Do you have a s&s ISA? Advice please...

[northlundunmum]

Hi - I'm thinking of getting a stocks and shares ISA for the first time but a bit daunted by the thousands of choices of funds you can choose once you have decided on a platform. Just wondered how people generally do it? Once you have chosen a platform do you choose your own funds? If so how do you decide between the 1000s options? Do you switch them round regularly or just pick one (or two?) and stick with them over the long haul? Or is it better to get on a platform like nutmeg that just makes the choices for you? Glad to hear stories of people experience with either approach! Thank you!

Yes you will have to choose your own funds. Best to decide on what you want to invest in, then choose a platform on that basis.

I suggest you start with a Vanguard Lifestrategy fund. You will then have a globally diversified portfolio which is automatically rebalanced for you. All at low cost. That is then the only investment you need.

You will then have to choose your platform, which depends on how much you are investing. Some platforms have a fixed charge, while others will charge a % amount of the Funds that you have.

There is lots of good information on the Monevator website. You could start by watching the videos here: monevator.com/this-former-hedge-fund-manager-reveals-how-you-can-invest-for-life-in-five-quick-videos/

My DH and I have S&S ISAs via Hargreaves Lansdown. We do pick our own funds, go for general ones run by likes of Jupiter, Fidelity, also some diverse funds.

But the biggest piece of advise is - drip feed the money in monthly. That way you 'iron out' the peaks and troughs in the market. So, one month you may buy when low, the next they may be slightly higher, the next higher still, but over the years, those peak and troughs iron out.

We used to put the full annual allowance in at once in early 2000s, sometime into just one fund, most have gone up significantly but we have had fingers burnt with one or 2 that haven't. We now do monthly payments into a number of funds to spread the risk.