New stocks and shares ISA- which funds?

[user04]

So I’m rather nervous but have decided to stick with my plan of putting £20k into a stocks and shares ISA this week.

Im 51, already have £120k in cash ISAs.

clearly over the past week things have been in turmoil. I’m now completely confused about what to do. I will probably use trading212 since that is where my cash isa is. If you were putting in 20k today into a stocks and shares isa what would you put it into?

Your last paragraph is true whenever you buy.

The historic trend for the stock market has alway been upwards. When the shares are 10% cheaper than they were 10 days ago, I'm piling in. If they do drop a little more, then so be it and if things like that worry you, then investing is not for you.

The companies are still there, they are still trading, they are still making a profit and are still paying dividends.

There's some interesting discussion of this on the latest FT Unhedged- whether this is a 'buy the dip' situation or 'don't catch a falling knife'. Obviously just two people's views but they broadly came out at 'if you're a regular investor with a long time horizon, just do whatever you usually do, but don't pile in or increase allocation to equities beyond what you would normally hold because there could well be worse to come and there's no real reason to think that equities will regain that quickly (and they were overpriced before in the US), but also bonds aren't a great option at the moment due to inflation risk, so it's basically a shit time with lots of uncertainty, good luck everyone' 😭

Spun round a bit now

It’s a rollercoaster alright 😂

Those of you on this thread who understand all this stuff - how did you start out as a beginner, how did you gain your knowledge?

And you don’t understand investing.

Most investors are just that - investors, not traders. If an investment plummets during turmoil, you buy cheap and the price still continues to fall you have not made a loss unless you immediately sell it.

If you hold for 5-10 years then you will more like likely make your money back and then some.

Long term investors saw similar during covid. My portfolio “lost” thousands of pounds…..except it didn’t. As I had no intention of selling.

Buying during this time is the perfect time to secure a discount.

You're SO patronising @JHound . It's both odd and amusing. Is 'you don't understand investing' your go to for anyone that simply disagrees with you?

There are plenty of investors that would choose to wait and not buy right now, for so many reasons. Buying right at the first sign of a dip is not the only/wisest/soundest/most profitable approach.

If person 1 buys shares today @ £5 and person 2 buys them in a week @ £4.50 and then they continue downwards before recovering - then yes, in ten years time, both people will likely be up - but person 2's portfolio is going to be a lot healthier overall.

It's you that is demonstrating a lack of understanding on this thread. A total lack of understanding of any approach or risk appetite other than your own. Unless you're actually Warren Buffett, pipe down.

I don’t think “patronising” means what you think it means. You’re using it incorrectly.

The point is buying during turmoil with falling prices is the very best time. Better than when things are stable and prices up again which was the specific context under discussion. Once the turmoil is over the prices will start to climb again. It’s like waiting for the January sales to be over before you look for a new TV.

Investors who are waiting because they think prices will fall further clearly are not waiting for the turmoil to be over, they are waiting for it to worsen.

I don’t think “patronising” means what you think it means. You’re using it incorrectly

😂

I honestly can't tell if you're just on the wind up now or if you really do have this level of irony deficiency.

And just to set your mind at rest, I have full understanding of what 'irony' means (just as I do of the term 'patronising').

I bet you're a treat in rl. Not tiresome at all as you shout 'you're wrong, I'm right' at everything.

I'm a total newbie to investing but want to move money out of my existingcash ISA and into a S&S ISA as I have too much sitting cash after inheriting money after a bereavement. I understand that I need to transfer properly and I have signed up with Lightyear as I saw they had good reviews. Is anyone else with them?

Stupid question here but, once the £34k cash isa from my Coventry Bank ISA has been properly moved over to Lightyear S&S ISA how do I then proceed? I have never done this before and am nervous about doing the wrong thing…

You've joined an old thread, @Toolea . Probably best to start your own.

once it transfers over (make sure you do it properly, ie an actual transfer to retain tax free status) then you will have uninvested cash in your S&S ISA. Then up to you to decide how to invest it within the ISA wrapper. Lots of people invest in global index trackers but you should think about your risk comfort level, when you need funds etc.
funds tend to have factsheets to give more info and a risk rating.
Im not with lightyear, just check fees between providers to make sure it’s a decent deal.

Thank you 🙏

I realised that after I posted and now can’t seem to delete the post. Doh.

As a newbie, some form of tracker is probably best for you.
Personally I’d go with a worldwide tracker such as Vanguard or HSBC.
Compare the investment platforms’ fees/charges, but also look at the functionality of their websites.
Drip feed rather than investing all your existing ISA cash all at once.
Start a new S&S ISA on 6 April and have a monthly DD for £1666 or whatever you can afford.
First check out MSE’s basic tutorial:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/investment-beginners/
But also read a few books about investing - for instance:
https://www.fool.co.uk/investing-basics/how-to-invest-in-shares/the-best-books-on-investing/

Great advice @Enrichetta - thanks a million!

I’m with nutmeg. Up 34%. But I chose quite high risk (I chose lower risk with the kids ISAs). I like the fact that you choose the kind of risks etc that you want and they do it for you.

"Time in the market" .. forget trying to "Time the market"...
As your new, As others have said.. I would drip feed rather than lump sum
80% Global tracker fund
10% Emerging market
10% .. something that interests you

The 10% could be…

Europe tracker
US tracker
or (if you feel a bit frisky…)
Europe, US or UK smaller companies
Asia, Japan

But you’ll have to watch these interesting, spicier funds more carefully than trackers as they are more volatile and thus riskier.

And check and compare fees/charges - always.

This is interesting as I have Chase so Nutmeg is an option.

Given your children have far more time to recoup investment losses why do you not do higher risk for them too.