Help balance our investments

Possiblyretired

Any advice much appreciated.
Both my husband and I opened a sipp and a stocks & shares ISA earlier this year and will be topping up both next year. 
I am currently using Hargreaves holding both

Fidelity World Index Class P Acc

Rathbone Global Opp

He is using AJ Bell holding both

Fidelity World Index Class P Acc

HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic

As an extra investment we would like to invest another £100,000 each elsewhere. Looking for growth, ten years plus, not particularly nervous investors.

Can anyone help with -

1. What would balance our portfolio?

2. Which platform to use?

Many thanks.

MX5huggy

The world index is balanced anything else including your Rathbone fund is introducing an unbalancing. Understand the difference between active a passive investment and then place your bet. 

eskbanker

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

Albermarle

Which platform to use is a different/separate question as to how to invest the money.

Platform choice is down to
Charges ( which are not usually totally straightforward to assess without some careful digging)
Investment choice
Ease of use/ good website/ responsive customer service.

For the investments you hold now, both AJ Bell and HL are fine for the last two points, but HL platform charge of 0.45% for OEIC funds is on the high side.

Possiblyretired

eskbanker said:

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

I honestly had not really thought about what I meant by 'balanced' but I guess I was worried about having all our eggs in one basket without understanding the different baskets on offer.

Our current investment choices were pretty much picked out of a hat after realising that both SIPPs & ISAs were a good option for us.
Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

eskbanker

Possiblyretired said:

Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

Fidelity World is a passive global equity tracker.

The Rathbone fund is actively managed.

HSBC GS Dynamic is a multi-asset fund, comprising underlying passives (both equities and bonds) but actively managed.

masonic

Possiblyretired said:

eskbanker said:

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

I honestly had not really thought about what I meant by 'balanced' but I guess I was worried about having all our eggs in one basket without understanding the different baskets on offer.

Our current investment choices were pretty much picked out of a hat after realising that both SIPPs & ISAs were a good option for us.
Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

Fidelity Index World is passive. HSBC GS Dynamic is actively managed with low charges. The former holds over 1400 company shares from across the world, but is 100% equities, so whether it's "all eggs in one basket" depends on your perspective. Also, despite the huge number of holdings, over 20% is invested in 6 big US tech companies. The latter has an equivalent spread of equities alongside some bonds and property, so is multi-asset. Though some would say the quantity of the other assets isn't enough to move the needle.

There is no one size fits all solution to balancing a portfolio, but few people who would choose the username "possiblyretired" would be comfortable with this level of risk, unless they have significant other assets.

Beddie

Possiblyretired said:

eskbanker said:

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

I honestly had not really thought about what I meant by 'balanced' but I guess I was worried about having all our eggs in one basket without understanding the different baskets on offer.

Our current investment choices were pretty much picked out of a hat after realising that both SIPPs & ISAs were a good option for us.
Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

I'd say the HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic (or Balanced) fits the bill, in terms of balancing, as you are introducing bonds to the mix. Your current all equity portfolio is near the top end of the risk scale. It's up to you how risky you want to be, but I think it would be sensible to dial it down. That's just me though, I'm often too cautious and that brings its own issues!

As for platforms, there are cheaper options, but they might be lower on personal service. You don't need to worry about the amount you have with one provider (apart from charges) as they are not the same as savings accounts when it comes to FSCS etc. I'm sure someone else will cover it in more detail, or you can read more about it in the forums.

Possiblyretired

Beddie said:

Possiblyretired said:

eskbanker said:

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

I honestly had not really thought about what I meant by 'balanced' but I guess I was worried about having all our eggs in one basket without understanding the different baskets on offer.

Our current investment choices were pretty much picked out of a hat after realising that both SIPPs & ISAs were a good option for us.
Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

I'd say the HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic (or Balanced) fits the bill, in terms of balancing, as you are introducing bonds to the mix. Your current all equity portfolio is near the top end of the risk scale. It's up to you how risky you want to be, but I think it would be sensible to dial it down. That's just me though, I'm often too cautious and that brings its own issues!

As for platforms, there are cheaper options, but they might be lower on personal service. You don't need to worry about the amount you have with one provider (apart from charges) as they are not the same as savings accounts when it comes to FSCS etc. I'm sure someone else will cover it in more detail, or you can read more about it in the forums.

