I'm non plus as to whether quarterly, 6 monthly etc (I did originally suggest quarterly). 6 monthly numbers are coming in mind....... it's just a bit of fun.
I'm non plus as to whether quarterly, 6 monthly etc (I did originally suggest quarterly). 6 monthly numbers are coming in mind....... it's just a bit of fun.
Hi @Rob7Lee , well I quite agree that it is only a bit of fun, which is why I didn't really see the need to go all covert, it seemed to me to make it go all serious . What does it matter if for example I automatically lowered my prediction by 5% based on seeing what Golfie predicts
My idea was that we'd take a few days, kick it around a bit, share our thoughts and in my case at least learn from others thoughts. I was certainly going to suggest that people do that - is this not also what the thread is for, discussing and sharing?- but not necessarily put their actual prediction down at that point, we could all do that on e.g 7.Jan, which seemed about right to me. Far from keeping my powder dry, I haven't even got round to properly thinking about it. I find the first few days of this year ideal for that sort of pondering, but again I guess that's just me.
6 months is OK for me, I just didn't think we'd actually heard from that many people. You'd also talked yesterday about a league table for the year, even if we had shorter time frame predictions. Whatever.. I was mainly taken by surprise when you announced it today, but of course you would not have a hangover :-)
@Covered End your remarks are absurd. You obviously missed my post yesterday in the run-in when I invited you to post up the full results as you obviously had your own spreadsheet, and as I wrote, I struggle with spreadsheets. Fortunately Rob posted his up instead and I'm perfectly happy, whoever runs it . What's self-righteous about hoping that people will get some useful thoughts from each other and then invest better as a result? I'm certainly grateful for that benefit.
I think it is a bit of a shame that you have done this this way, and I didn't even get the chance to discuss it.
As I mentioned a couple of times, i think this competition has been helpful to everyone beyond the competitive element, namely the element of discussing openly the issues which we think might affect the index. This would especially help those who come on here quite unsure about investing and looking to learn something. If they are getting into investing, especially with funds, such discussion can help shpae their views, rather than just piling into fund names we toss out there. You've taken that away and even made the forecasts themselves 'covert'.
And did enough people get a chance to express their view on the interval (3/4/6/12 months)?
I'm sorry, I don't like this at all. Apart from anything else I fear it perpetuates the perception among Lifers that this thread is full of well-off people being very smug and full of themselves.
I'm willing to be persuaded but right now I feel I'll give this a miss.
Sorry but I don’t see the problem Prague. Your guess in by the 7th after which RobLee will compile a spreadsheet and post it up with everyone’s guess. In July we go again. There is nothing to stop discussion and opinions and offering advice as normal. It may have be nice for Rob to consult you but I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill, in my opinion.
I'm non plus as to whether quarterly, 6 monthly etc (I did originally suggest quarterly). 6 monthly numbers are coming in mind....... it's just a bit of fun.
Hi @Rob7Lee , well I quite agree that it is only a bit of fun, which is why I didn't really see the need to go all covert, it seemed to me to make it go all serious . What does it matter if for example I automatically lowered my prediction by 5% based on seeing what Golfie predicts
My idea was that we'd take a few days, kick it around a bit, share our thoughts and in my case at least learn from others thoughts. I was certainly going to suggest that people do that - is this not also what the thread is for, discussing and sharing?- but not necessarily put their actual prediction down at that point, we could all do that on e.g 7.Jan, which seemed about right to me. Far from keeping my powder dry, I haven't even got round to properly thinking about it. I find the first few days of this year ideal for that sort of pondering, but again I guess that's just me.
6 months is OK for me, I just didn't think we'd actually heard from that many people. You'd also talked yesterday about a league table for the year, even if we had shorter time frame predictions. Whatever.. I was mainly taken by surprise when you announced it today, but of course you would not have a hangover :-)
@Covered End your remarks are absurd. You obviously missed my post yesterday in the run-in when I invited you to post up the full results as you obviously had your own spreadsheet, and as I wrote, I struggle with spreadsheets. Fortunately Rob posted his up instead and I'm perfectly happy, whoever runs it . What's self-righteous about hoping that people will get some useful thoughts from each other and then invest better as a result? I'm certainly grateful for that benefit.
Sorry if I've got it wrong. It's how it came across to me. "I didn't get the chance to discuss it, I don't like this at all, I feel I'll give this a miss".
