Got rid of my Zynex shares when I sold half my USD holdings a few weeks ago. They have spikes like this every so often, as do many smaller companies, but they usually revert to where they were quite quickly.
SAGA put their Easy Access up to 2.25% today with the account bonus 2.5% . Still behind Gatehouse Bank at 2.8% although they have currently withdrawn that account as under Review.
Bank Of England rate Meeting on Thursday, expect 0.75% uplift to 3%. That should see 1 year bonds break 5%. I will move my Easy Access if that’s available.
SAGA put their Easy Access up to 2.25% today with the account bonus 2.5% . Still behind Gatehouse Bank at 2.8% although they have currently withdrawn that account as under Review.
Bank Of England rate Meeting on Thursday, expect 0.75% uplift to 3%. That should see 1 year bonds break 5%. I will move my Easy Access if that’s available.
And Marcus too - up to 2.25% today or 2.5% with ther .25% bonus.
Fellow mug punters!! I may have hit upon an idea. It may however not survive the scrutiny of those more ITK which is why I am posting it before looking further into it.
This applies to mug punters like me who are aghast at the destruction of their “safe” ballast funds such as Vanguard Life Strategy 20 and with some relish and relief you turn to the rapidly rising number of savings accounts which actually pay interest..whereupon you run into a new problem, when to take advantage of the fixed term offers with the best rates. You can end up with a turkey there too…like this mug stuck untíl March with one paying 2.1%, while my new Santander instant account pays 2.72%…
So. If you already invested in funds in the early 90s, you may recall the cash funds. I had one with Fidelity on their platform which sometimes was showing 5% gains, because at that time bank rates were pretty high. As we entered the long low inflation period, these funds became pointless.
Now, I suppose their time has come again. But here’s my question: can they, would they invest in fixed term high interest instruments? If so, that is a way to access those instruments without committing to a timespan- you can buy and sell the fund when you please, like any other.
Premium Bond Quandary: I've bought premium bonds regularly over the past 3 years up to the maximum now. I've looked back at my monthly winning and they've never been more than £25 per win and never more than £75 in total. Indeed, 12 of my 27 wins came from £12k of bonds bought back in 2020. So.....................................someone said to me that I should cash in my bonds and buy a single block of £50,000 as their experience is of someone who did this and wins significantly more with a block than the scattered PSBs. Theoretically, it should make no difference as every ticket has a much chance of being drawn as any other and, of course, you lose 1 month of potential wins by cashing in and re-buying.
Premium Bond Quandary: I've bought premium bonds regularly over the past 3 years up to the maximum now. I've looked back at my monthly winning and they've never been more than £25 per win and never more than £75 in total. Indeed, 12 of my 27 wins came from £12k of bonds bought back in 2020. So.....................................someone said to me that I should cash in my bonds and buy a single block of £50,000 as their experience is of someone who did this and wins significantly more with a block than the scattered PSBs. Theoretically, it should make no difference as every ticket has a much chance of being drawn as any other and, of course, you lose 1 month of potential wins by cashing in and re-buying.
Thoughts or experiences??
NSI will tell you that each bond has an equal chance of winning. And I am sure that is right.
But I have read a number of articles saying what you say above - namely that you have a greater chance of winning if you hold your bonds consecutively. So, for example, you have more chance of winning if you hold the maximum holding of £50k in one block rather than 5 blocks of £10k.
Sorry but I haven't got a clue if there is any truth in it!
Premium Bond Quandary: I've bought premium bonds regularly over the past 3 years up to the maximum now. I've looked back at my monthly winning and they've never been more than £25 per win and never more than £75 in total. Indeed, 12 of my 27 wins came from £12k of bonds bought back in 2020. So.....................................someone said to me that I should cash in my bonds and buy a single block of £50,000 as their experience is of someone who did this and wins significantly more with a block than the scattered PSBs. Theoretically, it should make no difference as every ticket has a much chance of being drawn as any other and, of course, you lose 1 month of potential wins by cashing in and re-buying.
Thoughts or experiences??
NSI will tell you that each bond has an equal chance of winning. And I am sure that is right.
