# Finally, I have done it. (S&S ISA)



## SpokeyDokey (26 Feb 2021)

After much dithering I have finally opened a ready made S&S ISA (self select) that I can pick and mix going forward.

Not a huge sum but enough to make me concentrate and take it seriously.

Not a big risk as it's money we'll never get to spend (kids inheritance more than likely) but I thought I'd have a dabble and see what happens over the long term.

A J Bell platform. Easy to use and seems cheap enough.

Dropped (ex' initial charge) 0.12% on day 1.


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## All uphill (26 Feb 2021)

Well done!

Best advice I had was:

"Set it and forget it"

I still can't do it. Have to have a little look every day.

Mine has averaged +6% per year over 5 years with loads of ups and downs along the way.


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## Lozz360 (26 Feb 2021)

Good luck. I presume you can select a number of shares to spread your risk? (Edit: I just noticed you mentioned "Pick and mix going forward") Don't worry about the odd drop. 0.12% is almost nothing BTW. The FTSE tends to go up, up, up, down and repeat. Look at it as a long term investment.


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## SpokeyDokey (26 Feb 2021)

All uphill said:


> Well done!
> 
> Best advice I had was:
> 
> ...





Lozz360 said:


> Good luck. I presume you can select a number of shares to spread your risk? (Edit: I just noticed you mentioned "Pick and mix going forward") Don't worry about the odd drop. 0.12% is almost nothing BTW. The FTSE tends to go up, up, up, down and repeat. Look at it as a long term investment.



We have around 8% of our savings/investments in the stock market - the newly opened one is a first attempt at a DIY element. The others are either passive or actively managed by the fund provider.

The one just opened is basically a fund of funds that starts with seven funds selected for you and from then onwards they can be chopped and changed as required. Not proposing to do that very often.

And yes, definitely see them as a forget about option for the long term ride.

We have a fund set up back in 2003 that has grown by a factor of 4 over the intervening years - it is property based (through luck not judgement) and the thinking here is that it is getting a bit toppy.

If the new ISA works out something similar may become its new home. Again, it's not money we are ever likely to need so not critical but it would be nice for it's upward trajectory to continue.


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## vickster (26 Feb 2021)

I hope yours fares better than mine has done over the last few weeks...gone from 10.7% growth to 7.16% ... about a grand less now 
(7.16 isn’t too shabby just annoying!) 
(Vanguard managed fund)

trying to decide whether to stick the remaining 6k of this years ISA allowance in it ...?


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## SpokeyDokey (26 Feb 2021)

vickster said:


> I hope yours fares better than mine has done over the last few weeks...gone from 10.7% growth to 7.16% ... about a grand less now
> (7.16 isn’t too shabby just annoying!)
> (Vanguard managed fund)
> 
> trying to decide whether to stick the remaining 6k of this years ISA allowance in it ...?



Good result so far for you. 

I'd go for it tbh.

Decisions, decisions...


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## vickster (26 Feb 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Good result so far for you.
> 
> I'd go for it tbh.
> 
> Decisions, decisions...


Just waiting on estimate for extension


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## vickster (3 Mar 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Good result so far for you.
> 
> I'd go for it tbh.
> 
> Decisions, decisions...


Done, decided to stick the rest in Vanguard, will decide how to split by risk when it clears.
Value looks to be creeping up again


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## Rusty Nails (3 Mar 2021)

vickster said:


> I hope yours fares better than mine has done over the last few weeks...*gone from 10.7% growth to 7.16% ... about a grand less now *
> (7.16 isn’t too shabby just annoying!)
> (Vanguard managed fund)
> 
> trying to decide whether to stick the remaining 6k of this years ISA allowance in it ...?



This is why I only look at my investments every six months or so. If I haven't cashed it I haven't lost or gained anything.


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## vickster (3 Mar 2021)

Rusty Nails said:


> This is why I only look at my investments every six months or so. If I haven't cashed it I haven't lost or gained anything.


True but gives me something to do of an evening


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## Rusty Nails (3 Mar 2021)

vickster said:


> True but gives me something to do of an evening



I learned my lesson on that years ago when I got very worried at "losing" almost £20k overnight. Within less than a year it had all come back.

I pay for financial advice because I cba to go through the hassle of keeping myself updated on financial issues and changing my investments, which literally bores me to sleep. I just get updates when they plan to change the investment mix.


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## vickster (3 Mar 2021)

I did panic last March and cash in my shares isa at the worst time. I had too much in there and thought I’d pull it and regroup. Probably should have left it! Doh


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## Chap sur le velo (5 Mar 2021)

Well done that (wo?)man!

For those who are dithering about opening an ISA/SIPP on line, I've found it IS as EASY as they say. 45mins to an hour ticking boxes and entering personal details. 

For some reason in the early 2000's when I did have spare dosh, I always meant to but never did start one. If I'd put in £20k a year then for say 5 years in world stock markets it would have dropped a bomb in 2008 but soared since. Need to think medium/long term. Quite likely worth £250k today. As I say I have no idea why I never spent an hour or so on this then, as I did do a lot of other wise things.... Possibly because it was new and unknown to me. 

So if you are one of those who's meant to do it for some time I'd urge you to do in before April this year and keep up the annual habit. Doesn't have to be a great deal just get invested in the market and leave it there. If I've convinced one person then I've done a good thing today. 

End of lesson in "the bleedin' obvious".


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## iluvmybike (8 Mar 2021)

I've been investing in S&S ISAs for 30 yrs now. My word of advice is not to panic if there is a drop in the markets and sell everything off - thereby lies pain. It is best to let things ride and be in it for the long haul. Don't expect massive gains - it takes time. I just set all mine to re-invest any profits every year and it is amazing how it accumulates.I have gone through various recessions, the 90s dot.com bubble, the 2009 crash, the 2016 big drop - it gets a bit concerning at times but be bold and you will win out. Good luck


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## Drago (15 Mar 2021)

Please keep us update with the progress Spokey. Ive a not insignificant sum swilling about and had looked at thisnsort of thing over recent weeks, but the returns seemed so minor it hardly seemed worth the effort. If you can make it work then that might spur me one a bit.


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## PeteXXX (15 Mar 2021)

I've seen several mentions of AJ Bell on here. 
How do you all select which stocks to invest in or do you leave it to the 'experts'?


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## sheddy (15 Mar 2021)

Not sure, but look at AJBell reviews on the Boring Money website.


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## Eric Olthwaite (15 Mar 2021)

Drago said:


> Please keep us update with the progress Spokey. Ive a not insignificant sum swilling about and had looked at thisnsort of thing over recent weeks, but the returns seemed so minor it hardly seemed worth the effort. If you can make it work then that might spur me one a bit.



When you say "the returns seemed so minor" are you referring to a Cash ISA or a Shares ISA? Returns are on average far better on the latter than on a savings account - but of course that comes with volatility, which not everyone wants.


