Investing for retirement

[madameimadam]

Am an absolute novice so thought I’d get some advice here from people who know more about!!

Am 50 - have a pretty decent pension & thinking of retiring probs in ten years or so if I can.

Due to inheritance, I’m now in the position of being able to pay off my mortgage & outstanding debts leaving me with money to invest. I’d like to start saving some of the money I would have previously paid for my mortgage into a Stocks & Shares ISA so roughly £1000 per month. Happy to leave as a long term investment so won’t need to withdraw this money at any point.

What platform would you advise? I’m veering towards Vanguard or Trading 212 as a starting point but are there any others I should consider? Are there any other fundamental things that I should think about (eg. global investments vs more UK)?

Thankyou…

Either vanguard or T212 are fine. Both low/no fees. Vanguard has a phone number to speak to a human. That's a plus for me!

Everyone will have a different approach depending how they view risk and volatility and how long they expect to leave the money invested for.

I use a global tracker for the majority of my money. But that is currently very heavily weighted to the US, which has been great over the past few years, but the AI bubble concerns me. I prefer more global diversity and more business size/opportunity diversity. So I also have a little invested in a UK all caps tracker; in a global emerging markets fund; in a Japan tracker; in an Asia exc Japan small caps fund; and about 10% in a special situations fund, which has done really well for me.

T212 will cost you less, but you may or may not like their interface. Vanguard Investor website is easy to use, costs more (£4 per month minimum fee for portfolios under £32k).

Could have both - track your use of ISA so you don’t over contribute.
Freetrade is another to consider.

Keep it as simple as you can. A global fund or a multi-asset fund. You don’t need lots of funds, just pick one.

Some YouTube channels which may help:
RebelDonegans - Rebel Finance School
Meaningful Money
Damien Talks Money

If you prefer books:
The Meaningful Money Retirement Guide - Pete Matthew
The Simple Path To Wealth - JL Collins

Vanguard probably isn't the best long term choice, but it's good for a beginner because it has the phone helpline, a reasonably simple interface, and a limited number of funds so you don't get overwhelmed by choices.

If you want to switch later it's very easy to move platforms, and in the run-up to the end of the financial year there are usually cash incentives for doing so.

Why do you say Vanguard isn't the best long term?

Because of the limited fund choice, and because their fees aren't as competitive as they used to be.