Following Passive Investing

Bostonerimus1 · 21 April at 12:36PM

Passive investing isn't really about the tracker funds you choose; it's about the asset allocation you choose and that requires some activity and conscious decisions. So decide on an appropriate mix of equities, bonds and cash etc for your circumstances and risk tolerance and then implement it with any of the low cost trackers available from big providers like Vanguard, HSBC, etc. ETF or regular fund doesn't matter much. Use a mainstream platform.

goodValue · 21 April at 12:52PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971830#Comment_81971830

Are the low-cost funds above from the Monevator site not considered to be from big providers?

From reading previous posts on this forum, I didn't get a feel for which platforms are considered mainstream.

Trading 212 seems to be the one mentioned most often.

masonic · 21 April at 1:01PM

There are high cost ETFs and low cost ETFs. Most of the ones mentioned in the article are from major fund houses, but not all. It is also worth paying attention to who is responsible for the index and how it is constructed. There are some non-mainstream indexes that would not necessarily match the performance of mainstream indexes.

The lowest cost option is cash held on the platform. That is likely to be a sub-optimal investment choice.

dunstonh · 21 April at 1:33PM

Though I've read it should be placed very high, other posts seem to downgrade its importance.

It is not the primary importance. Important but others are more important

The order is:

1 - The investment strategy you want to utilise

2 - The investments you wish to use to meet your strategy

3 - The provider or platform and the functionality available to meet your needs

4 - costs.

Get your strategy or the invesmtents wrong then you are talking about many percentage points difference. Far more than a 0.x% difference in costs.

If the platform/provider restricts your choices and forces you into investments you don't want as first choice or has software that causes you grief, then a better option that meets your needs may cost a little more but would be better value for money.

Middle_of_the_Road · 21 April at 1:41PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971830#Comment_81971830

It's not surprising many people are apprehensive when it comes to investing.

There are so many options and variables, and the terminology around the subject can be off putting.

To confidently commit any meaningful amount of cash into the market requires a good understanding of many fundamental concepts.

The usual approaches are to pay for financial advice or commit to learning to do it yourself. Often paralysis leads to doing nothing.

Bostonerimus1 · 21 April at 1:55PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971864#Comment_81971864

The list of funds a page back includes some with various biases ie ex US, emerging markets etc. I would stick to global trackers, and maybe a UK tracker if you wanted some home bias, and a diversified bond fund or just buy a good multi-asset fund like the VLS series from Vanguard. You should do your investing withing tax advantages wrappers like workplace pensions and ISAs. Your starting point should probably be your DC pension and to make sure that is invested appropriately which isn't necessarily the default option.

Bostonerimus1 · 21 April at 1:57PM

The investment industry likes to sell lots of products and many of them are identical. The important things are to keep it simple and invest for the long term.