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## mikeIow (15 Mar 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> We have around 8% of our savings/investments in the stock market - the newly opened one is a first attempt at a DIY element. The others are either passive or actively managed by the fund provider.
> 
> The one just opened is basically a fund of funds that starts with seven funds selected for you and from then onwards they can be chopped and changed as required. Not proposing to do that very often.
> 
> ...



Just curious: you mention property, but only 8% in the stock market sounds very low to me: where is the 
Cash savings accounts? a sure fire way to lose buying power over anything more than short term! I speak through the experience of us being daft enough to to lock into some cash ISAs a few years back....a lot of stock market growth missed out there, even bearing in mind the wild last 12 months.

Now at the point of stepping away from the day job: my main advice to the younger me would have been to have made more of S&S ISAs 20+ years ago. Gives a certain flexibility to access.

My other advice to people would be to take an interest in this stuff. Failure to plan is planning to fail 
Sure, many ‘outsource’ their long term finances to advisors. If so, please be sure they are Independent, if you do that, & I personally have great cynicism for any company with “wealth management” in their name....always feels like it is their wealth they are managing. Remember that their fees will be taken _regardless_ of how well your money grows (or shrinks!).
Whilst I realise not everyone has time or interest in finance, I still maintain that you will never have anyone as vested in your financial well-being as yourself.
There is a wealth of information available nowadays compared to even 20 years ago. Peruse MoneySavingExpert forums....browse MrMoneyMustache, hop onto the Finance sub forum at Pistonheads....ask questions.....

As to what to invest in: a decent starting point would be “the World at the lowest cost”.
Have a browse at the videos by Lars here for some wise words

For basic stuff, Vanguard LifeStrategy are decent, very low cost if you do them direct. Our offspring have LS100 running along. I suspect their future selves will thank me for helping encourage it (I view our regular donations as them getting inheritance money early)


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## Drago (16 Mar 2021)

Eric Olthwaite said:


> When you say "the returns seemed so minor" are you referring to a Cash ISA or a Shares ISA? Returns are on average far better on the latter than on a savings account - but of course that comes with volatility, which not everyone wants.


The latter.


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## SpokeyDokey (18 Mar 2021)

Drago said:


> Please keep us update with the progress Spokey. Ive a not insignificant sum swilling about and had looked at thisnsort of thing over recent weeks, but the returns seemed so minor it hardly seemed worth the effort. If you can make it work then that might spur me one a bit.



I will do my best @Drago 

In around 3 weeks it has risen approx' 2.1% or around £440.

Really it's too short a time period to get excited about and obviously it will bounce around as these things do.

I am encouraged that the US economy (like the UK economy) is also now predicted to grow rapidly in the near future as some of the underlying holdings are US.

Very easy platform (A J Bell) to set up - won't take you long if you fancy it. PM me if you go for it and need any help setting it up.

Nice App' too - open and use your fingerprint on your phone to get an instant update.


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## SpokeyDokey (18 Mar 2021)

mikeIow said:


> Just curious: you mention property, but only 8% in the stock market sounds very low to me: where is the
> Cash savings accounts? a sure fire way to lose buying power over anything more than short term! I speak through the experience of us being daft enough to to lock into some cash ISAs a few years back....a lot of stock market growth missed out there, even bearing in mind the wild last 12 months.
> 
> Now at the point of stepping away from the day job: my main advice to the younger me would have been to have made more of S&S ISAs 20+ years ago. Gives a certain flexibility to access.
> ...



You make some good points.

The reason the stock market investments are so low is that I am ultra-cautious! Probably too cautious if I'm to be totally honest.

We have a Vanguard LS80 plus two private pensions that are the stock market element.

The rest of our savings are in Cash ISA's and Fixed Rate Bonds - these used to return a very good income but, as you know, are pretty poor value these days. We currently average a (slowly declining) 2.11% across the board with them. Some are locked at 3 -7 years which I am comfortable with re lack of instant access.

We also have some business investments that we are in the process of unwinding after serving us very well. These will need a new home hence the toe in the water S&S ISA project.

Like many people (I guess) I was too busy with work to properly attend to maximising the potential of our finances - sounds a bit feeble retrospectively but hey-ho!

Also when we were first together (my wife and I) we were both newly divorced and had a mortgage to clear that we didn't really want to have hanging over us at that age (thirties/forties) and we initially concentrated our efforts on killing it asap - that was more important than saving and investing then.

Without wishing to be crass I had a high salary by the end of the 90's and into the noughties when I finally called it a day with 'corporate'and my wife was also earning well and to be blunt we are not strapped for cash and it will not be possible to spend what we have. I guess this position didn't exactly necessitate us to seek the best returns possible especially with my risk adverse nature. Sounds daft writing that down but there you go.

Really the S&S ISA foray is driven by the irritation of the extremely low (artificially so imo) returns that we are currently receiving.

Whatever we make (or even lose although I doubt this long-term) is, in effect, what will one day be the kids money; although they are lousy money managers and I daresay not all of it will be well spent.


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## Chap sur le velo (2 Apr 2021)

Finally got my Daughter to do what I should have done years ago.

Tonight she opened an ISA with Vanguard. It took 20mins. All she needed was her NI number and her bank details. Last year her inheritance from her Maternal Grandparents earned her 24p from the bank. She's very cautious by nature but she has time on her side and agreed to invest in shares. This way profits wil be tax free. (NB be ware that it's highly unlikely that enough profit will be earned in one year to reach Tax levels but long term this is the way).

NB I am NOT a Financial Adviser but she went to Vanguard because Dad told her that Warren Buffet said that's where his wife should put the money he left her as it had the lowest cost for tracking shares. Buffett said go with the US stock market as a sure bet, but wise girl said she'd diversify a bit on the world stock markets. An accumulator fund meant Dividends will be reinvested. Thankfully Vanguard have limited choices so it was easy.

PS I say again I'm NOT qualified to give advice I'm just passing on what my daughter decided today. Other excellent providers are mentioned above.

Good luck.


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## vickster (2 Apr 2021)

My vanguard ISA is running at around 9% again (I have low and medium risk options)


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## SpokeyDokey (3 Apr 2021)

@Drago

Vanguard Life Strategy 80 - 5 weeks return on £20k / 2.75% / £550

A J Bell Ready Made - 5 weeks return on £20k / 3.08% / £616

***

Since opening these have done well so far although we realise that these investments will bounce around over the years and that they are a long-term investment. Ergo we are not exactly mega-excited more like encouraged.

Over the course of the next year we will, subject to performance and holding our nerve (!) we have decided to increase our exposure to 20% of our total non-property assets in these S&S ISA's - this will be a big step for us.

The ball is rolling with Vanguard we now have a monthly drip set up.

And with A J Bell we will start the ball rolling re further investments with 3 increases to current funds (7 in total) in the Portfolio and by adding a US biased fund in the light of current Stateside optimism re economic growth post-pandemic. We'll be doing this next week.

***

I am not an IFA and your money may be at risk!

***

Have you set anything up yourself yet?