But I have read a number of articles saying what you say above - namely that you have a greater chance of winning if you hold your bonds consecutively. So, for example, you have more chance of winning if you hold the maximum holding of £50k in one block rather than 5 blocks of £10k.
Sorry but I haven't got a clue if there is any truth in it!
If there is any truth in this I would NSI have set themselves up for everybody suing them for misrepresentation.
Getting more depressed about prospects for the market. I see the BoE has now starting reversing quantitive easing. Coupled with rising interest rates and big tax rises promised it seems to me as though a deep recession is being manufactured and everytbody seems happy about it!
It was...but their poor systems mean results aren't available until tomorrow...personally think they should run the draw process on last day of the previous month so thay can publsih results actually on the 1st of the month!
And I'm not in it although I invested the full amount back on the 5th October. I believe you need to be in a full month before you are "counted". I suppose I could have put my money elsewhere for 3 weeks & then invested yesterday, but what would I have gained on an instant access account for 3 weeks ?
Fellow mug punters!! I may have hit upon an idea. It may however not survive the scrutiny of those more ITK which is why I am posting it before looking further into it.
This applies to mug punters like me who are aghast at the destruction of their “safe” ballast funds such as Vanguard Life Strategy 20 and with some relish and relief you turn to the rapidly rising number of savings accounts which actually pay interest..whereupon you run into a new problem, when to take advantage of the fixed term offers with the best rates. You can end up with a turkey there too…like this mug stuck untíl March with one paying 2.1%, while my new Santander instant account pays 2.72%…
So. If you already invested in funds in the early 90s, you may recall the cash funds. I had one with Fidelity on their platform which sometimes was showing 5% gains, because at that time bank rates were pretty high. As we entered the long low inflation period, these funds became pointless.
Now, I suppose their time has come again. But here’s my question: can they, would they invest in fixed term high interest instruments? If so, that is a way to access those instruments without committing to a timespan- you can buy and sell the fund when you please, like any other.
whaddya’ reckon?
Royal London had 2 "cash" funds in their Personal Pension range. Both changed their investment mandate earlier this year & changed their name from Deposit and Deposit Plus to Short Term Fixed Rate and now invests in short dated Gilts.
Nice. Out of interest, are your PSBs all in one block or spread over many different numbers bought over time? As I posted yesterday, mine are dispersed and I’m being told that people win more when their holdings are in single, large blocks.
Nice. Out of interest, are your PSBs all in one block or spread over many different numbers bought over time? As I posted yesterday, mine are dispersed and I’m being told that people win more when their holdings are in single, large blocks.
£75 (3x£25) for me, £25 for Mrs Chaz and £200 for jnr (£100, £50, £25x2).
I noticed on the ‘High Value’ winners list that somebody with a £100 holding won £50,000 and another with £300 holding won £100,000. Neither £1m winner had the full £50k holding. So really can’t see having a single £50k block makes any difference.
£75 (3x£25) for me, £25 for Mrs Chaz and £200 for jnr (£100, £50, £25x2).
I noticed on the ‘High Value’ winners list that somebody with a £100 holding won £50,000 and another with £300 holding won £100,000. Neither £1m winner had the full £50k holding. So really can’t see having a single £50k block makes any difference.
Whether a sequential block of 50,000 or 50,000 randomly distributed amongst the 119 Billion bonds issued - the chances of each individual number being drawn for a prize is exactly the same. Anyone who believes otherwise does not have even a fundamental grasp on statistics.
£75 (3x£25) for me, £25 for Mrs Chaz and £200 for jnr (£100, £50, £25x2).
I noticed on the ‘High Value’ winners list that somebody with a £100 holding won £50,000 and another with £300 holding won £100,000. Neither £1m winner had the full £50k holding. So really can’t see having a single £50k block makes any difference.
Whether a sequential block of 50,000 or 50,000 randomly distributed amongst the 119 Billion bonds issued - the chances of each individual number being drawn for a prize is exactly the same. Anyone who believes otherwise does not have even a fundamental grasp on statistics.
Fellow mug punters!! I may have hit upon an idea. It may however not survive the scrutiny of those more ITK which is why I am posting it before looking further into it.
