Fundsmith again.

aroominyork

Fundsmith did well for me after I started DIYing in 2017. In mid 2019, which is as far back as my records go and when I was 100% in equities, 40% of my money was in Fundsmith and Smithson. By five years ago I had sold SSON, starting buying bonds and Fundsmith was 16% of my equities/11% of my portfolio (by then I held Fundsmith Sustainable since I had become a Trustee of a lung health charity and did not want to stare at Philip Morris in the main holdings). I kept gradually reducing and sold my final tranche last summer along with the last of my other actively managed equity funds. Maybe he will rebound but I cannot see myself regretting my decision. My equities are now all index funds aside from a couple of ETFs (AVSG and DEM).

talexuser

Thanks, I went in in 2015, and it was great till about 2022 and then started to look like a global tracker so I slowly strarted to sell out. The last 2 years have been dreadful so glad I've only got a small part left. I did the SSON journey too but again bailed out when performance did not live up to fees. Trackers are a larger part of the whole as I go along, though I still try and find satellites for excitement. I must admit I don't have any bonds,prefer capital preservation trusts, which are now quite large too. When I started investing in Peps I had the preferred % of bonds but decided after a few years they were too boring for the downside protection. Over 40 years in now and the adage that time in the market is paramount has certainly been proved correct.

aroominyork

'Bonds' can mean anything from gilts to high yield corporates, which are so different that a single word to cover both categories is unhelpful. I have a lot of money in corporate bond funds - all actively managed - and mostly for upside gain rather than downside protection. Gains of 50% in three years is not boring to me.

It seems you want to sell your last Fundsmith and pressing the button seems to be the consensus from the straw poll you initiated here. I'm just starting to draw down from my SIPP and realising that tax on investments is unavoidable. As masonic said, hanging on and risking worse returns might not feel great in a year or two.

TBC15

I’m in the same boat as you being a previous Fundsmith believer. Over the next few weeks, I’ll have unloaded the last of my units. I wouldn’t hesitate in showing it the door and pay the 18% CGT 18 months down the way.

Have a look at Blue Whale.

aroominyork

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81965798#Comment_81965798

Blue Whale is very interesting IF you buy at the right time. However, if you don't….

TBC15

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81965884#Comment_81965884

Interesting graph, but

Buy it

1m ago you win

3m ago you win

6m ago you win

1yr ago you win

3ys ago you win

5yrs ago you win

Bostonerimus1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966162#Comment_81966162

Are we talking about Blue Whale or the FTSE Global Index. Is the extra volatility of Blue Whale worth the recent returns? What is the investment philosophy/management style that makes Blue Whale attractive? When will you sell and when will you buy?

aroominyork

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966162#Comment_81966162

Quite right. Except that:

1. If you had bought in November 2021 and sold in the next (nearly) four years you would have lost.
2. You could, until a few years ago, have said the same "you win… you win… you win" about Fundsmith.

DeepSporran

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962743#Comment_81962743

I’m a bit confused about why “lowering the gain“ would be a good thing ? I’d rather have a bigger gain taxed at 24% than a smaller gain, also taxed at 24%.

TBC15

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966232#Comment_81966232

Yes, I see what you say.

I originally bought Blue Whale back in mid-2019 as a companion fund to accompany Fundsmith.

It showed promise a little ahead of Fundsmith for the first couple of years.

In Dec 2023 as Fundsmith went into its coma Blue Whale took off, volatile but still a nice little earner.