Gilt Ladder Builder site question

MK62

While the initial intention may be to hold all the gilts in a ladder until maturity, you don't have to.......that flexibility is one of the plus points of gilt ladders.

tigerspill

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81967267#Comment_81967267

For me, (specifically Indexed Linked Gilts) they lock in true value. Totally inflation proof if held to maturity with virtually no risk. Exactly what I want for part of my portfolio - to provide a guaranteed real return.

An alternative might be an Annuity that arguably might provide a better return, but I do want to retain the flexibility of being able to access this money when I want even if I have no plans to do so.

tigerspill

I think maybe "unpopular" was the wrong word - I was really just referring to the vary few daily trades on these.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81969145#Comment_81969145

I wouldn’t trust the LSE’s trade data for bonds and they also trade on ‘dark’ exchanges and over the counter with the market makers (GEMMS).

SnowMan

I find it quite puzzling also that there so few transactions shown for index linked gilts on the LSE (London Stock Exchange) website. I made a purchase of an index linked gilt on Friday through Scottish Widows (iweb) and that transaction is shown on the LSE website as one of only two purchases on that day for that index linked gilt.

I am assuming that the real trading that is going on is between large institutions and Gilt Edged Market Makers (GEMMS) which isn't shown but it still surprises me that there aren't a number of daily purchases being made by retail investors like me.

It does suggest to me that the negotiated trade approach used by Scottish Widows (iweb) is in my interests in getting the best price possible, and not being able to see and accept the price in advance (sometimes mentioned by others as being a bad thing) is part of that.

DRS1

I am probably out of date but I imagined that ILGs were mostly bought by insurers and pension funds to cover certain liabilities (eg index linked annuities/pensions) and as such would be buy and hold investments not something traded on a daily basis.