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## SpokeyDokey (3 Apr 2021)

PeteXXX said:


> I've seen several mentions of AJ Bell on here.
> How do you all select which stocks to invest in or do you leave it to the 'experts'?



We selected a *ready made* Stocks & Shares ISA portfolio based on our risk profile (fairly adventurous) that contained 7 underlying funds.

You can then add cash to your a/c and it will be automatically be distributed across the underlying funds according to the original proportions upon opening (as determined by A J Bell) *or* you can apportion it as you wish to each fund.

You can also add funds or bin funds ie buy or sell. There is plenty of fund advice on the site plus it is easy to find fund advice online too.

Much easier than it may sound.

I also like the ease of account access too on Mobile - just open the App and use your biometric of choice to open the a/c.


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## dodgy (3 Apr 2021)

vickster said:


> I did panic last March and cash in my shares isa at the worst time. I had too much in there and thought I’d pull it and regroup. Probably should have left it! Doh



I was panicking a bit last March also, I was weighing things up and knew that if I did pull out of equities, it would be really hard psychologically to go back in again in such a turbulent market. 2 days before NYC called a state of emergency and Italy was in a VERY bad way, I moved my entire fund into cash. Then about 3 weeks later put it back into equities (this was a VERY hard thing to do as I knew I wasn't going to sleep well for a while). 
I was lucky, *very lucky* and I do not recommend what I did to anyone. I did sleep better while my fund was in cash, but I did summon the courage to re-invest in what was a very scary time - who knew how bad it was going to get?

All told my pension fund is about 2% higher than it would have been had I just left it (I know this as my wife's fund is with the same company so I was able to use hers as a control). Would I do it again? Nope, leave it be. If I had not been so lucky (being careful with my language here - I DID NOT TIME THE MARKET, it was luck) it could have lost a lot more than 2% through missed opportunities as the markets recovered.


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## PeteXXX (3 Apr 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> We selected a *ready made* Stocks & Shares ISA portfolio based on our risk profile (fairly adventurous) that contained 7 underlying funds.
> 
> You can then add cash to your a/c and it will be automatically be distributed across the underlying funds according to the original proportions upon opening (as determined by A J Bell) *or* you can apportion it as you wish to each fund.
> 
> ...


Thanks for that. I'll have a proper look over the weekend.


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## Kajjal (6 Apr 2021)

dodgy said:


> I was panicking a bit last March also, I was weighing things up and knew that if I did pull out of equities, it would be really hard psychologically to go back in again in such a turbulent market. 2 days before NYC called a state of emergency and Italy was in a VERY bad way, I moved my entire fund into cash. Then about 3 weeks later put it back into equities (this was a VERY hard thing to do as I knew I wasn't going to sleep well for a while).
> I was lucky, *very lucky* and I do not recommend what I did to anyone. I did sleep better while my fund was in cash, but I did summon the courage to re-invest in what was a very scary time - who knew how bad it was going to get?
> 
> All told my pension fund is about 2% higher than it would have been had I just left it (I know this as my wife's fund is with the same company so I was able to use hers as a control). Would I do it again? Nope, leave it be. If I had not been so lucky (being careful with my language here - I DID NOT TIME THE MARKET, it was luck) it could have lost a lot more than 2% through missed opportunities as the markets recovered.


This is a very difficult decision for anyone with so much invested and not used to making this type of decision. A very honest description of the situation most face in any investment where capital is at risk.


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## dodgy (6 Apr 2021)

Kajjal said:


> This is a very difficult decision for anyone with so much invested and not used to making this type of decision. A very honest description of the situation most face in any investment where capital is at risk.



Being so close to retirement I had quite a lot at risk, I knew the minimum sum I needed and that was the figure I didn't want to drop below, so that's why I did it. Still highly not recommended (both from a risk POV and health!)


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## Arrowfoot (6 Apr 2021)

vickster said:


> I hope yours fares better than mine has done over the last few weeks...gone from 10.7% growth to 7.16% ... about a grand less now
> (7.16 isn’t too shabby just annoying!)
> (Vanguard managed fund)
> 
> trying to decide whether to stick the remaining 6k of this years ISA allowance in it ...?


Not only are you good with bike selections, fund managers as well.


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## vickster (16 Apr 2021)

Arrowfoot said:


> Not only are you good with bike selections, fund managers as well.


Indeed, back up to 10.88% growth since account opened about 11 months ago


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## SpokeyDokey (17 Apr 2021)

vickster said:


> Indeed, back up to 10.88% growth since account opened about 11 months ago



Nice one!


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## SkipdiverJohn (2 May 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> After much dithering I have finally opened a ready made S&S ISA (self select) that I can pick and mix going forward.
> 
> Not a huge sum but enough to make me concentrate and take it seriously.



You won't regret it long term so long as you have the balls not to panic sell at a loss when the markets periodically tank due to some major happening around the globe. Equities are naturally volatile, and it's both a blessing and a curse. The latter because if you've got a big portfolio you might see tens of thousands of pounds wiped off your net wealth in just a few hours due to some bit of bad news somewhere. A blessing because that same volatility can allow you to make serious money if you get your timing right (or are just lucky).
If you're going to be an active investor, rather than just go for an index tracker, you need strong self belief in your buying rationale if you take the out of favour value approach. I bought a good few thousand shares in both Royal Mail and Glencore mining when they were being battered. Most people I work with thought I was out of my mind. They've virtually tripled in value and I've sold most of the RMG since I think over a fiver a share is toppy and the div yield not that great. The proceeds went into LGEN, AV and DLG for the div yield. I've held on to the GLEN though as I expect post-virus commodities demand to rise and so the stock price and dividend.


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## cosmicbike (11 May 2021)

Thanks to this thread I've finally pulled my finger out too, having a dabble with AJ Bell with my birthday money.


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## SpokeyDokey (11 May 2021)

cosmicbike said:


> Thanks to this thread I've finally pulled my finger out too, having a dabble with AJ Bell with my birthday money.



Hi Cossie.

Nice easy platform to use - once set up download the app' and you can view your account v.fast esp' if you have biometrics set up on your phone .

Good luck!


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## SpokeyDokey (13 May 2021)

Oh dear.

US wibble-wobble re inflation spooks global financial lemmings and we are back down to 2.57% growth since Feb 27.

Just chucked another chunk of hard-earned in Vanguard's direction today as it seemed timely - will probably drop further tomorrow.


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## vickster (13 May 2021)

Yep my Vanguard has dropped from 10.5% growth last week to about 8% yesterday...
and nothing on the PBs this month!


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## SpokeyDokey (13 May 2021)

vickster said:


> Yep my Vanguard has dropped from 10.5% growth last week to about 8% yesterday...
> and nothing on the PBs this month!



Ditto re PB's - bit of a dead loss so far.


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## vickster (13 May 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Ditto re PB's - bit of a dead loss so far.


At least there’s no risk


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## cosmicbike (13 May 2021)

vickster said:


> Yep my Vanguard has dropped from 10.5% growth last week to about 8% yesterday...
> and nothing on the PBs this month!



