at least another 5 years, maybe 10. Time to stop dithering. Does anyone think there any bargains anywhere for S&S ISA's?

You don’t have to decide on a stock market investment. Put it in a cash Isa for now and transfer it to a S&S Isa later.

eskbanker

JuniorG said:

I've been procrastinating over our ISAs for this year and now leaving it late.  I usually put mine into VLS60 and my wife's into HSBC Global Strategy Balanced.  But they seem so high right now, I've been putting off pressing the button.  I won't need the money for at least another 5 years, maybe 10. Time to stop dithering. Does anyone think there any bargains anywhere for S&S ISA's?

Given the generic expectation of long term growth from investments, you'd expect them to spend a lot of time at all-time highs, but in this case, both have only fairly recently passed their previous highs from 2021.

If you're seeking 'bargains', that would imply undervalued investments where you'd need to think that you knew more than the market about the fundamentals of a fund or business, which is a dangerous belief!

If those funds were appropriate for your long term objectives previously, why do you feel they might not be now, given the old adage of 'time in the market, not timing the market'?

boingy

Yes, you are leaving it late!
Just stuff the money into the quickest cash ISA you can find, probably the one at the same bank where the funds are.
Then you can transfer it at your leisure at a later date.

And if your find out what the stock markets are going to do in future please let me know...

JuniorG

Thank you all!  At the minute the money is in cash in the ISA accounts on our platforms (I use AJ Bell for my wife and Vanguard for mine).  So I think you're saying I can leave it there and it'll fall into this year's allowance, whilst I make my mind up?  is that right?

eskbanker

JuniorG said:

Thank you all!  At the minute the money is in cash in the ISA accounts on our platforms (I use AJ Bell for my wife and Vanguard for mine).  So I think you're saying I can leave it there and it'll fall into this year's allowance, whilst I make my mind up?  is that right?

Yes, the date the money is paid into the ISA determines which tax year's allowance is being used, so if you've already deposited the money into the ISAs then there's no rush to invest it if you feel that delaying is right for you.

Alistair31

JuniorG said:

Thank you all!  At the minute the money is in cash in the ISA accounts on our platforms (I use AJ Bell for my wife and Vanguard for mine).  So I think you're saying I can leave it there and it'll fall into this year's allowance, whilst I make my mind up?  is that right?

Correct. Not sure what those platforms pay in cash interest but you may also wish to consider a money market fund while you wait? 

JuniorG

Thank you eskbanker and Alistair31!  I haven’t tried a money market fund, so I’ll look into it! I’m now thinking to hedge my bets a little by doing next year's allowance next week,  putting them into an mmf and drip feeding them monthly into the S&S funds.

Albermarle

JuniorG said:

Thank you eskbanker and Alistair31!  I haven’t tried a money market fund, so I’ll look into it! I’m now thinking to hedge my bets a little by doing next year's allowance next week,  putting them into an mmf and drip feeding them monthly into the S&S funds.

Just in case you are not aware, you can do the opposite at any time. That is sell your investments for cash and the cash stays inside your S&S ISA earning some interest.
Basically buying or selling investments in a S&S ISA, is not connected at all with the max £20K pa you can add to one each tax year.
So the tax year has no relevance on when you buy/sell investments within the ISA.