What else can I invest in

london21

Mark_d said:

london21 said:

Hi All,

Looking for some suggestions I am in my late 30's.

I have 

• Investments: £190,465 (S&P 500 index fund)  £132,000 in ISA.
• Cash & Savings: £179,804 (Chip, Tandem)
• Premium Bonds: £50,000 

I have about £106,000 in my pension currently and have increased my contribtuion to £2696 per month. I am a higher rate tax payer.

Some considerations

Increase exposure to equities for long-term growth, I have made wrong choice in the past hence I have stayed away from shares but was looking at Twylor Wimpey but looks a bit unstable.

Diversify beyond the S&P 500 (e.g., global index funds, emerging markets).

Reduce cash holdings.

That's a huge amount to have in cash/savings.  Would you really need that much to live on if you were out of work for 3 months?

It sounds like you don't know much about shares so best avoid them for now.  But you can find a fund to invest in that suits your attitude to risk and invests in areas where you feel there's be growth (maybe Japanese companies, maybe manufacturing industries...)

Thanks will do more research. 

Yes you are right too much cash holding. 20k is enough plus interest rates now dropping. 

LHW99

Vanguard does a FTSE All-World ex-US (ETF (VEU). I know nothing about it, and there will be other equivalents.

It would help balance the S&P if you don't want to sell out of that (at all / in one go)

https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/veu

Eco_Miser

 I don't think anyone has mentioned Monevator as a resource yet. It's a blog that's been going for about 15 years now, with lots of practical investing advice and contributions from many High Net Worth individuals as well as more basic stuff.

Bostonerimus1

london21 said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

Avoid shares in individual companies.

You need to learn more about general stock and bond fund investing and then diversify your portfolio. Your statement that you sold a global fund recently and are now thinking about getting back into it worries me as a knee jerk management style rarely produces a good outcome. If you diversity into an appropriate asset allocation, a buy and hold strategy with maybe a little rebalancing can worked well.

Yes, i had the global funds since 2023 or so. Looking back maybe shouldn't have sold them. 

From your answers I worry that you think there is some magic or quick way to succeed and prosper, maybe by picking a stock that does well. It's rare to make big returns, but by keeping things simple and sensibly managing a simple portfolio over a few decades small gains will compound and you can become financially independent...And by that I mean never having to worry about money or the fluctuations of markets again because your net worth far exceeds your need for money. When you are investing in sensible things you don't need to look for other things.

london21

Bostonerimus1 said:

london21 said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

Avoid shares in individual companies.

You need to learn more about general stock and bond fund investing and then diversify your portfolio. Your statement that you sold a global fund recently and are now thinking about getting back into it worries me as a knee jerk management style rarely produces a good outcome. If you diversity into an appropriate asset allocation, a buy and hold strategy with maybe a little rebalancing can worked well.

Yes, i had the global funds since 2023 or so. Looking back maybe shouldn't have sold them. 

From your answers I worry that you think there is some magic or quick way to succeed and prosper, maybe by picking a stock that does well. It's rare to make big returns, but by keeping things simple and sensibly managing a simple portfolio over a few decades small gains will compound and you can become financially independent...And by that I mean never having to worry about money or the fluctuations of markets again because your net worth far exceeds your need for money. When you are investing in sensible things you don't need to look for other things.

Thanks you are right. 

Now need to decide if to put more in global index fund, or invest in property. 

I have also used my ISA allowance. 

london21

LHW99 said:

Vanguard does a FTSE All-World ex-US (ETF (VEU). I know nothing about it, and there will be other equivalents.

It would help balance the S&P if you don't want to sell out of that (at all / in one go)

https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/veu

Thanks will stick with this https://markets.ft.com/data/funds/tearsheet/summary?s=gb00bd3rz582:gbp

london21

Eyeful said:

At your age you only need to be invested in either a
Low Cost Global Fund or ETF which tracks one of the MAJOR global indexes.
Example: HMWO.
 Forget about the single shares idea, that's very risky.

Suggest you watch this:
https://www.kroijer.com/

Thanks very informative.

This looks like a good one to stick with https://markets.ft.com/data/funds/tearsheet/summary?s=gb00bd3rz582:gbp

Bostonerimus1

london21 said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

london21 said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

Avoid shares in individual companies.

You need to learn more about general stock and bond fund investing and then diversify your portfolio. Your statement that you sold a global fund recently and are now thinking about getting back into it worries me as a knee jerk management style rarely produces a good outcome. If you diversity into an appropriate asset allocation, a buy and hold strategy with maybe a little rebalancing can worked well.

Yes, i had the global funds since 2023 or so. Looking back maybe shouldn't have sold them. 

From your answers I worry that you think there is some magic or quick way to succeed and prosper, maybe by picking a stock that does well. It's rare to make big returns, but by keeping things simple and sensibly managing a simple portfolio over a few decades small gains will compound and you can become financially independent...And by that I mean never having to worry about money or the fluctuations of markets again because your net worth far exceeds your need for money. When you are investing in sensible things you don't need to look for other things.

Thanks you are right. 

Now need to decide if to put more in global index fund, or invest in property. 

I have also used my ISA allowance. 

I'd get the basics of your asset allocation in your pension and ISA right first and that means a suitably diversified stock, bond and cash portfolio. 

I would also avoid investing in property. Certainly think about buying a house to live in, but buy to let and being a landlord is a big and complex commitment.

london21

Looks like will invest in Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund and reduce cash to £20k.