I've no idea why you think we can't have a discussion anymore, not the slightest idea why you would think that. PS I've got no spreadsheet, just used my head.
Question please for any inheritance tax specialists: If IHT is payable on a gift given less than 3 years before the death of person gifting, does the 40% IHT have to be paid by the gift recipient or from the deceased’s estate?
Sorry if this isn't the place, my grandfather who was always the go to for investment as he worked at the LSE recently passed and I as the most like minded in the family have been given all of his assets, is there any hard reading you could recommend to help me get my head around it all. (understand the basics)
This is the place!
What sort of assets are we talking about, all individual shares? or is it wide ranging like gold etc.
Question please for any inheritance tax specialists: If IHT is payable on a gift given less than 3 years before the death of person gifting, does the 40% IHT have to be paid by the gift recipient or from the deceased’s estate?
It needs to be more than £325k - and if so the recipient is liable for the IHT for amounts above this threshold. If there is more than one recipient the £325k threshold is applied to gifts in chronological order.
Sorry if this isn't the place, my grandfather who was always the go to for investment as he worked at the LSE recently passed and I as the most like minded in the family have been given all of his assets, is there any hard reading you could recommend to help me get my head around it all. (understand the basics)
This is the place!
What sort of assets are we talking about, all individual shares? or is it wide ranging like gold etc.
All individual shares, mostly in income funds.
I don't know what sized sum you are talking about, but you may need to seek professional advice. I suspect your grandfather had income funds as he needed or wanted income from his investments. You may have a different view (as assume you are on the younger side, i.e. not retirement age).
If you give a bit more info on your circumstances we can maybe help further but it's probably more information than you'd want to give on an open forum. i.e. your personal circumstances, current debts and investments, long terms goals etc.
If you've got amazon prime/kindle theres some decent books on stock market investing, some free, such as the below, thats not to say thought stocks and shares are right for you.
Question please for any inheritance tax specialists: If IHT is payable on a gift given less than 3 years before the death of person gifting, does the 40% IHT have to be paid by the gift recipient or from the deceased’s estate?
It's actually quite complex (as I found out about 12 years ago). Technically as Bob says it's the individual who received the gift who are liable if above 325k. However if the individual doesn't pay the due tax within 12 months (for example as they spent it and are unable to pay it) then the liability moves to the estate.
You then have the annual allowances of £3k to one person (can be carried over for one year to max £6k if unused) and £250 to as many as you like, plus marriages for children etc (£5k for child £2.5k for grandchild, £1k for anyone else). And not forgetting giving from income can be exempt.
I assume this is a real life situation you are now facing?
I am only a lowly financial adviser & not a tax expert but it's my view that its the Estate that pays any IHT due, not the individual who receives the gift. Also, if it is the Estate who pays & the deceased owned a residential property then the IHT threshold is now £500,000......and doubled to £1m if the deceased was a widow(er) who had previously inherited their spouses Estate.I would speak to the solicitors / executors who would be in a better position to help.
Sorry if this isn't the place, my grandfather who was always the go to for investment as he worked at the LSE recently passed and I as the most like minded in the family have been given all of his assets, is there any hard reading you could recommend to help me get my head around it all. (understand the basics)
This is the place!
What sort of assets are we talking about, all individual shares? or is it wide ranging like gold etc.
All individual shares, mostly in income funds.
Really your best bet is to engage with a financial advisor. In the one sentence above you've already mentioned "shares" and "funds". The 2 are totally different. You need a professional to first ascertain what you have & to then value them. In my professional view a novice investor would be better looking at a "share exchange" service, where a Discretionary Fund Management Company can take the shares, sell them, and invest the proceeds into a balanced portfolio that better suits you needs. You may find you already have this if you have income "funds", but I'm afraid no-one on here can tell you what to do unless they have an in-depth knowledge of you, your current situation, and you wants & needs for the future. And generally that can only be done via a "fact find" with a fully authorised financial advisor.
Question please for any inheritance tax specialists: If IHT is payable on a gift given less than 3 years before the death of person gifting, does the 40% IHT have to be paid by the gift recipient or from the deceased’s estate?
I’m sure I heard someone say that the length of gift before the 7 years affects the amount of IHT paid . No idea of the numbers but say that gift was received 6 years and 51 weeks before the death of the person gifting you wouldn’t get hit with 40% .