Do you mean that if we wanted to dial down the risk then more HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic would fit the bill and if we were OK with risk level then more of the other two? Or do you mean that if we wanted to dial down the risk scale then we would look at something else entirely?

Beddie

Possiblyretired said:

Beddie said:

Possiblyretired said:

eskbanker said:

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

I honestly had not really thought about what I meant by 'balanced' but I guess I was worried about having all our eggs in one basket without understanding the different baskets on offer.

Our current investment choices were pretty much picked out of a hat after realising that both SIPPs & ISAs were a good option for us.
Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

I'd say the HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic (or Balanced) fits the bill, in terms of balancing, as you are introducing bonds to the mix. Your current all equity portfolio is near the top end of the risk scale. It's up to you how risky you want to be, but I think it would be sensible to dial it down. That's just me though, I'm often too cautious and that brings its own issues!

As for platforms, there are cheaper options, but they might be lower on personal service. You don't need to worry about the amount you have with one provider (apart from charges) as they are not the same as savings accounts when it comes to FSCS etc. I'm sure someone else will cover it in more detail, or you can read more about it in the forums.

Do you mean that if we wanted to dial down the risk then more HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic would fit the bill and if we were OK with risk level then more of the other two? Or do you mean that if we wanted to dial down the risk scale then we would look at something else entirely?

Good question, probably a mix of funds would suit you as you sound like you don't like it all in one place. If you look on the HSBC site it shows how each fund is meant to behave in terms of risk. Obviously having some in your current funds as well moves you higher up the overall risk scale.

You also have to think about your ages, when will you need the money, if it drops 30% do you have other money available, for example. So many ponderables to make it more complicated! That's why people often do choose one fund e.g. HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic/Balanced Or Vanguard Lifestrategy etc. to make things simpler.

Have a read https://www.assetmanagement.hsbc.co.uk/en/intermediary/capabilities/multi-asset/hsbc-global-strategy-portfolios

Possiblyretired

Beddie said:

Possiblyretired said:

Beddie said:

Possiblyretired said:

eskbanker said:

It all depends on what you actually mean by 'balanced', i.e. the context within which to measure it?

As above, a global equity tracker is balanced by reference to the index it tracks, which will be based on relative market capitalisation, but many other balanced portfolios exist without being 100% global equities, so it's equally valid to be looking at other asset classes, or weighting specific markets or sectors, or prioritising value stocks over growth ones or whatever, i.e. 'balance' can't exist in a vacuum but has to be related to an objective or strategy.

I honestly had not really thought about what I meant by 'balanced' but I guess I was worried about having all our eggs in one basket without understanding the different baskets on offer.

Our current investment choices were pretty much picked out of a hat after realising that both SIPPs & ISAs were a good option for us.
Am I right in thinking that what we currently have are known as passive investments? And if we wanted to continue with passive and invest in global equities tracker then either Fidelity World Index Class P Acc and HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic fit the bill?

I'd say the HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic (or Balanced) fits the bill, in terms of balancing, as you are introducing bonds to the mix. Your current all equity portfolio is near the top end of the risk scale. It's up to you how risky you want to be, but I think it would be sensible to dial it down. That's just me though, I'm often too cautious and that brings its own issues!

As for platforms, there are cheaper options, but they might be lower on personal service. You don't need to worry about the amount you have with one provider (apart from charges) as they are not the same as savings accounts when it comes to FSCS etc. I'm sure someone else will cover it in more detail, or you can read more about it in the forums.

Do you mean that if we wanted to dial down the risk then more HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic would fit the bill and if we were OK with risk level then more of the other two? Or do you mean that if we wanted to dial down the risk scale then we would look at something else entirely?

Good question, probably a mix of funds would suit you as you sound like you don't like it all in one place. If you look on the HSBC site it shows how each fund is meant to behave in terms of risk. Obviously having some in your current funds as well moves you higher up the overall risk scale.

You also have to think about your ages, when will you need the money, if it drops 30% do you have other money available, for example. So many ponderables to make it more complicated! That's why people often do choose one fund e.g. HSBC Global Strategy Dynamic/Balanced Or Vanguard Lifestrategy etc. to make things simpler.

Have a read https://www.assetmanagement.hsbc.co.uk/en/intermediary/capabilities/multi-asset/hsbc-global-strategy-portfolios

Oh that's a helpful link. Thank you so much, will spend some time looking into everything, try to learn and understand a little.