What funds are you investing in, and why?

[user593]

My stocks and shares ISA is mostly S&P 500 Tech. I’ve now invested a little bit in gold as well. I’ve got a bit more I need to put somewhere and I’m not sure what to do - everything seems so volatile at the moment. What are you investing in, and why?

I don’t have specialist knowledge but the stocks that I’ve chosen individually are, on average, doing a lot better than my SP500 and Vanguard all world. I look for opportunities to buy when others are selling. Invested in one of the health giants when it tanked recently, and predictably, within about 6 weeks, it was up over 30%. The market often overreacts to news which creates buying opportunities.

The kinds of stocks that may rise 30% in 6 weeks require a lot of research, as well as watching the market to determine when to sell. Most people don’t have the time, nor interest, for such active investment. Plus, there’s always a risk that performance turns out unpredictable and disappointing.

Which is why many/most amateur investors stick to ETFs and the like, especially trackers.

and also the main reason the public make very risky investments

Agreed. It's not price, it's time. And with gold you need a lot of time.

Thanks for your input. The only thing you got right before it disappeared was that gold is indeed incredibly expensive right now. That's why the rest of my advice was correct.

@BrickBiscuit It's not 2014 😂

Sometimes, but sometimes it’s a no brainer. I just keep an eye on prices and check the news. There is always risk in the stock market, but mainly if you concentrate on a few stocks. I typically have 50 - 80. Probably spend 10 mins a day, on average, checking them. I find it interesting. I have ETFs too, but they haven’t been doing particularly well by comparison.

Not sure what you mean. My comments relate to 2025. You mentioned retiring in 2029, four years away. You said you would like to hold some gold but have watched it climb without investing. I said it's too late for gold in a 2029 pension. I suggested it's worth getting into gold outside your pension, despite high prices (which you can't do anything about - you obviously know you can't buy gold at 2014 prices). To mitigate risk, start buying now, buy regular smaller amounts, try and source it at low margins, research the tax position, and hold, hold, hold. Or watch it climb from the sidelines, whichever entertains you more.

Vanguard global
Blackrock global
Wisdom tree tech
amazon
apple
Nvidia
Wisdom tree core physical gold
Wisdom tree environmental
UK logistics firm that is reported as significantly undervalued and so I'm taking a punt.

The best by far is the wisdom tree tech pie. Some of this (biorevolution, semiconductors, blockchain) is up about 25% in four months.

This is mainly in a S&S isa

Global trackers are Long Term investments, you could be very lucky and get a 20%+ gain in a year or very unlucky and lose 20-40% in a crash that doesn’t recover for a decade.
Investing is a gamble.
If I’d have not sold some of mine earlier in the year, I would have been £10k up and it’s human nature not to kick yourself - but, we NEED that money for income when DH retires in 2 years and we were already 35% up in 4 years.

We are now defensively positioned but still have over 50% of our portfolios invested heavily in global equities. As we won’t need to touch them for 12-15 years, I’m happy it’s a good balance.

In say 10 years, I may well restructure, maybe another Gilt ladder or a fixed term annuity as we will be approaching 70 by then, hopefully.

@BrickBiscuit I mentioned 2014 because you’re acting as if 2029 is some kind of cut off (as it might have been for someone retiring in 2014 pre pension freedoms). I’m in my 40s. I can’t even touch my pension for a decade 😂 and when I do, I’ll be largely staying invested. My time horizon is 30-40 years.

The reason to hold commodities in retirement is that they’re likely to stay up when both equities and bonds drop together (as in 2022). This isn’t really relevant earlier in life when you can just wait out the dip but is relevant if you need to draw down. (Same reason you hold more cash in retirement.) If and when I do buy gold, it won’t be physical gold (although it will be a physical gold ETC). I won’t be starting now as I think we’re near the top.

You’ve been quite rude to multiple posters on this thread so I’m going to leave this exchange here. Good luck with your investments.

Also, setting a stop loss makes it less risky.

You said (yesterday 18:16) 'This is roughly what I am working towards ... This is with a view to retiring early at the end of 2029 ... I would like to hold some gold as well- maybe 5% ...'

Was that a typo and you are not retiring in 2029?

You don’t have to liquidise all your assets on retirement, it’s not a full stop. There are many ways to organise your retirement funds, you don’t have to buy an annuity. You don’t have to stop investing in S&S.