I managed £75 on the PBs this month, tend to average about £600 a year so far.


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## vickster (13 May 2021)

cosmicbike said:


> I managed £75 on the PBs this month, tend to average about £600 a year so far.


I had £75 last month. I've not actually figured out returns, but the levels have been decreased due to shocking interest rates on savings


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## alicat (13 May 2021)

vickster said:


> At least there’s no risk



At the risk of straying from the thread, there is inflation risk. The £8 of premium bonds in my name since I was a baby in 1960 are still worth...£8.


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## vickster (13 May 2021)

I guess, but I'll still have 50k, similarly with a cash ISA but returns are what 0.1% now, max 1% if bury the money for a few years. S&S should grow by more, but there's a risk they won't or indeed will fall. Mine dropped by about £20k in a week last year (wiping out several years of growth)!

Clearly anyone can do whatever they want with any savings ultimately (or indeed nothing)


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## Jenkins (13 May 2021)

Thanks to the various recommendations on this thread & other similar ones, I've also gone for longer term S&S ISA investment for the first time. 

In the past I've been very 'safe' on investments, slowly building up to the maximim holding in Premium Bonds which I'll keep as easily convertible into cash with the occasional bit of prize money for trivial spending. I've also only ever gone for the one year savings bonds and got lucky last year when the rate dropped by 0.5% the day after I took one out. 

Having had a look around and, with the best bond rate being only 0.6% for one year, I've decided to take the risk & put the full £20,000 allowance into a S&S ISA with Vanguard, but true to my cautious nature it's been split with £10k each in a 40/60 & a 60/40 shares/bonds fund. I'm not planning to touch this for about 5 years other than to possibly add to it each year, with the aim of having a bit of an extra lump sum paying out part way though my planned early retirement.


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## SkipdiverJohn (14 May 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Oh dear.
> 
> US wibble-wobble re inflation spooks global financial lemmings and we are back down to 2.57% growth since Feb 27.



Volatility can be your friend, if you invest actively in particular. Quite often you will get runs of several trading days where the market falls a little each day. Over a week, the market might fall by say 3 or 4%. Then sentiment will change and you'll get another mini-run of rising prices which recovers the previous falls. If you can buy in close to the bottom of each mini cycle, especially into those individual stocks that fell the most, you can often harvest a nice little gain when they start rising again. Even if you don't actively trade shares, obviously the dips are the most profitable time to buy - which is why I don't auto-reinvest my dividends because the reinvestment purchases might be made on a rising market day. I always try to buy into a falling market to benefit from the next bounceback. 
If you aren't interested enough to actively invest, then just use an index tracker, auto-reinvest your income, and forget about it. Either strategy is better than dismal cash interest returns.


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## SpokeyDokey (14 May 2021)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> Volatility can be your friend, if you invest actively in particular. Quite often you will get runs of several trading days where the market falls a little each day. Over a week, the market might fall by say 3 or 4%. Then sentiment will change and you'll get another mini-run of rising prices which recovers the previous falls. If you can buy in close to the bottom of each mini cycle, especially into those individual stocks that fell the most, you can often harvest a nice little gain when they start rising again. Even if you don't actively trade shares, obviously the dips are the most profitable time to buy - which is why I don't auto-reinvest my dividends because the reinvestment purchases might be made on a rising market day. I always try to buy into a falling market to benefit from the next bounceback.
> If you aren't interested enough to actively invest, then just use an index tracker, auto-reinvest your income, and forget about it. Either strategy is better than dismal cash interest returns.



Yes. Agree with all you say. Although I do reinvest as currently CBA to monitor things that closely.

I'm aware of the volatility potential benefits and yesterday pushed a chunk of cash in the direction of the two S&S ISA'S we set up back in Feb. Only problem is that the buy mechanic is somewhat slow - grrrrr!

Not confident enough to deal directly in shares - this may change in the future when I get more used to participating in a fund. Everything else we have is passive on our part.

Our big challenge comes back end of next year as we have two fixed rate Isa's expiring (both around 2.5%) and these will need re homing via transfer. Slightly scary as they are large numbers but there seems to be no choice but to switch them to S&S Isa's. So, hopefully, this 'test' year for us will prove to be a posited experience.


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## SkipdiverJohn (16 May 2021)

The bulk of my ISA holding is invested for a decent dividend yield. Obviously the virus has upset the applecart over the last year, but in normal times I aim for a yield of around 5-6% overall and don't obsess too much about capital growth. This means leaving a lot of my holding in "boring" old economy stuff; energy utilities, telecoms, well established pharma, insurance, brewing, gambling, tobacco, oil etc. Most of those don't set the world on fire with spectacular price gains but they do bring in decent dividends. Oil stocks can be both quite volatile and also offer a good income, so are a special case to keep an eye on and pay attention to world events, like the shoot going on in Israel with Hamas rockets.
I'm a fan of Investment Trusts and have an increasing proportion of my ISA invested in these. I do look into the underlying composition though to see what they hold and the sort of income yields they are generating. For examply CTY yields more than 4.5% and has increased it's dividend every year for over 50 consecutive years irrespective of whether the wider economy was booming or busting. Some Investment Trusts can be bought at a discount to their underlying NAV (although CTY normally trades at a slight premium because it's considered so reliable), which offers further potential gains.
There are plenty of ways you can easily better a 2.5% fixed rate cash return in equities without taking undue amounts of risk. Just be boring and shun the shiny tech sector which, IMHO, is overpriced and under-delivers in terms of income generation.


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## mikeIow (16 May 2021)

Surely it’s a bit of a contradiction to be talking about investing in “boring old economy” stuff to bring in solid dividends, but also to suggest (previously) that “Volatility can be your friend, if you invest actively in particular” 🤔

Investing actively is bordering on day-trading, which I would suggest is crazy for the “Average Joe”. 
Good for you if you have the time, knowledge, skills and access to systems to allow fast moves to take advantage, but that isn’t a way for the vast majority to behave.

Investing is quite different to that. 

I’m afraid I would disagree with your last comment about shunning the tech sector. 
Having worked in it for 30 years, I would say it certainly was THE place to invest: my US funds have far, far outstripped my other ones for the past decade. 
Sure, there has been a recent dip, but my amateur prediction (no magic crystal balls here!) is that it will very much come back. The world is changing at an incredible rate now, and tech is driving that change, and will continue to do so.

Eggs and baskets, of course: we have a decent chunk of our ‘wealth’ in US tech-based funds, but a bigger chunk spread elsewhere to lower the volatility. Heck, we even have premium bonds loaded up: a broadly rubbish ”investment”, but a safe place for easily accessible cash.
For beginners to this stuff, take time to have a free listen to Lars Kroijer, he speaks a lot of sense. IMHO: others are of course welcome to disagree!


