Am i making the right decision investing lump sum now

Zoe02

Hi All,

Is it a good time to invest in Vanguard funds? I know you're meant to buy when things are on sale, but Trump's tariff policies are making me wonder if I'm making the right decision. 

I sold my Marks & Spencer shares and have placed an order to buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund.

Am I rushing this decision? I've already put in my annual ISA allowance as well.

dunstonh

Is it a good time to invest in Vanguard funds?

Statistically, "now" is the best of times, whenever that "now" is.

 I know you're meant to buy when things are on sale, but Trump's tariff policies are making me wonder if I'm making the right decision. 

Something is always going on that can be used as an excuse to put you off.     Market crashes happen, on average, every 4 years.     Recent events have been volatile, but it only marginally got classified as a crash.   It's one of the smallest in the last 25 years.

If you are nervous about Trump then maybe 100% equities is not the right decision for you.

Dizzycap

dunstonh said:

Is it a good time to invest in Vanguard funds?

Statistically, "now" is the best of times, whenever that "now" is.

 I know you're meant to buy when things are on sale, but Trump's tariff policies are making me wonder if I'm making the right decision. 

Something is always going on that can be used as an excuse to put you off.     Market crashes happen, on average, every 4 years.     Recent events have been volatile, but it only marginally got classified as a crash.   It's one of the smallest in the last 25 years.

If you are nervous about Trump then maybe 100% equities is not the right decision for you.

@ dunstonh I agree with you! 

@ Zoe02 - If you're now trying to second guess your decision to invest in the stock market, then perhaps now isn't the right time for you. It's always important to Do Your Own Research (DYOR) into investments before you comit to investing as your financial position is unique to you. It's so very easy to get into a FOMO = Fear of Missing Out mode, but not if you've DYOR and recognise the risks associated with your investment and whether you'll be able to sleep soundly each night without having to check if your investments have gone down or up on a daily basis. 

There are platforms that allow for ISA transfers in taht are split between cash & S&S holdings which you can move in and out of when you please that also pay interest on cash holdings. Trading212 is a FREE trading platform; except for any applicable standard stamp duty & fees paid on the shares you buy and associate fund costs etc, that will also allow you to drip feed money into S&S as and when you wish. It might be worth your while taking a look.

Zoe02

dunstonh said:

Is it a good time to invest in Vanguard funds?

Statistically, "now" is the best of times, whenever that "now" is.

 I know you're meant to buy when things are on sale, but Trump's tariff policies are making me wonder if I'm making the right decision. 

Something is always going on that can be used as an excuse to put you off.     Market crashes happen, on average, every 4 years.     Recent events have been volatile, but it only marginally got classified as a crash.   It's one of the smallest in the last 25 years.

If you are nervous about Trump then maybe 100% equities is not the right decision for you.

To be fair been more relaxed with funds than shares. Stopped buying shares since 2017.

My shares are old purchases. 

Mr.Generous

A work colleague came out of the final sallary pension and set up a drawdown fund ... Just as covid hit and funds plummeted. He got an increase in his pot of £100k in the next 12 months as things recovered. I wish I had some funds to invest right now, buy when the market is low, sell when its high.

Exodi

Zoe02 said:

Is it a good time to invest? I know you're meant to buy when things are on sale, but [Current Events] are making me wonder if I'm making the right decision.

We see this style of thread for every event of every year. Yet we forget about all these events when you zoom out of a stock chart and see the line trending up, in fact we longingly gaze at the dips, thinking 'if only I invested there'. Yet whenever a 'there' happens, a common reaction is to wait for the market to recover before investing. Of course, you may be thinking 'but this time is different' as every one does, every time.

I think if [Current Events] make you nervous, then as Dunstonh said, maybe 100% equities might not be for you.

I don't plan on needing my investments for at least 15 years, so the market being down in April 2025 (and inevitably many other periods along the way) will be relatively meaningless when I look at back at it in 2040.

Albermarle

Mr.Generous said:

A work colleague came out of the final sallary pension and set up a drawdown fund ... Just as covid hit and funds plummeted. He got an increase in his pot of £100k in the next 12 months as things recovered. I wish I had some funds to invest right now, buy when the market is low, sell when its high.

Trouble is you only know when the market is low or high afterwards.
Even today it is a mixed picture .Since Jan 1st
S& P is down 8% and the Nikkei 14%
FTSE 100 is 0.5% up and the DAX is up 7% 

Eyeful

Everybody's situation is different.
No one can see into the future, so no one will be able to give you the correct answer.

Somethings to consider:

1. Anything to do with money has some form of risk attached. Its just the size & type of risk that varies. 
Example: Low risk savings accounts protected by the FSCS protected up to £85k, has inflation risk.
https://www.inflationtool.com/rates/uk/historical

2. If you buy the fund now and leave it untouched for lets say 40 years, it will most likely look like a good time to buy.

3. You could think of drip feeding the money into that fund monthly over coming year.

4. If you are nervous about 100% into shares, consider a low cost Global Multi Asset Fund with a share/bond split you are comfortable with.  

5. The important thing is you should be able to sleep at night and not worry about your investments.



 

Zoe02

Sold all marks and Spencer and bought funds. 

I have been wanting to sell for some time. 

Only know the correct answer after the event 😂

It's long term investment so nothing to worry about and funds are more diversified. 

Hoenir

Zoe02 said:

I know you're meant to buy when things are on sale, 

What you need to ask yorself is why the price is falling.  You are not in the supermarket picking up bargains as items head towards their use by date. 

jimjames

dunstonh said:

If you are nervous about Trump then maybe 100% equities is not the right decision for you.

I'm happy being 100% equities. I'm also nervous about Trump so the two aren't necessarily linked!