Looking for an investment

dont_use_vistaprint

masonic said:

The gilt T4Q could be bought for a guaranteed ~4.6% over 10 years if held to maturity. Selling it before would lead to a better or worse outcome, with the uncertainty reducing to nothing the closer you get. To achieve an extra 1%, without sacrificing more than 1% due to capital risk, you could look to combine with a small measure of high yield corporate bonds, REITs or infrastructure, but I'd question whether it was worth the gamble over the short-medium term.

If there was another spike in inflation in a few years time, would that be a problem for you?

Thanks for this, a spike in inflation would not bother me because I'm fairly inflation proof in my regular spending, what would bother me is it interest rates rose to the point where I could achieve a better return managing a spreadsheet of savings accounts.

already averaging about 4.3%, so 4.6% on its own would not create much appeal although I guess interest rates are gonna drop to around 3 to 3.5 in the next couple of years anyway... but I think I'd rather be on something returning 5 to 6% with a risk of slight under performance than locking in at 4.6 at this point

Rollinghome

masonic said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Look at the larger Investment Trusts, +41.65% over 5 years and quarterly dividends.

A total return of 60% over the last 5 years, which is a 9.6% annualised return, in line with it's long term return, so looks great.

However, one must consider performance over other 5 year periods...

(all charts are performance including reinvested dividends)

To be fair to it, Alliance is a very different trust now, to the one covered by those last two charts.  Back then under Catherine Garrett Cox it was self-managed and essentially a multi-asset affair holding equities, bonds, property, and a disastrous loss-making expedition into operating a retail investment platform called Alliance Trust Savings. It was forever on a 10%+ discount.

Then, following pressure from activist Elliott Advisors, Ms Cox was dethroned, their expensive new office block in Dundee and the Alliance Savings business were sold off, together with the entire portfolio.  A completely new board was appointed. It was then no longer self-managed and from April 2017 Willis Towers Watson in London was appointed to run it on a multi-manager basis using 11 management companies, the majority from the US and Canada. 

So from then on nothing of the old trust has remained. It is an entirely new entity apart from the name Alliance, and even that was changed following the merger with the struggling Witan IT to Alliance Witan. Which would make the most meaningful period for charting from April 2017 onward.

Despite having 11 managers from across the world, or possibly because of it, performance has closely followed a global tracker though performing badly over last year, probably due to being under-weight the mag 7. Now 58% US and over-weight UK and will be interesting to see whether so many US managers are a help or a hindrance.