where to invest 15K 2018

Hi experts,

I have inherited around £20K, problem is, my financial skills are very limited.

Someone told me about zopa . com, but they won’t accept new “investors” as of now...

I do not need the money right now, so I am willing to take risks, anyway, I would invest 70% of it and keep the rest just in case.

I was told inflation will be pretty high this year, and I have the money seating there… I really won’t need it in the near future, where shall/can I invest it?

I have never done any sort of investments, it’s all pretty new to me, any help is much appreciated!:money:

Comments

  • ValiantSon
    ValiantSon Posts: 2,586 Forumite
    chichi1978 wrote: »
    Hi experts,

    I have inherited around £20K, problem is, my financial skills are very limited.

    Someone told me about zopa . com, but they won’t accept new “investors” as of now...

    I do not need the money right now, so I am willing to take risks, anyway, I would invest 70% of it and keep the rest just in case.

    I was told inflation will be pretty high this year, and I have the money seating there… I really won’t need it in the near future, where shall/can I invest it?

    I have never done any sort of investments, it’s all pretty new to me, any help is much appreciated!:money:

    Lots of options and a lot of it comes down to your attitude to risk, length of time you are prepared to stay invested (i.e. not access the money) and willingness/ability to actively manage your investments.

    A fairly straightforward option would be to open a S&S ISA and invest in a multi asset passive fund. If you do this, however, you should be aware that there are some costs involved and really you need to be willing to leave the money for a minimum of ten years. Also, don't panic and sell if there is a downturn in the market as this will just turn a paper loss into an actual one - given time the markets will recover and your investment will too.

    The absolute cheapest option for a multi asset fund (which gives you a widely diversified portfolio - reducing risk - and low cost) would be something like a Vanguard LifeStrategy fund invested through Vanguard's own platform. These funds come in five 'flavours' (20, 40, 60, 80, 100) - each of these numbers refers to the percentage of your investment held in equities, with remaining percentage in bonds. The higher the equity share the higher the risk, but also the greater potential returns. If you bought into one of these through Vanguard's own platform (in an ISA) it would cost you 0.37% of your total investment per annum.

    From what you have said so far, it sounds, however, like you should probably do some research before jumping in, so that you can learn how this all works and more about your own attitude to risk. A good place to start might be http://monevator.com/, but also read around the threads on here, ask more questions, and follow up on other recommended reading.

    For what it is worth, I personally would avoid P2P lending as it is still very unproven, especially in a market downturn. If you did pursue that route then I would suggest only allocating a small amount of your money to begin with.

    In the meantime, put the money in the highest interest paying bank accounts you can find (use the guides on here to help). This will work best if you split the cash between interest paying bank accounts and easy access savings.

    Best wishes.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,139
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    Perhaps open a Nationwide Flexdirect account and a TSB plus current account and set up a same day SO from each to other of £1000 a month.

    This gives you an emergency fund and some interest.

    Pay the interest and whatever you can afford up to £250 a month into Flexclusive monthly saver.

    Consider a stocks and shares ISA with the balance.

    https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/stocks-shares-isa might suit.

    After a year is up, pay the £2500 in the Flexdirect into the ISA (don't forget to cancel the matching SOs) and use the matured Flexclusive saver as your emergency fund - continue to cycle £500 in/out of the TSB account.

    Start a new Flexclusive saver.

    Make a payment into the ISA in the following year...and so on.
  • I really appreciate your replies.



    I add a bit more:



    Risk: low I guess, is my first time investing.

    Length (not access the money): I am ok with five, ten years.

    willingness/ability to actively manage your investments: high willingness but, NULL ability, that’s why I also look for an option that does not require much time for me as I have already a full-time job and a few side gigs…



    I have seen the link: vanguardinvestor. investing-explained/stocks-shares-isa looks good, I would definitely need a little bit of guidance. Is the entire process done online? Don’t they have any offices?





    Ps: Xylophone people is doing that? I thought banks may track the activity and ask explanations for the strange movements…

    Ps2: to make the scene a bit more complicated, I might move at the end of year to Sweden, how does that affect me? I guess I shouldn’t pay taxes here if I move...? in the long run I think I will come back at some point, but I do not know.
  • ValiantSon
    ValiantSon Posts: 2,586 Forumite
    chichi1978 wrote: »
    I really appreciate your replies.



    I add a bit more:



    Risk: low I guess, is my first time investing.

    Length (not access the money): I am ok with five, ten years.

    willingness/ability to actively manage your investments: high willingness but, NULL ability, that’s why I also look for an option that does not require much time for me as I have already a full-time job and a few side gigs…



    I have seen the link: vanguardinvestor. investing-explained/stocks-shares-isa looks good, I would definitely need a little bit of guidance. Is the entire process done online? Don’t they have any offices?[/QUOTE}

    Consider the Vanguard funds.

    It is all online. They do have offices, but not where customers go. This is perfectly normal and nothing to to worry about. Vanguard have been around for over 40 years and currently have $4.5 trillion in assets undr management, so they are a reputable company.


    chichi1978 wrote: »
    Ps: Xylophone people is doing that? I thought banks may track the activity and ask explanations for the strange movements…[?QUOTE}

    Absolutely no problem with doing what Xtlophone suggests. Perfectly within the terms and conditions, and quite common.
    chichi1978 wrote: »
    Ps2: to make the scene a bit more complicated, I might move at the end of year to Sweden, how does that affect me? I guess I shouldn’t pay taxes here if I move...? in the long run I think I will come back at some point, but I do not know.

    While you are resident in the UK you can have an ISA, but when you move to Sweden you can't, so your investments would need to be moved to a general investment account.
  • Eco_Miser
    Eco_Miser Posts: 4,708
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    ValiantSon wrote: »
    While you are resident in the UK you can have an ISA, but when you move to Sweden you can't, so your investments would need to be moved to a general investment account.
    I believe you can retain an existing ISA when you leave the country, but you can't add to it, and other jurisdictions, eg Sweden, won't recognise the tax exemption, and could tax you on the proceeds.
    Eco Miser
    Saving money for well over half a century
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