Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Investments

Discuss investments with other users on our Investment forum. For more advice read our tips for saving for your child's future.

Stocks & Shares ISA for beginner

58 replies

lovenaturelovelife · 12/12/2024 21:20

I have £250pm that I would like to invest in S&S, i have no idea at this stage- how does thses ISAs work? Opened HL ISA online and was expecting a ready made investment option. I was hoping to pay a fee of £3/£5 and they will invest my money. Now i realise it's very complex to understand investments. How to understand all this?

OP posts:
summer555 · 15/12/2024 08:48

The LGUG tracker contains shares in 473 separate companies across all sectors of the American economy - tech, aerospace, commodities, retail, manufacturing, telecoms, etc. I think it's disingenuous to claim that it lacks diversity. It is certainly tech heavy, but that's because tech companies have become the most valuable. **

Except it's market cap not equal weighted so the 473 isn't particularly relevant. I've just looked it up and the Magnificent Seven account for more than 30% of that tracker. It also lost nearly 20% in 2022 when tech stocks tanked.

Market cap weighted US and global trackers are not currently as well diversified as they were due to the extreme concentration. What might have worked well five or ten years ago doesn't at the moment.

By all means invest some in a U.S. tracker. It's a market where passives nearly always outperform actives due to the concentration of returns in recent years. But there's some great valuation opportunities elsewhere and it's as well to spread the risk and not put all of your eggs in one basket.

On that note, I was burgled the day before yesterday so it's probably a good time to stop banging the drum about building a balanced portfolio. Good luck to the OP, investing is a great way to make inflation beating returns.

lovenaturelovelife · 16/12/2024 12:30

Just looked at my employer share scheme, if i buy shares for £100 it will cost me £72 ( saving of ni and tax) plus i ll get matching shares free .I spent so far £456 in two years and value is now £1200. This is amazing. Ofcourse I won't be touching this for atleast 15/20 years. i have now up the my contribution from £30 to £100.

OP posts:
lovenaturelovelife · 16/12/2024 12:34

also this 456 from last 18 months or so.

OP posts:
HopelesslyOptimistic · 19/12/2024 08:42

IndustrialActionAhoy · 13/12/2024 07:11

Vanguard announced a big change to their fees yesterday ☹️, not great for those with smaller pots.

Yes this disappointing. Are you moving your investment, if so to where. I'm just looking at a switch to Moneyfarm.

ThisOldThang · 19/12/2024 11:46

HopelesslyOptimistic · 19/12/2024 08:42

Yes this disappointing. Are you moving your investment, if so to where. I'm just looking at a switch to Moneyfarm.

Please take a look at iweb.

They have zero platform fees.

https://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/our-accounts/self-select-stocks-and-shares-isa.html

https://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/charges.html

mamabestrong · 28/12/2024 10:52

Pick a global tracker from one of these on the market;
https://pickafund.com/search-investment-funds/365912/low-cost-global-equity-trackers

they are all very diversified so pick one with the lowest ongoing charge.

then invest on the cheapest platform you can fund it on and leave it for as long as you can

YouveGotNoBloodyIdea · 29/12/2024 10:07

Hi @lovenaturelovelife

Coming late to this. But I was an investing newbie 3yrs ago so came onto here for advice as I had an inheritance to invest. I put most of it in secure NS&I bonds but wanted to "have a go" at something a bit riskier.

Someone quoted Warren Buffet - the big US investor- saying that after he died he would arrange that his wealth was invested in an S&P 500 fund for the benefit of his wife. On the basis that if the market was doing well that fund would do well. So that is basically what I did. I used H&L. It was near the end of the tax year, so I was able to spread it over two ISA years.

I put a big chunk into S&P 500, a smaller chunk into an ethical fund and one of their "adventurously managed" funds. All have done well, 17.46% for the ethical and 22% for the adventurously managed. But the S&P is 31.33% up. When my NS&I bond matures I will put another chunk into the ISA in the next tax year.

The returns would obviously be smaller if you were putting a monthly sum in.

CandlesOrangesRedribbon · 30/12/2024 21:35

Op go for index funds, vanguard, broad baskets of shares, then decide which countries or global? Most global have a larger weighting to the US anyway but balances out with India, Japan etc

New posts on this thread. Refresh page