Newbie to Investing ... Need some advice.

jaqui59

Hi, if someone could give me some advice, it would be hugely appreciated.

I have £45000.00 to invest and have no idea where to put this money to make it work best for me.

I could probably keep this money locked away until retirement in 13 years, and am looking for growth/income. Upon self assessment I seem to arrive under the category called cautious managed.

At the age of 47 I have no pension, as I have never been able to afford one, and as a low earner/tax payer probably won't be able to contribute enough to one to make it worthwhile before I retire .... Or could I ???

I have been contemplating Index Trackers ... Maybe somebody could also pass comment on these.

I think the most important thing for me, is that I fully understand what I might be entering into to give me the confidence to place that money wherever it needs to go, as I am very nervous about making a wrong choice.

Many thanks, and I do hope to hear from somebody

Jacqui

[Deleted User]

Index trackers sound good especially at a time when the markets crashed.

If you want anything more complicated read some good books.

dunstonh

I have been contemplating Index Trackers ... Maybe somebody could also pass comment on these.

Assuming you mean FTSE trackers then these are medium/high risk. Not consistent with your cautious profile.

Blowsy

If you're "Cautious Managed" then you certainly wouldn't want Index trackers as they aren't actively managed so offer little protection in volatile times such as these.

One option could be NS&I Certificates. They're government backed and therefore safe and offer a fixed rate of interest for the 3 or 5 year period (depending on which ones you buy).

Otherwise, with time on your side, you might find unit trusts with a high weighting in fixed interest securities are appropriate.

As ever, contacting an advisor would be best.

Drop me a PM if you have any further Q's.

Aegis

jaqui59 wrote: »

Hi, if someone could give me some advice, it would be hugely appreciated.

I have £45000.00 to invest and have no idea where to put this money to make it work best for me.

I could probably keep this money locked away until retirement in 13 years, and am looking for growth/income. Upon self assessment I seem to arrive under the category called cautious managed.

At the age of 47 I have no pension, as I have never been able to afford one, and as a low earner/tax payer probably won't be able to contribute enough to one to make it worthwhile before I retire .... Or could I ???

As a basic rate taxpayer you could contribute up to your salary into a pension scheme and claim back tax relief of 22% on the amount you invest, effectively increasing your money immediately. The downside of this approach is that this money might be taxed to some degree when you take it out of your pension, while if you stick it in an ISA it will always be tax free. Of course, you're limited to £7200 per year into ISAs as of next year, which means you will have to spend years filling them up. Not a huge issue though. Maybe a combination of the two would suffice?

I have been contemplating Index Trackers ... Maybe somebody could also pass comment on these.

From what I've gathered, index trackers tend to be considered a higher risk category than managed funds in the same sector. If you're a cautious investor this might make your options very limited. You might be better off picking some managed funds specialising in fixed-interest assets and perhaps a couple of equity funds to increase the risk and potential returns slightly.

I think the most important thing for me, is that I fully understand what I might be entering into to give me the confidence to place that money wherever it needs to go, as I am very nervous about making a wrong choice.

While it's great that you want to sort this out for yourself, have you considered going to see an Independent Financial Adviser for some professional advice here? With £45k and no pension, you'd almost certainly be better off with some good advice than you would if you did it alone without having experience in investing.

Try https://www.unbiased.co.uk if you want to find some IFAs near you. Make sure they know their investments and pensions well though!