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## SkipdiverJohn (16 May 2021)

mikeIow said:


> Surely it’s a bit of a contradiction to be talking about investing in “boring old economy” stuff to bring in solid dividends, but also to suggest (previously) that “Volatility can be your friend, if you invest actively in particular” 🤔



Yes and no. I do a bit of both. I have a significant ISA sum invested now and the majority of it is just left alone to generate me reliable dividend income. I am not doing day trading or churning over a significant amount of my holdings all the time.
At the same time, I am always looking for market movements and individual stock movements, for value buying opportunities. That's why I hold my dividend income as cash in the short term, not auto-reinvest it. If the whole market falls back and certain stocks that I previously considered fully priced suddenly become more attractive, I may top up my long-term existing holdings in that stock. Alternatively I might also buy an additional stock I don't necessarily intend to keep for years and years simply because I think it is oversold on negative sentiment and will recover strongly in due course. Such trades will usually be several thousand pounds a time, but not megabucks. If I get a good result and one of my "value" buys rebounds strongly I will typically sell half of it for around twice what I paid for it but retain the other half for diversification.
A lot of tech valuations are based on future expectations, not actual current real cash generation. It's like buying an empty jam jar on the promise the company is going to fiill it with jam for you some years down the line. Tech is also at risk of being derailed by disruptors who could turn the economics of a certain business model on it's head. The old economy might be boring but it's reliable and it generates real cash selling proven products which are going to remain in demand for the foreseeable future.
We've already had a massive tech bubble burst 20 years ago and plenty got their fingers burned. Investors who believe it's a one-way bet don't believe another crash can happen - until it does. There is no way I'm putting my cash into anything with crazy P/E ratios that don't actually pay out any income. Some, like Uber for example, will probably never turn a profit, but just spend years burning through their investors cash then going pop and getting bought out at a few cents on the dollar by a vulture fund.


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## SpokeyDokey (16 May 2021)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> The bulk of my ISA holding is invested for a decent dividend yield. Obviously the virus has upset the applecart over the last year, but in normal times I aim for a yield of around 5-6% overall and don't obsess too much about capital growth. This means leaving a lot of my holding in "boring" old economy stuff; energy utilities, telecoms, well established pharma, insurance, brewing, gambling, tobacco, oil etc. Most of those don't set the world on fire with spectacular price gains but they do bring in decent dividends. Oil stocks can be both quite volatile and also offer a good income, so are a special case to keep an eye on and pay attention to world events, like the shoot going on in Israel with Hamas rockets.
> I'm a fan of Investment Trusts and have an increasing proportion of my ISA invested in these. I do look into the underlying composition though to see what they hold and the sort of income yields they are generating. For examply CTY yields more than 4.5% and has increased it's dividend every year for over 50 consecutive years irrespective of whether the wider economy was booming or busting. Some Investment Trusts can be bought at a discount to their underlying NAV (although CTY normally trades at a slight premium because it's considered so reliable), which offers further potential gains.
> There are plenty of ways you can easily better a 2.5% fixed rate cash return in equities without taking undue amounts of risk. Just be boring and shun the shiny tech sector which, IMHO, is overpriced and under-delivers in terms of income generation.



Okay, thanks for that. 

I have started researching these this morning and access to CTY can be made via our AJ Bell a/c. 

I presume we can set these up within this year's ISA allowances if we decide to proceed. 

Possibly a dumb question but can you transfer from existing cash Isa's into the Trust?


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## Bazzer (16 May 2021)

Well, the investment manager of my unit trusts has earned his crust this last 6 months. The investment statement came through yesterday showing a 35% increase in capital during that time.
I shall be interested to see what Mrs B's shows as her's is with a different firm and one of the ethical funds.


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## SkipdiverJohn (16 May 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Possibly a dumb question but can you transfer from existing cash Isa's into the Trust?



The normal way is to simply transfer an existing cash ISA into a stocks & shares ISA initially in the form of cash. Then you can add up to £20k new money in this tax year on top. Obviously this cash doesn't bring in any income so is only a stopgap measure. Once you have a functional stocks & shares ISA set up with your pool of cash in it, you are then free to invest in any traded investments on the market. I now have about 45 different FTSE shares, the majority are individual companies but a few are investment Trusts, which of course are holding entities.
Many of my individual holdings do overlap with those held by my trusts, but some of the Trusts holdings are not shares I own on their own, which means my portfolio is further diversified by the wider spread of investments held by the trusts. The overall net result is a halfway house between pure self-selection of indvidual shares, and a hands-off tracker fund approach. How hands-on or hands-off you are will depend partly on your approach to risk and partly on the amount of tme you are willing to spend actually buying and selling. I don't have a cavalier attitude and go all-in, but I'm prepared to back up my opinions with cash if I think something is worth a punt. The way I keep the risk manageable is I never do a single individual trade which exceeds a few percent of the total sum invested. As the years have passed by and I have always invested more new money every new tax year, the size of each buy or sell trade relative to the total portfolio is getting steadily smaller. I can't make an absolute killing on just one deal, but a few hundred or a thousand quid profit here and there, all adds up if you do it fairly regularly.
My assets now are in order of size; shares ISA, freehold house, work pension, cash savings, non-ISA shares, other misc stuff like vehicles. The compounding effect of an equities ISA reinvested and topped up yearly over a couple of decades is huge.


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## SpokeyDokey (16 May 2021)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> The normal way is to simply transfer an existing cash ISA into a stocks & shares ISA initially in the form of cash. Then you can add up to £20k new money in this tax year on top. Obviously this cash doesn't bring in any income so is only a stopgap measure. Once you have a functional stocks & shares ISA set up with your pool of cash in it, you are then free to invest in any traded investments on the market. I now have about 45 different FTSE shares, the majority are individual companies but a few are investment Trusts, which of course are holding entities.
> Many of my individual holdings do overlap with those held by my trusts, but some of the Trusts holdings are not shares I own on their own, which means my portfolio is further diversified by the wider spread of investments held by the trusts. The overall net result is a halfway house between pure self-selection of indvidual shares, and a hands-off tracker fund approach. How hands-on or hands-off you are will depend partly on your approach to risk and partly on the amount of tme you are willing to spend actually buying and selling. I don't have a cavalier attitude and go all-in, but I'm prepared to back up my opinions with cash if I think something is worth a punt. The way I keep the risk manageable is I never do a single individual trade which exceeds a few percent of the total sum invested. As the years have passed by and I have always invested more new money every new tax year, the size of each buy or sell trade relative to the total portfolio is getting steadily smaller. I can't make an absolute killing on just one deal, but a few hundred or a thousand quid profit here and there, all adds up if you do it fairly regularly.
> My assets now are in order of size; shares ISA, freehold house, work pension, cash savings, non-ISA shares, other misc stuff like vehicles. The compounding effect of an equities ISA reinvested and topped up yearly over a couple of decades is huge.



Okay, thanks. 

So just the standard process to trans Cash ISA to a Trust. We'll have a cog' and my leaning is that we'll trial it in advance of the bulk of our Isa's and FRB's terminating late 2022 to 2027 and, if interest rates are still miserably low, then Investment Trusts may well be their new home. 