I am glad @PragueAddick has spoken up as I was a bit 🤔 earlier when I saw your original post @Rob7Lee. No offence but I was going to suggest a quarterly competition as I feel 6 months is a bit long in terms of market movements, especially in these somewhat uncertain terms. However, I'm happy to go with 6 months if that is what the majority prefers. The reason I haven't put in my prediction yet is that we have until the 7th & I want to gauge things first before diving straight in. Also, being a "professional" I feel I have a bit of pride at stake & don't want to look a chump predicting something rather outlandish.
As for @PragueAddick's other points. I don't feel other CL's see us as well off or full of themselves......far from it. I get a lot of enjoyment passing on my knowledge (even though I have recently been "used" and may have to alter my approach from now on) and believe most posters on here are general run of the mill Joe public who just want a bit of guidance in the tricky world of pensions & investment.
And thank you for passing on your knowledge, its appreciated. Your advice gave me the confidence to start investing (even though I didn't actually take your advice and went and put 85% of my savings into 1 FTSE ETF!)
Sorry if this isn't the place, my grandfather who was always the go to for investment as he worked at the LSE recently passed and I as the most like minded in the family have been given all of his assets, is there any hard reading you could recommend to help me get my head around it all. (understand the basics)
This is the place!
What sort of assets are we talking about, all individual shares? or is it wide ranging like gold etc.
All individual shares, mostly in income funds.
Really your best bet is to engage with a financial advisor. In the one sentence above you've already mentioned "shares" and "funds". The 2 are totally different. You need a professional to first ascertain what you have & to then value them. In my professional view a novice investor would be better looking at a "share exchange" service, where a Discretionary Fund Management Company can take the shares, sell them, and invest the proceeds into a balanced portfolio that better suits you needs. You may find you already have this if you have income "funds", but I'm afraid no-one on here can tell you what to do unless they have an in-depth knowledge of you, your current situation, and you wants & needs for the future. And generally that can only be done via a "fact find" with a fully authorised financial advisor.
I have found this thread to be interesting and informative. Last year (and if truth be told the previous five years) I set myself the objective of remodelling and extending our family home. Against all the odds and my own expectations we achieved our aspiration and moved back in two weeks before Christmas. Interestingly I used the CL trades section to get my builder and electricians
I have two key objectives this year , one of which is not relevant to this thread. The other however is to take strategic control of my finances in a way I have hitherto not done. With this in mind I am seeking the following advice / information
What "starter "book would you recommend I read to help my get a good working knowledge of the investment world
What one website should I add to my favourites to help me grow my knowledge and understanding of all things financial
I will undoubtedly need some specific and independent financial advice. I sense their are few professionals on here. I would be grateful if you could identify yourself as such to assist me in thinking whom I make make contact with
Aside from an IFA are there any professional financial disciplines I ought to be talking to.
I am 52 years of age , in gainful employment ( CEO of a medium sized Charity/ Social business) , have pensions in the form of investments , and married to a p/t teacher who has a relatively small pension and have three young adult children. I would like to semi retire and develop a portfolio career in circa five years
Here's hoping there might be some good advice / thanks in advance for any assistance
I have found this thread to be interesting and informative. Last year (and if truth be told the previous five years) I set myself the objective of remodelling and extending our family home. Against all the odds and my own expectations we achieved our aspiration and moved back in two weeks before Christmas. Interestingly I used the CL trades section to get my builder and electricians
I have two key objectives this year , one of which is not relevant to this thread. The other however is to take strategic control of my finances in a way I have hitherto not done. With this in mind I am seeking the following advice / information
What "starter "book would you recommend I read to help my get a good working knowledge of the investment world
What one website should I add to my favourites to help me grow my knowledge and understanding of all things financial
I will undoubtedly need some specific and independent financial advice. I sense their are few professionals on here. I would be grateful if you could identify yourself as such to assist me in thinking whom I make make contact with
Aside from an IFA are there any professional financial disciplines I ought to be talking to.
I am 52 years of age , in gainful employment ( CEO of a medium sized Charity/ Social business) , have pensions in the form of investments , and married to a p/t teacher who has a relatively small pension and have three young adult children. I would like to semi retire and develop a portfolio career in circa five years
Here's hoping there might be some good advice / thanks in advance for any assistance
HJ
Nevermind all that, should we be guessing quarterly, 6 monthly or annually for our predictions?
