Pension Pot Gone Down!!

Sprinkles58

I consulted a financial advisor who invested my meagre retirement amount of money last year. 

I haven’t  looked at it until now as I know it’s not good to look at it regularly and am horrified that it’s gone down £8000!

Whereas I know they go down as well as up I didn’t expect that amount of drop in a year?!

It’s all invested in various Vanguard accounts.

i know nothing about investing and confess the whole thing confuses me!!

Any advice on whether this sounds ok/normal at the moment or should I move my money?!

Got a meeting with my F.A in the next couple of weeks.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Sprinkles58 said:

I consulted a financial advisor who invested my meagre retirement amount of money last year. 

I haven’t  looked at it until now as I know it’s not good to look at it regularly and am horrified that it’s gone down £8000!

Whereas I know they go down as well as up I didn’t expect that amount of drop in a year?!

It’s all invested in various Vanguard accounts.

i know nothing about investing and confess the whole thing confuses me!!

Any advice on whether this sounds ok/normal at the moment or should I move my money?!

Got a meeting with my F.A in the next couple of weeks.

Why did you go with a financial advisor rather than an independent financial advisor 🤔

And can you add some context by giving an idea of what the initial amount invested was?  What's meagre to you might be a fortune to others!

MallyGirl

It really depends on the value - your definition of meagre might be quite different to someone else's

Pat38493

As said above, to comment further I think you would need to say how much the total pot was worth, and also which Vanguard funds it was invested in, and lastly what did you tell the adviser about when you would need the money (e.g. if you don't need the money for 20 years a drop in the current year is just a paper change).

Brie

a lot of funds have yoyo'd about.  some of my DC funds are way down officially but when I see a current valuation things are not that bad.

dunstonh

I haven’t  looked at it until now as I know it’s not good to look at it regularly and am horrified that it’s gone down £8000!

An £8000 drop needs context.    For example, on a £20k fund value, an £8k drop is a lot.    However, on a £100k fund value, it is a tiny drop.

Whereas I know they go down as well as up I didn’t expect that amount of drop in a year?!

Most negative periods last less than 3 months.   A fewer number last less than 6 months and so on.   In some cases, you could get three negative years in a row.     Timescale and size of drop are not correlated.   

You don't say which Vanguard funds but here are some of their popular multi-asset funds over the last 12 months.



All are up over 12 months.  Although one is down over the last quarter.

i know nothing about investing and confess the whole thing confuses me!! 
Any advice on whether this sounds ok/normal at the moment or should I move my money?!

Got a meeting with my F.A in the next couple of weeks.

This is why you pay for an adviser.  There is no point paying an adviser but then coming to the internet to ask things you are paying a professional for.

sevenhills

Sprinkles58 said:

I consulted a financial advisor who invested my meagre retirement amount of money last year. 

I haven’t  looked at it until now as I know it’s not good to look at it regularly and am horrified that it’s gone down £8000! Whereas I know they go down as well as up I didn’t expect that amount of drop in a year?!

It’s all invested in various Vanguard accounts.

People can invest in Vanguard without an advisor. I assume there is no ongoing fee from the advisor?

The FTSE is 6% up over the last 12 months, when did your investment start?

dunstonh

People can invest in Vanguard without an advisor. I assume there is no ongoing fee from the advisor?

They can invest in the OEIC versions without an adviser but the MPS versions require an adviser.

JohnWinder

'Malkiel’s prescription for investors is very straightforward. Instead of buying individual stocks or investing in actively managed funds, he says investors should simply buy and hold a broad-based index fund, or portfolio of index funds. They should diversify, stay the course, and resist the temptation to trade more often than is strictly necessary.'

https://www.rock-wealth.co.uk/a-random-walk-down-wall-street-six-takeaways/ 

Albermarle

The large majority of mainstream medium risk funds have gone up in the last 12 months, so a loss seems against the trend.