Will give me another thing to 'play' with during retirement if nothing else. 😁

Only issue is that the FRB's lie outside of an ISA wrapper, and there is quite a lot, and that will need some thought.


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## SkipdiverJohn (16 May 2021)

You create a Stocks & Shares ISA, either a new one or by transferring an existing one. Any investment trusts you buy are just another shareholding within the ISA. An Investment Trust is *not* tax-efficient if held outside an ISA, it is just like any other shareholding. A mature FRB can be used to fund your ISA up to the £20k tax year limit. Any excess would have to be invested outside the ISA. You could of course pump some into Premium Bonds up to the £50k holding limit, but they will only yield about 1% PA now as the prizes have been reduced. One good thing about PB's, aside from tax efficiency, is they can easily be liquidated into cash, so you could hold some for a year, then sell £20k worth next year and put the proceeds in an ISA.


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## SpokeyDokey (16 May 2021)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> You create a Stocks & Shares ISA, either a new one or by transferring an existing one. Any investment trusts you buy are just another shareholding within the ISA. An Investment Trust is *not* tax-efficient if held outside an ISA, it is just like any other shareholding. A mature FRB can be used to fund your ISA up to the £20k tax year limit. Any excess would have to be invested outside the ISA. You could of course pump some into Premium Bonds up to the £50k holding limit, but they will only yield about 1% PA now as the prizes have been reduced. One good thing about PB's, aside from tax efficiency, is they can easily be liquidated into cash, so you could hold some for a year, then sell £20k worth next year and put the proceeds in an ISA.



Thanks but I do understand all that. 

One of our problems is that we, despite being retired, generate a fair amount of surplus cash (partly why we have the FRB's in the first place) and when the FRB's reach full term we will have more cash on top of what we already generate and it will swamp our £40k allowance.

We already have a decent chunk in PB's as rapid access money but they are imo a complete waste of time on any other level. 

Nice problems to have I guess.


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## gzoom (22 May 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Thanks but I do understand all that.
> 
> One of our problems is that we, despite being retired, generate a fair amount of surplus cash (partly why we have the FRB's in the first place) and when the FRB's reach full term we will have more cash on top of what we already generate and it will swamp our £40k allowance.
> 
> ...



Sounds like a very nice problem to have 

What's the aim with all the 'investments', any plans to spend the lot on something more interesting than numbers in a bank account?

Cash ISA are pointless now, we are using our entire pot up on a house refurbishment once they come out of the locked deal, but we are about 25 years+ to retirement so in a different part of life.

My parents are in a similar situation to you, they still generate far more income per month from various means than they spend........I keep on reminding them in the way nicest way possible regarding the one certainly of life that comes to us all in the end, and the total irrelevance of ££££ at that point.

They have their health, no need to worry about supporting me in any shape or form, yet refuse to spend any ££££ on anything but bare essentials. But what ever makes them happy I guess.


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## SpokeyDokey (23 May 2021)

gzoom said:


> What's the aim with all the 'investments', any plans to spend the lot on something more interesting than numbers in a bank account?



None really apart from protecting them against inflation.

Materially we have all that we want. We have enough coming in and saved to see us out. We are far from mean with our money and have a great life. All that really matters to us is our feelings towards each other, our health and having a blast.


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## CharlesF (1 Jan 2022)

Resurrecting the thread with some questions!

I know a S&S ISA should be for a minimum of 5 years, but, with the abysmal savings rates, is it worth starting a S&S ISA for around £10,000 when there is a possibility that the cash will be needed in 12 months?

Otherwise what is the best interest rate you know of that is fixed for a 12 months or less?

There have been interesting replies previously, so I’m hoping for lots of different options.


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## vickster (1 Jan 2022)

I’d say a decent S&S Isa will likely outperform any savings account (esp if ok with a bit of risk), you won’t get more than 1% on any fixed term.


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## SpokeyDokey (1 Jan 2022)

CharlesF said:


> Resurrecting the thread with some questions!
> 
> I know a S&S ISA should be for a minimum of 5 years, but, with the abysmal savings rates, is it worth starting a S&S ISA for around £10,000 when there is a possibility that the cash will be needed in 12 months?
> 
> ...



Yes.

A J Bell has just returned 9.44% for the year (suggested fund that can be self-amended).

Vanguard Life Strategy 80 has just returned 9.78%.

Started both a year ago.

My expectation (I am not an IFA btw) is that the funds will continue to climb in 2022 as the planet gets to grips with Covid although the increase will not be as much this year but that they will easily out perform any fixed rate ISA's or Bonds.


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## SpokeyDokey (1 Jan 2022)

CharlesF said:


> I’m resurrecting this thread as there are some very interesting posts. I have two questions.
> 
> I view of the abysmal interest rates, is it worth investing in a S&S ISA when you might need to cash in within 12 to 18 months?
> 
> What is the best savings rate, up to 12 months fixed, that you know of?



You've double posted.


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## CharlesF (1 Jan 2022)

SpokeyDokey said:


> You've double posted.


Just noticed that, thought the first one hadn’t gone through, now corrected


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## CharlesF (1 Jan 2022)

Thanks @SpokeyDokey , that’s reassuring.


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## SpokeyDokey (1 Jan 2022)

CharlesF said:


> Thanks @SpokeyDokey , that’s reassuring.



I think the only thing to remember is that these types of investments do bounce around a lot and typically plummet when a major financial calamity occurs either globally or within the sector in which the funds are invested. Over a 5 years+ period these swings tend not to matter.

However, with an investment timeframe of 1 year you could find that some unforseen event causes a dip at eg 11 months and the fund has no time to recover.

If in doubt stick with the best fixed rate return that you can get.


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## DCLane (1 Jan 2022)

This is one of the things I'll be doing shortly ...


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## SkipdiverJohn (3 Jan 2022)

SpokeyDokey said:


> I think the only thing to remember is that these types of investments do bounce around a lot and typically plummet when a major financial calamity occurs either globally or within the sector in which the funds are invested. Over a 5 years+ period these swings tend not to matter.
> 
> However, with an investment timeframe of 1 year you could find that some unforseen event causes a dip at eg 11 months and the fund has no time to recover.
> 
> If in doubt stick with the best fixed rate return that you can get.



This is something to be taken seriously. I have invested in S & S ISA's for years, but on a long timeframe. I'm not bothered if the market plummetted in 11 months, and maybe then flatlined for another year. in fact, i would view it as an opportunity to buy more shares at a cheaper price and potentially make a bigger profit down the line.
However, if I needed to cash out my investment in month 12, because I needed funds for something like a property purchase or other large expenditure, I would be loathe to do so at a loss. Peersonally I would not invest in the stock market over a rigidly fixed 12 month period, because of the volatility risk of being forced to liquidate the investment underwater. Different matter if the financial event I want the funds for is not set in stone and could be delayed if need be, but if the date is not flexible then I would keep the cash on deposit at the best rate I could find with the accessibility I needed.