I have found this thread to be interesting and informative. Last year (and if truth be told the previous five years) I set myself the objective of remodelling and extending our family home. Against all the odds and my own expectations we achieved our aspiration and moved back in two weeks before Christmas. Interestingly I used the CL trades section to get my builder and electricians
I have two key objectives this year , one of which is not relevant to this thread. The other however is to take strategic control of my finances in a way I have hitherto not done. With this in mind I am seeking the following advice / information
What "starter "book would you recommend I read to help my get a good working knowledge of the investment world
What one website should I add to my favourites to help me grow my knowledge and understanding of all things financial
I will undoubtedly need some specific and independent financial advice. I sense their are few professionals on here. I would be grateful if you could identify yourself as such to assist me in thinking whom I make make contact with
Aside from an IFA are there any professional financial disciplines I ought to be talking to.
I am 52 years of age , in gainful employment ( CEO of a medium sized Charity/ Social business) , have pensions in the form of investments , and married to a p/t teacher who has a relatively small pension and have three young adult children. I would like to semi retire and develop a portfolio career in circa five years
Here's hoping there might be some good advice / thanks in advance for any assistance
HJ
Nevermind all that, should we be guessing quarterly, 6 monthly or annually for our predictions?
Six monthly obviously - with predictions send privately to avoid the previously mentioned number squeeze and a free ranging discussions covering all aspects.......
Right back to solving my lifes personal challenges ;-)
I have found this thread to be interesting and informative. Last year (and if truth be told the previous five years) I set myself the objective of remodelling and extending our family home. Against all the odds and my own expectations we achieved our aspiration and moved back in two weeks before Christmas. Interestingly I used the CL trades section to get my builder and electricians
I have two key objectives this year , one of which is not relevant to this thread. The other however is to take strategic control of my finances in a way I have hitherto not done. With this in mind I am seeking the following advice / information
What "starter "book would you recommend I read to help my get a good working knowledge of the investment world
What one website should I add to my favourites to help me grow my knowledge and understanding of all things financial
I will undoubtedly need some specific and independent financial advice. I sense their are few professionals on here. I would be grateful if you could identify yourself as such to assist me in thinking whom I make make contact with
Aside from an IFA are there any professional financial disciplines I ought to be talking to.
I am 52 years of age , in gainful employment ( CEO of a medium sized Charity/ Social business) , have pensions in the form of investments , and married to a p/t teacher who has a relatively small pension and have three young adult children. I would like to semi retire and develop a portfolio career in circa five years
Here's hoping there might be some good advice / thanks in advance for any assistance
HJ
In all seriousness though, good luck.
With regards to the starter book - The intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham is a good one for a starter or established investor!
Obviously in my mind the best website would be the FT but there is a paywall. In my mind The Economist is the best publication, ever. It doesn't just give fantastic unbiased business insight and analysis, it gives great insight and analysis into political issues which will effect the markets too. Failing that, the business sections in places like the BBC are ok, but I am sure others will have recommendations.
With regards to IFAs, that is an argument we have done to death in here, and the necessity for one etc, but I think I am right in saying that most people in here do not use them, although we do have the brilliant @golfaddick
I am only a lowly financial adviser & not a tax expert but it's my view that its the Estate that pays any IHT due, not the individual who receives the gift. Also, if it is the Estate who pays & the deceased owned a residential property then the IHT threshold is now £500,000......and doubled to £1m if the deceased was a widow(er) who had previously inherited their spouses Estate.I would speak to the solicitors / executors who would be in a better position to help.
"People you give gifts to will be charged Inheritance Tax if you give away more than £325,000 in the 7 years before your death."
The above link also gives some good examples of how it works/order etc. The reason bob and I have mentioned £325k is any gifts (one assumes) would not be the residential property, again link above explains. Plus the Property amount only applies on estates up to certain values and who the property is left to. If estate is more than £2m or you are leaving to anyone other than children/grandchildren you don't get the extra allowance anyway.
Question please for any inheritance tax specialists: If IHT is payable on a gift given less than 3 years before the death of person gifting, does the 40% IHT have to be paid by the gift recipient or from the deceased’s estate?
I’m sure I heard someone say that the length of gift before the 7 years affects the amount of IHT paid . No idea of the numbers but say that gift was received 6 years and 51 weeks before the death of the person gifting you wouldn’t get hit with 40% .
I think it is a bit of a shame that you have done this this way, and I didn't even get the chance to discuss it.
As I mentioned a couple of times, i think this competition has been helpful to everyone beyond the competitive element, namely the element of discussing openly the issues which we think might affect the index. This would especially help those who come on here quite unsure about investing and looking to learn something. If they are getting into investing, especially with funds, such discussion can help shpae their views, rather than just piling into fund names we toss out there. You've taken that away and even made the forecasts themselves 'covert'.
