Single fund portfolio

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Andymac1987
Andymac1987 Posts: 17 Forumite
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in Savings & investments
Dear Esteemed investors

I have been tasked by my dear mother with setting up her S&S ISA. To keep things simple I was considering a VLS60 fund, but is it not sensible to have a portfolio containing one fund? It just feels like I'm not being as diverse as I should to reduce her risk exposure.

Would it make sense to have 50% in a similar multi-asset fund?

Many thanks

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  • bostonerimus
    bostonerimus Posts: 5,617 Forumite
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    Have a look at the the funds that make up VLS60 and see if you can answer your own question. See here

    https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investments/vanguard-lifestrategy-60-equity-fund-accumulation-shares/portfolio-data?intcmpgn=blendedlifestrategy_lifestrategy60equityfund_fund_link
    “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,051 Forumite
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    Vanguard's Lifestrategy is already a very diverse fund and depending upon the sums involved is quite suitable as a single holding. Adding another multi asset fund doesn't really achieve much apart from massive duplication and messing with the allocations. What does your mother want her investment to achieve? Long term growth, income, something else?
  • BLB53
    BLB53 Posts: 1,583 Forumite
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    I hold the VLS 60 fund in my portfolio and believe it could easily be a one fund solution for those wishing to keep things simple. It has certainly held its own against some of my other holdings over the past 3 years.

    I also hold the HSBC Global Strategy fund which has a slightly different mix of assets but the returns are almost identical so you could have a look at that for a two-fund portfolio.

    You may be interested in this article on the DIY Investor site
    http://diyinvestoruk.blogspot.com/2015/04/vanguard-lifestrategy-one-stop-solution.html
  • Andymac1987
    Andymac1987 Posts: 17 Forumite
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    Thank you guys that's been very helpful. I suppose, as has already been mentioned, as it contains 17 funds it is already diverse, in fact more so than my own portfolio! I'll go with that.

    Mother is looking at long term growth but isn't willing to accept a large amount of risk, so I felt that 60% equity sounded appropriate.
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,051 Forumite
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    It's made up of 10 separate trackers, the global bond has over 10,000 holdings and the US equity portion well over 3,000 companies. It's pretty diverse
  • bostonerimus
    bostonerimus Posts: 5,617 Forumite
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    Andymac1987 wrote: »
    Mother is looking at long term growth but isn't willing to accept a large amount of risk, so I felt that 60% equity sounded appropriate.

    In a 20% equity correction VLS60 could lose 12% of it's value. VLS60 is going to have downs as well as ups so be prepared for them.
    “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
  • OldMusicGuy
    OldMusicGuy Posts: 1,758 Forumite
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    You might want to consider VLS 40 or even 20 for lower risk and volatility if you don't want a lot of growth. Vanguard produces some good materials that show the relative performance and investment strategy of all their VLS funds, I suggest you take a look at those. They helped me choose the VLS fund which is the core of my holding.
  • dboswell
    dboswell Posts: 309 Forumite
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    Is there any innate risk if Vanguard or similar providers goes bust to the OPs money?
  • Audaxer
    Audaxer Posts: 3,508 Forumite
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    I would say if under £50k okay to have all in the one multi asset fund. If much over that amount I would split into another fund in a different fund house. That is the amount covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up until April 2019 when it will increase to £85k per platform and fund house.

    In my view HSBC Global Strategy Balanced is a good option for pairing up with VLS60 if you want two multi asset funds.
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    OldMusicGuy wrote: »
    You might want to consider VLS 40 or even 20 for lower risk and volatility if you don't want a lot of growth. Vanguard produces some good materials that show the relative performance and investment strategy of all their VLS funds, I suggest you take a look at those. They helped me choose the VLS fund which is the core of my holding.

    The problem with VLS20 and VLS40 is you end up going too heavy on bonds which carry their own risks especially in current market conditions. For a 'less than VLS60' risk factor you might be better going for VLS60 alongside some cash savings.

    Alex.
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