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## iluvmybike (3 Jan 2022)

Very sensible advice from Skipdiver there. S&S ISA for the long-term approach for sure. Been at this for 30+ years now - you have to hold yuor nerve during the down turn times!


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## Dave7 (4 Jan 2022)

I am by nature a very cautious person so when I/we had a lump to invest I got advice and decided on a low risk one split between Aviva and another. Stuck it in for 5 years and didn't check it again (apart from an annual letter.
5 years later I was well impressed.
High interest/high risk was of no interest as I wanted a comfy sleep every night.


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## SpokeyDokey (4 Jan 2022)

Dave7 said:


> I am by nature a very cautious person so when I/we had a lump to invest I got advice and decided on a low risk one split between Aviva and another. Stuck it in for 5 years and didn't check it again (apart from an annual letter.
> 5 years later I was well impressed.
> High interest/high risk was of no interest as I wanted a comfy sleep every night.


Mrs SD has an Aviva SIPPS which was formerly a Friends Life policy which is based on a commercial property portfolio. 

She invested in it 2000-2003 and it is currently worth a tad over 7 times more than its 2003 price.


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## SpokeyDokey (24 Feb 2022)

Time to hold tight and hang on - rocky ride ahead.


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## All uphill (24 Feb 2022)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Time to hold tight and hang on - rocky ride ahead.


I see it as an opportunity to buy when prices drop.


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## SpokeyDokey (24 Feb 2022)

All uphill said:


> I see it as an opportunity to buy when prices drop.



It is - but it is against the backdrop of such an awful crisis. 😢

I have very conflicted feelings about this.


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## Milkfloat (24 Feb 2022)

I will be buying today, but will hold some cash back to buy more in case he who must not be named keeps heading west and takes out the whole country, in which case I can buy again at a lower price, or use the money to stock up on boiled water and an Anderson shelter.

Edit - I may seem very callous, but my thoughts on the horror of the situation are not posted here, they are on NACA.


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## All uphill (24 Feb 2022)

SpokeyDokey said:


> It is - but it is against the backdrop of such an awful crisis. 😢
> 
> I have very conflicted feelings about this.


I understand that and have thought a lot about it.

My thinking over recent years is not to put money into companies, countries and industries that I don't want to support , but I will buy the shares of ethical quality companies when everyone else is selling.

Doing that in March 2020 gave me a very nice boost to my savings, and I hurt no one.


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## vickster (24 Feb 2022)

I’m not looking at mine! It’s been plummeting for a while now 
I do have some money to invest but I’ll play it safe for now, and stick to savings accounts


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## SkipdiverJohn (26 Feb 2022)

Milkfloat said:


> I will be buying today, but will hold some cash back to buy more in case he who must not be named keeps heading west and takes out the whole country, in which case I can buy again at a lower price, or use the money to stock up on boiled water and an Anderson shelter.



Putin isn't aiming for a full takeover of Ukraine. What he wants control over are the parts of the country with a large pro-Russian population that can be considered friendly. He won't want the rest, and won't expend any military effort on grabbing it.
All the noise about sanctions is empty Western bluster and virtue signalling. Putin knows it and the West knows it. They havent got the balls to really take him on.
The stock market will soon settle back down to normal, like the Russian offensive never happened.


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## iluvmybike (26 Feb 2022)

vickster said:


> I’m not looking at mine! It’s been plummeting for a while now
> I do have some money to invest but I’ll play it safe for now, and stick to savings accounts


Inflation at the rate it currently is at will eat away at your cash savings in chunks. There are plenty of cheap stocks kicking around now for a savvy fund investor to work on - and build a decent portfolio with. You really do have to ride the bumps - and there have been plenty of them over the years but in long term S&S ISAs are way ahead


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## vickster (26 Feb 2022)

iluvmybike said:


> Inflation at the rate it currently is at will eat away at your cash savings in chunks. There are plenty of cheap stocks kicking around now for a savvy fund investor to work on - and build a decent portfolio with. You really do have to ride the bumps - and there have been plenty of them over the years but in long term S&S ISAs are way ahead


i have zero knowledge about such things.
I still work full time so my savings will grow not shrink even with higher bills


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## SkipdiverJohn (26 Feb 2022)

vickster said:


> i have zero knowledge about such things.
> I still work full time so my savings will grow not shrink even with higher bills


 
In real terms, the total buying power of your savings will shrink if you are depositing cash at a sub-RPI interest rate. Your account balance might be growing, but what you can get with each pound is declining.


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## vickster (26 Feb 2022)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> In real terms, the total buying power of your savings will shrink if you are depositing cash at a sub-RPI interest rate. Your account balance might be growing, but what you can get with each pound is declining.


Ah well. I’m in a much better situation than many


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## SpokeyDokey (5 Mar 2022)

Crash, bang, wallop!

Well, last week, and especially yesterday, took the fun out of Stocks & Shares ISA's.

Beans on toast or Pot Noodles for tea tonight; whichever is the cheapest.


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## DCLane (5 Mar 2022)

@SpokeyDokey - I agree. It seems I chose a 'bad' time to invest


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## SpokeyDokey (6 Mar 2022)

DCLane said:


> @SpokeyDokey - I agree. It seems I chose a 'bad' time to invest



They'll be fine long term.


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## vickster (6 Mar 2022)

SpokeyDokey said:


> They'll be fine long term.


Or it won’t actually matter very much if what is happening in Ukraine escalates


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## cosmicbike (11 Mar 2022)

I went from +% to minus almost overnight, but view it as a long term 5 - 10 year investment, so put a bit extra in while they are low. Only time will tell if that was a good idea....


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## SkipdiverJohn (12 Mar 2022)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Crash, bang, wallop!
> 
> Well, last week, and especially yesterday, took the fun out of Stocks & Shares ISA's.



On the contrary, volatility is where you can really make gains. In a flat market wth little price volatility, your existing ISA pot will more or less only grow at the rate of the dividend yield, assuming you reinvest the income of course.
In a volatile market driven by geopolitical events, you might get price swings of 5% over very short timeframes. The price of some individual shares within the market can easily move by 10% or more in response to events. Markets tend to overreact to events and then drift back to pre-event levels relatively quickly. Any new money added or income cash reinvested, whilst the market is getting hammered, is going to quickly turn a profit once things rebound, without even considering the dividend element.
Let's say you put £5k into a share that's been hammered down 10% that normally carries a 5% annual dividend yield. The shares were previously priced £10 each and paid a 50p dividend, now they're £9 . Your dealing cost is say £7 plus the 0.5% stamp duty. £5k gets you 552 shares, and an expected annual dividend income of £276.
If the share merely recovers it's original £10 price within a year and pays the expected dividend, your £5k is now worth £5796 - an annual return of 16% on your investment!