And did enough people get a chance to express their view on the interval (3/4/6/12 months)?
I'm sorry, I don't like this at all. Apart from anything else I fear it perpetuates the perception among Lifers that this thread is full of well-off people being very smug and full of themselves.
I'm willing to be persuaded but right now I feel I'll give this a miss.
Sorry but I don’t see the problem Prague. Your guess in by the 7th after which RobLee will compile a spreadsheet and post it up with everyone’s guess. In July we go again. There is nothing to stop discussion and opinions and offering advice as normal. It may have be nice for Rob to consult you but I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill, in my opinion.
Ok maybe it was partly the hangover talking. I think the bit about @Rob7Lee sending me his score for transparency reasons really made me uncomfortable that anyone would think it necessary. Looked to me like it was, or had become, less a “bit of fun” than I had seen it.
Regarding the time frame, one of the options I wanted to throw in was that it would be fun to mesure ourselves against pro pundits, especially as a group. This would need a 12 month span, but that would then be too long before the fun starts. However it could be done if we placed our 12 month predictions alongside the 6 month ones, and then the 12 month ones become de facto the prediction for the 2nd half. I thought that this might encourage everyone to think longer term like we who are into it always advise newer punters to do. But if there’s no appetite for that, there we are.
Either way, I hope people will share their thoughts about what drives their forecast, even if they dont give their actual figure. That was what I appreciated about the first two.
I have found this thread to be interesting and informative. Last year (and if truth be told the previous five years) I set myself the objective of remodelling and extending our family home. Against all the odds and my own expectations we achieved our aspiration and moved back in two weeks before Christmas. Interestingly I used the CL trades section to get my builder and electricians
I have two key objectives this year , one of which is not relevant to this thread. The other however is to take strategic control of my finances in a way I have hitherto not done. With this in mind I am seeking the following advice / information
What "starter "book would you recommend I read to help my get a good working knowledge of the investment world
What one website should I add to my favourites to help me grow my knowledge and understanding of all things financial
I will undoubtedly need some specific and independent financial advice. I sense their are few professionals on here. I would be grateful if you could identify yourself as such to assist me in thinking whom I make make contact with
Aside from an IFA are there any professional financial disciplines I ought to be talking to.
I am 52 years of age , in gainful employment ( CEO of a medium sized Charity/ Social business) , have pensions in the form of investments , and married to a p/t teacher who has a relatively small pension and have three young adult children. I would like to semi retire and develop a portfolio career in circa five years
Here's hoping there might be some good advice / thanks in advance for any assistance
HJ
I've personally never found a single book as there are such a wide range of subjects when investing, i've tended to buy specific subjects over the years like Buy to Let specific etc. There are a number of decent PodCasts which are broader but need some searching down.
In your position (good job, early 50's etc) i'd start with the basics and review what you have;
1. Review your pensions, are they invested correctly, what fees are you paying etc (based on your semi retirement plans), you mention pensions plural, if defined contribution/SIPP's it may be better to combine into one. 2. Review any debt and the need for it 3. Review current investments 4. Then move onto are you making use of all your allowances for pensions, ISA's etc
Comments
My idea was that we'd take a few days, kick it around a bit, share our thoughts and in my case at least learn from others thoughts. I was certainly going to suggest that people do that - is this not also what the thread is for, discussing and sharing?- but not necessarily put their actual prediction down at that point, we could all do that on e.g 7.Jan, which seemed about right to me. Far from keeping my powder dry, I haven't even got round to properly thinking about it. I find the first few days of this year ideal for that sort of pondering, but again I guess that's just me.
6 months is OK for me, I just didn't think we'd actually heard from that many people. You'd also talked yesterday about a league table for the year, even if we had shorter time frame predictions. Whatever.. I was mainly taken by surprise when you announced it today, but of course you would not have a hangover :-)
@Covered End your remarks are absurd. You obviously missed my post yesterday in the run-in when I invited you to post up the full results as you obviously had your own spreadsheet, and as I wrote, I struggle with spreadsheets. Fortunately Rob posted his up instead and I'm perfectly happy, whoever runs it . What's self-righteous about hoping that people will get some useful thoughts from each other and then invest better as a result? I'm certainly grateful for that benefit.
It's how it came across to me.
