inheritance & new to investing

kempiejon

Albermarle said:

Our personal circumstance will influence our choises but in my shoes with a £60k windfall I'd fill ISA and SIPP and get it all invested in there.

The OP does not mention having any savings. If that is the case they should keep some of the £60K in cash, for shorter term needs/emergencies.

Good catch, They did say they wanted to start s SIPP with the balance after the mortgage. They didn't mentioned any debt other than the mentioned mortgage so they could pay that off if that's the case, in fact other things to consider might be life or health insurance whch might be relevant if they don't have any. Good spot on the difference in circumstances, I should add I don't have any debts to pay off and a few £k savings. In fact now I've had a think as to what I don't have if I received a windfall with a £60k balance I would set aside some money and indulge myself - inheritances sometimes come with emotions and memories so perhaps a present to myself to remember the dead or a holiday plus a dollop of philanthropy.

camilleb2

@albermarle I have cash savings, £250,000 in a cash ISA. I intend to leave this long term as i also have so emergency cash in standard accounts,
 I also haveI was going to put some in a stocks isa this year but rates have been good and  with my hesitancy over the way the world is i might leave that and concentrate on putting money into the sipp in terms of exposure to stock market .Im looking at HSBC index funds but wonder if vanguards might be better for  their automatic rebalancing

camilleb2

@kempiejon my fear is that i put it all in a sipp and it drops 40 % and sends the next 10 years recovering by which time im 63  . i wish i had have had the time to become more financially literate earlier in life but we are where we are

kempiejon

camilleb2 said:

@kempiejon my fear is that i put it all in a sipp and it drops 40 % and sends the next 10 years recovering by which time im 63  . i wish i had have had the time to become more financially literate earlier in life but we are where we are

You're mortgage free, £250k n the bank, full time job and want to start a pension. You can't handle the thought of a stock drop of 40%. You decide what would be in this SIPP.
Oh you know about the tax right?
You wished you'd started earlier in life but are putting it off now. 

camilleb2

@kempiejon thanks

thunderroad88

So you want to invest in equities but not while the markets are volatile? Ok, when do you know the volatility is over? When markets have risen to new all time highs because you think the worst is over and markets will now continue to rise? Not a great idea. Conversely, you think there’s more Trump antics to come or the US debt situation might pull markets down again. So you decide to wait for another dip. That may not come. Or markets in the meantime will rise by more than the dip, so you end up buying higher than today’s prices anyway and have missed out on gains. Personally I’d get most or all of what you want to invest into the markets now…if it makes you feel a bit happier, put in 75% and keep some dry powder in case prices do dip substantially so psychologically you feel you’ve snagged a bargain. But you’ll always be thinking about when to put that 25% in so…..

MEM62

camilleb2 said:

@albermarle I have cash savings, £250,000 in a cash ISA. I intend to leave this long term as i also have so emergency cash in standard accounts,
 I also haveI was going to put some in a stocks isa this year but rates have been good and  with my hesitancy over the way the world is i might leave that and concentrate on putting money into the sipp in terms of exposure to stock market .Im looking at HSBC index funds but wonder if vanguards might be better for  their automatic rebalancing

£250k+ in cash and no pension or anything in equities?  In my opinion you need a total re-think of your financial planning.  For a start you are way too heavily weighted in cash.  Consider talking to an IFA.