Help with self managed S&S ISA

[Octocat]

I have a small S&S ISA that I manage myself (started it after the Vanguard fee introduction). Since Trump it’s been decreasing in value. Over the same period of time a managed Junior ISA that DC has, has rallied back up to pretty much where it was.

Should I cash in some of my shares and buy others? I know a S&S ISA is a long term thing so I don’t want to panic.

My investments are:
XTrackers MSCI World Financials UCITS ETF

Vanguard FTSE 250 UCITS ETF

SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF

HSBC FTSE all world index fund

iShares MSCI world energy sector UCITS ETF

Vanguard LifeStrategy 80%

Advice from anyone more knowledgeable than me would be appreciated!

Don't panic. A loss is only a loss if you sell before it regains its value.

Never cash in an ISA to reinvest it. If you want to
move it do an ISA transfer which will retain its tax free status. Just shop around for a new platform there are loads of great deals at the moment before 5 April. Hargreaves Landsdown are offering cash back on transfers. Or you could move it to a fund with no fees. Or if it’s a self managed one now you may be able to move your investments stocks within the ISA wrapper

Your portfolio sounds fine. The likely reason for the apparent loss is that GBP has been rallying against the USD, and a lot of your investments are in USD. Personally I would ignore it and check again in a year.

Your portfolio sounds fine. The likely reason for the apparent loss is that GBP has been rallying against the USD, and a lot of your investments are in USD. Personally I would ignore it and check again in a year.

you may be able to move your investments stocks within the ISA wrapper

This is what the OP is asking about.

Yes, I'm asking about moving them within the wrapper. Sorry if I wasn't very clear.

@SoonTheDaffodilsWillBeOver am I weighted too much towards the US?

Thanks for your thoughts so far everyone.

am I weighted too much towards the US?

Can't answer this without knowing what % of your ISA is in which fund.

Sorry, the same amount is in each fund. I just divvied up the pot equally.

Depending on which platform you are using you should be able to see how much you are weighted in each geographical area. There is usually some sort of portfolio analysis or x-ray tool that will show it.

Why do you have so many different ETFs?

All World contains the S&P 500, and I think LifeStrategy is basically just a watered down All World. You’re duplicating a bunch of stuff and therefore making much more specific bets. That must be like 80% American stock

I’m new to investing, there’s not much money in there and I was trying to spread risk. I just moved from Vanguard because of the fees so I’m making it up as I go a bit.

Would I do better to put it all in one ETF, and if so, which one?

You don’t need to diversify in that way- your global trackers already contain the whole world , they are diversified. When you hold a global fund and an S&P fund (say) you end up doubling up because the underlying assets in your S&P fund are also in your global fund. So you are overweight in the US, (massively) UK (which is also over-represented in the Vanguard LS) and obviously financial + energy. This isn’t necessarily bad if you think those countries and sectors are going to do well, but it’s not diversifying, it’s making a specific bet that the market’s going to go a certain way

No need to do anything hasty and none of these investments are bad- there has been a correction and that’s what you’re seeing in the value of your ISA. As you say, it’s a long term game. But have a think about whether what you’ve done by buying these particular funds reflects what you want to do, because you are doing something quite specific here.

You've got a lot of overlap there and have made it unnecessarily complicated. All you need is a single global tracker fund, assuming you are relatively young. Have you found monevator?

monevator.com/best-global-tracker-funds/

monevator.com/why-a-total-world-equity-index-tracker-is-the-only-index-fund-you-need/

Sorry, another point re diversification- one way in which you are v much not diversified is in asset class. Apart from a small slice of the vanguard LS, it’s all equities. Again that may be what you want and if you have a long time horizon it could well be the right choice, but it’s something to be aware of.

Thanks very much for your comments. I’m not young at all, mid 50s. I’ll have a look at that link, I don’t have a clue how to diversify asset class!

Even mid fifties you want a chunk of equities, you've got decades left to wait out market blips BUT I'd look at a bond / gilt fund too

How would I find a bond/gilt fund? Sorry to be dim.

Or just put everything into the Vanguard LS fund?

Here you go: monevator.com/best-bond-funds/

The Lifestrategy 80 includes 20% bonds - that's what the 80 in the name refers to. And it automatically rebalances to keep that proportion steady. If you buy a separate bond fund you'll need to rebalance manually.

I thought @gianfrancogorgonzola was referring to a separate gilt/bond, I did know the LS fund is the 80/20 mix. That's one thing I do know!

So I might be better/more balanced just doing the LS fund? Is that an All World? I read the links upthread, and the only one of my list that I can that has All World in the name is the HSBC one.

You can do either- pick your own bonds (or bond fund) or choose something like that vanguard fund that does it for you.

Those Vanguard funds are great if you’re not sure what you’re doing. Only thing to note is that they are home biased, ie they have a lot more UK shares than a straight tracker would have. Not necessarily a bad thing- just depends what you want.

Lifestrategy is global, but as Katzen says it is tilted towards the UK. Look at the investor documents in your account for the full details.