"I didn't get the chance to discuss it, I don't like this at all, I feel I'll give this a miss".
I've no idea why you think we can't have a discussion anymore, not the slightest idea why you would think that.
PS I've got no spreadsheet, just used my head.
I really enjoy this thread.
Save all the bollox for the political threads
If you give a bit more info on your circumstances we can maybe help further but it's probably more information than you'd want to give on an open forum. i.e. your personal circumstances, current debts and investments, long terms goals etc.
If you've got amazon prime/kindle theres some decent books on stock market investing, some free, such as the below, thats not to say thought stocks and shares are right for you.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stock-Market-Investing-Guide-Professional/dp/B08LRST8B2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=stock+market+investing&qid=1609545011&s=books&sr=1-2
You then have the annual allowances of £3k to one person (can be carried over for one year to max £6k if unused) and £250 to as many as you like, plus marriages for children etc (£5k for child £2.5k for grandchild, £1k for anyone else). And not forgetting giving from income can be exempt.
I assume this is a real life situation you are now facing?
No idea of the numbers but say that gift was received 6 years and 51 weeks before the death of the person gifting you wouldn’t get hit with 40% .
I have found this thread to be interesting and informative. Last year (and if truth be told the previous five years) I set myself the objective of remodelling and extending our family home. Against all the odds and my own expectations we achieved our aspiration and moved back in two weeks before Christmas. Interestingly I used the CL trades section to get my builder and electricians
I have two key objectives this year , one of which is not relevant to this thread. The other however is to take strategic control of my finances in a way I have hitherto not done. With this in mind I am seeking the following advice / information
- What "starter "book would you recommend I read to help my get a good working knowledge of the investment world
- What one website should I add to my favourites to help me grow my knowledge and understanding of all things financial
- I will undoubtedly need some specific and independent financial advice. I sense their are few professionals on here. I would be grateful if you could identify yourself as such to assist me in thinking whom I make make contact with
- Aside from an IFA are there any professional financial disciplines I ought to be talking to.
I am 52 years of age , in gainful employment ( CEO of a medium sized Charity/ Social business) , have pensions in the form of investments , and married to a p/t teacher who has a relatively small pension and have three young adult children. I would like to semi retire and develop a portfolio career in circa five yearsHere's hoping there might be some good advice / thanks in advance for any assistance
HJ
Right back to solving my lifes personal challenges ;-)
With regards to the starter book - The intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham is a good one for a starter or established investor!
Obviously in my mind the best website would be the FT but there is a paywall. In my mind The Economist is the best publication, ever. It doesn't just give fantastic unbiased business insight and analysis, it gives great insight and analysis into political issues which will effect the markets too. Failing that, the business sections in places like the BBC are ok, but I am sure others will have recommendations.
With regards to IFAs, that is an argument we have done to death in here, and the necessity for one etc, but I think I am right in saying that most people in here do not use them, although we do have the brilliant @golfaddick
Good luck!
"People you give gifts to will be charged Inheritance Tax if you give away more than £325,000 in the 7 years before your death."
The above link also gives some good examples of how it works/order etc. The reason bob and I have mentioned £325k is any gifts (one assumes) would not be the residential property, again link above explains. Plus the Property amount only applies on estates up to certain values and who the property is left to. If estate is more than £2m or you are leaving to anyone other than children/grandchildren you don't get the extra allowance anyway.
Yes theirs a taper relief as below;
Regarding the time frame, one of the options I wanted to throw in was that it would be fun to mesure ourselves against pro pundits, especially as a group. This would need a 12 month span, but that would then be too long before the fun starts. However it could be done if we placed our 12 month predictions alongside the 6 month ones, and then the 12 month ones become de facto the prediction for the 2nd half. I thought that this might encourage everyone to think longer term like we who are into it always advise newer punters to do. But if there’s no appetite for that, there we are.
Either way, I hope people will share their thoughts about what drives their forecast, even if they dont give their actual figure. That was what I appreciated about the first two.
In your position (good job, early 50's etc) i'd start with the basics and review what you have;
1. Review your pensions, are they invested correctly, what fees are you paying etc (based on your semi retirement plans), you mention pensions plural, if defined contribution/SIPP's it may be better to combine into one.
2. Review any debt and the need for it
3. Review current investments
4. Then move onto are you making use of all your allowances for pensions, ISA's etc
The draw is on the 1st Working day and the list of bond numbers is released then by NS&I to certain outlets for the larger prizes.