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## SpokeyDokey (12 Mar 2022)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> On the contrary, volatility is where you can really make gains. In a flat market wth little price volatility, your existing ISA pot will more or less only grow at the rate of the dividend yield, assuming you reinvest the income of course.
> In a volatile market driven by geopolitical events, you might get price swings of 5% over very short timeframes. The price of some individual shares within the market can easily move by 10% or more in response to events. Markets tend to overreact to events and then drift back to pre-event levels relatively quickly. Any new money added or income cash reinvested, whilst the market is getting hammered, is going to quickly turn a profit once things rebound, without even considering the dividend element.
> Let's say you put £5k into a share that's been hammered down 10% that normally carries a 5% annual dividend yield. The shares were previously priced £10 each and paid a 50p dividend, now they're £9 . Your dealing cost is say £7 plus the 0.5% stamp duty. £5k gets you 552 shares, and an expected annual dividend income of £276.
> If the share merely recovers it's original £10 price within a year and pays the expected dividend, your £5k is now worth £5796 - an annual return of 16% on your investment!e



I understand what you are saying and it is a good explanation. 

Whilst our 'on paper loss' is of little consequence in the context of our overall personal financial situation, it was more fun watching that part of our assets subject to stock market exposure rising in value as opposed to diminishing! 

Fairly new to this sort of thing (S&S Isa's) and at our stage of life it is not really going to impact us greatly. 

However, I get where you are coming from and there may well be some fun to be had. 

One of the problems as a non-professional investor is reaction times to current market shifts ie our money may well be in the wrong place to take advantage of any fluctuations.

If you have any suggestions they would be welcome.

Our initial thought would be to load up the univested portion (which is currently a whole £10!!!) of our A J Bell Isa a/c so that we can at least strike when ready. 

Our donor fund could be our poorly performing PB's which we are coming to regard as a slow reacting Government *iss take. 

As an aside, our domestic finance director (Mrs SD) informed me a few days back that her quarterly check on our Aviva UK property pension fund indicates that the quarterly rise has negated around 90% of the 'loss' we have recently sustained. 

So, not all bad news. 🙂


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## SkipdiverJohn (12 Mar 2022)

The thing to bear in mind with ISA's is you have an annual limit, so the total available is nominally the £20k allowance plus whatever dividend income the ISA pot generates.
There is also a third possible source of cash; that being to liquidate part of your existing shareholding in the case of stocks that have recently made big gains, then hold the proceeeds as cash ready for the next market dip. I did this with the bulk of my Royal Mail shares, which I had bought relatively low and sold after they had gone up a lot as a result of increased online shopping during lockdown. At the time I sold, the dividend yield was under 3% so I figured I was better off cashing out then using the money to buy something else with either a higher div yield or more potential for share price appreciation - or ideally both!


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## iluvmybike (14 Mar 2022)

You need to actively monitor your funds and be prepared to switch them around if one is underperforming - and best to get a good spread of investments. A lot depends on the fund manager your provider has. You need a prvider who is prepared to change fund managers when they don't perform. It can also take a few years before you see a pattern of growth. Don't put everything in just UK stocks - you need european and US stock as well as some in emerging markets. It gets a bit nervy when world events come along which clatter the market - I've been through various recessions, banking scandals, dotcom bubbles bursting, black Fridays, and now the Covid pandemic and what's happening in Ukraine. You just have to sit tight and ride these things out.
Currently all profits are re-invested in my plan - that way the amount of stock you have increases so when markets pick up you are holding a bigger share. I may well get to a point where I need to take profit as income but not yet...


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## Tom... (15 Mar 2022)

Just catching up on this thread, investing in equities on a 12-month time-frame is a very bad idea, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.


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## vickster (3 May 2022)

vickster said:


> My vanguard ISA is running at around 9% again (I have low and medium risk options)



Good grief…how things can change. As of now, 0.06% increase since May 2020 (and 2 of 3 funds in the red)…peaked at around 16%


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## SpokeyDokey (3 May 2022)

Not quite so bad here as we started ours a bit later than you when the markets had dropped further. 

Both A J Bell & Vanguard a little over +2%.

Things can only get better... 🙂


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## SpokeyDokey (3 May 2022)

Markets jittery due to Australia rate rise by 0.25% (first since 2010) earlier today and more so by expected 0.5% rate rise anticipated at the end of the US Federal Reserve 2 day meeting on Wednesday.


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## cheys03 (3 May 2022)

and the possible 0.25% rise by Bank of England on Thursday..
also, lots of national holidays for various international markets this week means trading levels are lower than normal, in theory


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## SpokeyDokey (3 May 2022)

cheys03 said:


> and the possible 0.25% rise by Bank of England on Thursday..
> also, lots of national holidays for various international markets this week means trading levels are lower than normal, in theory



Yes, I forgot about the BoE meeting on Thursday even though my Google Calendar reminded me a few days back - duh! 😁


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## SpokeyDokey (1 Sep 2022)

Here's a decent site for savings rates etc. Subscribe and get a weekly summary - handy!

https://moneyfacts.co.uk/


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## vickster (2 Sep 2022)

Shares ISA currently a disaster (-5.15% today  )

£75 on the PBs this month


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## DCLane (2 Sep 2022)

vickster said:


> Shares ISA currently a disaster (-5.15% today  )



Ditto. I started mine in January and it's not been in a positive yet. However, it's a £250 monthly contribution that I'll add to and am aiming to leave untouched for at least 8 years, so I can use it to top up pension amounts once I retire. Or at least that's the plan.


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## vickster (2 Sep 2022)

DCLane said:


> Ditto. I started mine in January and it's not been in a positive yet. However, it's a £250 monthly contribution that I'll add to and am aiming to leave untouched for at least 8 years, so I can use it to top up pension amounts once I retire. Or at least that's the plan.



Mine was 15% up at the start of the year


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## SpokeyDokey (2 Sep 2022)

DCLane said:


> Ditto. I started mine in January and it's not been in a positive yet. However, it's a £250 monthly contribution that I'll add to and am aiming to leave untouched for at least 8 years, so I can use it to top up pension amounts once I retire. Or at least that's the plan.



We started two January before last and to be fair they are both just slightly positive albeit well down on the start of this year.

Long term investment though so not really worried.

Still putting money in each month like yourself to take advantage of the lower unit prices whilst the markets are trading a tad down.

Onwards and upwards especially when the very sad war situation comes to an end.


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## Jenkins (2 Sep 2022)

vickster said:


> Shares ISA currently a disaster (-5.15% today  )
> 
> £75 on the PBs this month



I daren't look at how my investment (Vanguard) is performing. I'll just keep paying the quarterly fees and hope that things recover eventually as this is a long term investment for my full retirement.

In the meantime, the occasional contributions from Ernie (£125 this month) and a couple of 1 year fixed rate bonds are just keeping ahead of interest rates (if not inflation)


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## SkipdiverJohn (10 Sep 2022)

I always make my ISA share purchases on an ad-hoc basis rather than doing a fixed monthly contribution and letting the provider do the purchasing, as I want to try to pick low market days on which to buy.


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