My S&S diary - investing from February 2026

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81969356#Comment_81969356

I've had no complaints, having excluded Japan in the 2000s and most of the 2010s, but adding it in the late 2010s. A 10 year annualised growth of 9.6% is quite reasonable. Even the 20(ish) year return of 7.2%pa is not terrible.

aroominyork

It's sillier to exclude Japan from a global portfolio than it is brave to include it. I get the feeling an increasing number of people are overweighting Japan at the moment, attracted by the new PM's growth Abenomics (or possibly her drumming skills).

LL_USS

Thanks newbie_John, @csgohan4 , @masonic and @aroominyork
Actually Japan had done very well before I got into the game - though it is more volatile during this time.
All of my area stocks have come back up and the total yield of investments on my Dodl Lifetime ISA account is about +3% but it is still going to be down and up with the conflict still not coming an end in the Middle East yet - nor the tech stocks.
I admit I have learnt to do more trading on T212 over the Easter break - with oil, gold and some stocks that have came down significantly (RMS, GE, ASTS, NOW, CRM). Learning not to forget FX charges and third party fees (french transaction costs). Learning how to use limit orders and adjust them along. Learning what happens with a stock before and after earnings (well, nothing certain). Learning what happens before US market opens (between 2:30pm uk time to 3:00pm) (nothing certain) and how to buy/ sell out of hours. Learning what happens to UK stocks close to 3pm, then close to 4:30 when market closes (crazy movements😅). Learning more about the economic impacts of trading activities…. I am coming out of the process battered and shattered - luckily not broken, so the process has been worth it for the learning. I still have two more stocks to limit order to sell and that's it - now back to my full-time job, and waiting to drip back to my long-term investments with DCA dollar cost averaging approach (and I will remember to space the DCA out more - I did drip in or sell all too fast)

PS: I realised I have not had much luck with Emerging markets index 😂. Bought 64 ishares cores MSCI EM the first bombing in Iran, then kept them all the way in red till 8 Apr selling at almost the same price to get rid of them (at £36.70/share). Then when I wanted to liquidise my LISA further, I sold 141 shares at £37.28, already very happy about it, then sold the last one for £37.84. It came up to £38.63 over the next coupld of days and till high. Oh well. We can't reall time the market. I am learning NOT to look back after a decison has been made.

aroominyork

Your way forward should not be "NOT to look back after a decison has been made" but just to make fewer decisions. Stop trading and just invest.

penners324

Any pension investing? You'll get a bigger pot than a s&s isa

LL_USS

@aroominyork true - the Easter break has finished students are back so I am back to my job now yes 😁. Will just mainly DCA into long-term indexes despite all the volatility at the moment. Last night before bed time I still watched (just watched😎) Tesla soared up at 20:45 before US market closed, then their earning call to see the stock slumped down even more dramatically after 21:45 all the way down down down. Confirmed - the game not for me. A few tech stocks also came down considerably after earnings (NOW down something like 14%), spooking MSFT - down too from $432/share high for the period and on the day, down to about $425 after 20:45, though MSFT earning call is next week, 29 Apr.

@penners324 I have an okay defined benefit pension with the USS (university sector), and have contributed further to a defined contribution pot at the side with USS but I let they manage it for me. I have only dipped my toes into investing for a couple of months, just Lifetime ISA (dodl), Investment account and S&S ISA (trading 212). I am keeping my S&S ISA pot only about 5% (could be up to 10% if I see fit later) of my current pension DC pot to hedge my Lifetime ISA area indexes. I was meant to keep Microsoft as a medium-term investment on Dodl but worried about the uncertainty with tech stocks, so I cashed in half of my MSFT shares on Dodl ISAs yesterday morning 22 April (luckily before it went down after the US market closed). 7.87% profit (after FX charges both ends) on that half between 6 Feb to 22 Apr. Will liquidise the other half of MSFT shares when appropriate, to swap to US SP500 gradually on Dodl. Will NEVER buy US individual company shares especially on Dodl. The FX charge is huge (0.75% vs. 0.15% on T212).

aroominyork

Honestly, I do not think you will stop trading - there are too many caveats in your last post. Students are back so you need to focus on teaching… Tesla's movements at yesterday's bedtime make you think trading is not for you… you will never buy US shares again, although you might if not on Dodl. Anyway, good luck with whatever you do.

LHW99

Hope you plan to have another fund apart from the S&P500 tracker.

It's not a bad index, but you are missing the rest of the World. If the US catches a cold, not every stock exchange will be infected to the same extent.

LL_USS

@aroominyork my plan is no but I still need to buy indexes so still look at other stocks.

@LHW99 as in other posts I have already bought stocks for other areas but not the US as I thought it was too high valuation. Waiting to drip in.

LL_USS

Warnings like these are everywhere now:

Stock market crash fears soar as Bank of England boss issues dire warning

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75kp1y43lgo

I might miss out the top of the market still ongoing a bit more but it's better to feel I can preserve the capital. Sold anything that has made money now holding about 60% of my Lifetime ISA pot in cash. I wondered if I had been happy just dripping into area indexes and not done anything else - had the geo-political environment not gone choppy right after I entered the market at the highest point….