This applies to mug punters like me who are aghast at the destruction of their “safe” ballast funds such as Vanguard Life Strategy 20 and with some relish and relief you turn to the rapidly rising number of savings accounts which actually pay interest..whereupon you run into a new problem, when to take advantage of the fixed term offers with the best rates. You can end up with a turkey there too…like this mug stuck untíl March with one paying 2.1%, while my new Santander instant account pays 2.72%…
So. If you already invested in funds in the early 90s, you may recall the cash funds. I had one with Fidelity on their platform which sometimes was showing 5% gains, because at that time bank rates were pretty high. As we entered the long low inflation period, these funds became pointless.
Now, I suppose their time has come again. But here’s my question: can they, would they invest in fixed term high interest instruments? If so, that is a way to access those instruments without committing to a timespan- you can buy and sell the fund when you please, like any other.
whaddya’ reckon?
Royal London had 2 "cash" funds in their Personal Pension range. Both changed their investment mandate earlier this year & changed their name from Deposit and Deposit Plus to Short Term Fixed Rate and now invests in short dated Gilts.
Not sure cash funds are "in vogue" thesedays
Indeed, they are not, but I wonder if this is about to change. I had a quick look at the Vanguard LS 20 vs a Fidelity cash fund, and will try to post up the graph later. It is pretty…graphic. But the returns so far this year for a cash fund are not that great, they just haven’t lost punters money, whereas the Vanguard fund has shed 15%. I am surprised that isnt being talked about more in the financial media.
However it is marketed as the safest option, because only 20% is equities, supposedly more risky. And up to this year it worked that way ( I have some 40 and 60 ). I will post up the graph later, and then my question for those who understand bonds/gilts/Treasuries better than I would be, is the graph going to recover, or might it not be better to cash out and stick it in a deposit account fixed at 5% for a year or more?
However it is marketed as the safest option, because only 20% is equities, supposedly more risky. And up to this year it worked that way ( I have some 40 and 60 ). I will post up the graph later, and then my question for those who understand bonds/gilts/Treasuries better than I would be, is the graph going to recover, or might it not be better to cash out and stick it in a deposit account fixed at 5% for a year or more?
I'm not so sure that's entirely true, the 20/40/60 are all risk level 4 of 7, 80 & 100 and 5 of 7, so the 80 & 100 are only marginally riskier.
I guess it all depends on what you are trying to achieve and your overall portfolio, I personally don't have any 20 (or 40), have a bit in 60, a bit in 80 and much more in 100. I do also hold about 5% in bonds/gilts separately so overall about 8% of my portfolio is in that.
You also need to consider the yield as much as the value. Most UK Gov 10 year bonds are paying a yield of over 4% now.
Comments
This applies to mug punters like me who are aghast at the destruction of their “safe” ballast funds such as Vanguard Life Strategy 20 and with some relish and relief you turn to the rapidly rising number of savings accounts which actually pay interest..whereupon you run into a new problem, when to take advantage of the fixed term offers with the best rates. You can end up with a turkey there too…like this mug stuck untíl March with one paying 2.1%, while my new Santander instant account pays 2.72%…
So. If you already invested in funds in the early 90s, you may recall the cash funds. I had one with Fidelity on their platform which sometimes was showing 5% gains, because at that time bank rates were pretty high. As we entered the long low inflation period, these funds became pointless.
whaddya’ reckon?
Thoughts or experiences??
But I have read a number of articles saying what you say above - namely that you have a greater chance of winning if you hold your bonds consecutively. So, for example, you have more chance of winning if you hold the maximum holding of £50k in one block rather than 5 blocks of £10k.
Sorry but I haven't got a clue if there is any truth in it!
Not sure cash funds are "in vogue" thesedays
Interesting prizes this month, my wife had 2x £25, 2x £50 and 1x £100.
Father in law to follow!
Every little helps
https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investments/vanguard-lifestrategy-20-equity-fund-gbp-gross-accumulation-shares/portfolio-data
I guess it all depends on what you are trying to achieve and your overall portfolio, I personally don't have any 20 (or 40), have a bit in 60, a bit in 80 and much more in 100. I do also hold about 5% in bonds/gilts separately so overall about 8% of my portfolio is in that.
You also need to consider the yield as much as the value. Most UK Gov 10 year bonds are paying a yield of over 4% now.