... which is why my 'advice' was to start investing in gold now, if that is the intention. Most retirements are (a) at or approaching state pension age, (b) the end of contributing, and (c) the start of drawing pension. The poster said they were retiring in 2029, and did not mention continuing to contribute, or not drawing their pension, or what proportions of pension and independent funds they intend relying on to support them. If they are in one or more of these 'special' cases, they need to say so. They mentioned 5% gold in retirement (sic) being standard. But introducing it with four years to go is not. If they meant something else, a clearer question would get a clearer answer.

You assumed - maybe you could’ve asked the question rather than jumping to a conclusion. Either way your responses have been uncomfortable in their tone. I was just trying to explain to you why your advice was not well received - I won’t engage with you further on this subject either.

'This is with a view to retiring early at the end of 2029'
Why would I not assume that 2029 was the pension target from that statement?

Either way guys, investing in gold four years before retirement isn't necessary the wrong thing to do. Everything is dependent on the state of the market at the time you go in.

I'm hopefully retiring in five years' time. I bought gold a few months ago. Yes of course I'm wishing we did it years ago but I've still seen a 15% increase in a few months. It's currently dropping a bit, but with the state of things and the levels of uncertainty in the US it's likely to stay fairly high over the course of his reign of terror. I'm also planning on being retired for quite some time so even if it drops below the price I paid there is time for it to go up again.

Tracker funds, mostly. Legal & General US tracker, Legal & General European tracker, ishares emerging markets index, HL adventurous fund plus one investment trust.
It's quite high risk, so can be volatile, but the funds will not be accessed for another 15 to 20 years so I think the risk is worth taking at this stage.

3 different tech funds - because we are in an ongoing tech revolution that is going to run and run. There will inevitably be peaks and troughs but the long-term trend should be very positive.

A European Defense ETF - because despite the inevitability of some countries not meeting their agreed spending targets, enough of them will to keep order books very healthy. It's also (IMHO) a good hedge against geopolitical uncertainty.

A fund comprising the 100 largest companies that operate globally - because it gives me global & sector diversification.

Those are the mainstay of my portfolio. I have a few others that individually constitute relatively small holdings - a European Banking ETF, a Space ETF and a general Investment Trust, plus a few individual stocks.

I started investing £50 a month about 6 years ago, and still don't really know what I'm doing. It's not a lot, but it obviously does add up over time - I aim to increase as I can, but mortgage increases aren't helping me there.

The majority of my holding is in Metro Bank - it's been disappointing, but its a long game. I am up at the moment, but I stopped investing and held when it looked like it could go under completely. With hindsight I wish I'd continued, as I'd be in a better position now. I'm in the green, but I would have made more if it was in a savings account.

I now split my £50/month between Blackrock and M&S. M&S can be a bit up and down but has consistently out performed the other two.

Off to check my budget to see how I can increase the amount I invest monthly.

Sensible view. I'd be buying volatile, uncorrelated assets right up to the wire. But most pensions are going the other way for the last few years. Point is, you shouldn't need to be taking high risk at that late stage. It's optional if you've the inclination.

Buying individual stocks and shares is akin to gambling and if held in a GIA instead of an ISA or pension then the gains are taxable bar the yearly CGT allowance. Nothing wrong with a bit of a gamble but not to stake your future on. You have to be able to lose the lot.
It’s far easier to hold a global index tracker, very low fees and you own a bit of everything so it’s well diversified.
I used to hold Fundsmith and SM but got out at their peak, good luck rather than judgement. You have to think very long term and Global trackers will still work even when the markets tilt away from the US.

You can include emerging markets or not, we have one of each.

I have a mix of funds and shares in SIPPS,isas and share accounts. I bed and breakfast (or bed and ISA) my £3000 gain in April every year.

i have had significant gains over the years in Artemis SMARTGARP (I have uk, Europe and global funds) and good gains with Vanguard global equity.

Banking shares have done well but I think are slowing down.

I have. Had a bit of a punt on some reits which are down a few percent but have cracking dividends.

Wow - your portfolio is spookily similar to mine. I've been really long Uranium miners this year after hearing a compelling Buy case on Merryn Talks Money several months ago. But I closed it 10 days ago after nearly doubling my money. Gold and silver have come back in the last fortnight too but I still see security there, if not value.

I've also got a Defence stock ETF and an Absolute Return fund.