How do people see the equity markets right now? They have recovered pretty well in the last couple of months, especially the Dow. Time to take some profits in anticipation of a downturn? Or, given signs of Trump and China making up, might we see a further push upwards?
I think I am going to sell holdings in Neil Woodford's fund, either way. Fortunately at least in my non SIPP I can sell at a decent profit as I bought on launch. But in the SIPP it is my mother of all dog funds, with no real sign of improvement even if it is slightly up on recent days because everything is. It certainly does show that there can be hype around fund managers just as there can be around football managers. Is Neil Woodford the Mourinho of fund managers? :-)
Last Investment meeting I went to (Jupiter) they were saying equities still good & UK still undervalued (although that was with the FTSE100 at 7200).
Invesco have been saying the US is still 18 months away from a potential recession & also to look at emerging markets. Japan is still a quandary as is Europe - although the latter may be a but clearer after the European elections next month.
I have seen clients portfolios increase around 6%-8% since the start of the year. My Pension has increased by over 10%.....But then mine is quite aggressive.
I have seen clients portfolios increase around 6%-8% since the start of the year. My Pension has increased by over 10%.....But then mine is quite aggressive.
I got out if Woodford funds 12-18 months ago.
One of the many downsides of low (in case of Germany negative rates) is that it forces the middle class to invest in riskier and riskier assets to get even a small yield. When equities and non-government debt drops in value it causes substantial harm to those who otherwise never would have taken such risks.
25 years ago you could get 4% CDs and 5% bonds. Now you need to buy equities to get 2-3%. History shows things like that do not end well.
So hopefully some of the experts here can help me out, my son is now 3 months old and I'd like to set up something for his future. I already have roughly 50k tied up here in savings so I'd like whatever I set up for him to be back 'home' as a way of diversifying away from Chinese savings systems.
I'm looking to put away 1 or 200 quid a month somewhere he could access when he was 18 or 21 which would be around 25k or so. The problem is sending money back every month would get quite expensive so I'd much rather making a deposit every 6 months.
I'd prefer a low level of risk and had been considering premium bonds, but @PragueAddick seem to think they are maybe not the best way forward, and he is someone I think knows his stuff.
Any advice would be very appreciated.
Really boring but I stick money in a Halifax regular saver monthly for my two then roll into a Nationwide saver at expiry and go again. Halifax pays 4.5% and Nationwide 3.5%. Not exciting but safe and the bonus that it stays in my control as I plan on withdrawing the lot a few days before they are 18 and giving it to them when they are a few years older and wiser and may put to good use rather than waste it all!
That was something I thought might be an issue, I suppose a work-a-round would be transferring the money to a trusted family member and letting them deal with it.
Money Laundering could scupper that. More then my job is worth. If I was going to even get started down that road I'd want to meet you in person......in the UK.
Stu, if you're looking at investing semi-regularly over the next 18-25 years, would you not be better setting up a simple portfolio with someone like Interactive Brokers/DeGiro? It would almost certainly offer a better return than a bank over that time period, even keeping it very low-risk.
Certainly something worth looking into, cheers, Ireally have no idea about this stuff as I never had a pot to piss in until a few years ago, when I was able to start saving approx 1k a month。
That was something I thought might be an issue, I suppose a work-a-round would be transferring the money to a trusted family member and letting them deal with it.
Or at a pinch, making that family member's home your UK address, in which case you could re-open a UK bank account. That's what I do. For a normal bank account, as a UK citizen they won't ask you about source of funds, just a sensible estimate of earnings that would be reflected in what they see passing through your account. Strictly speaking they ask you to declare that you are a "UK resident" but they really just want you to tick the box. They are banks after all, they want your money.
You have the problem of transferring money from China to the UK cost-effectively of course, but you probably already know Transferwise.
I'm surprised you managed to open a bank a/c in the UK pretending you are a UK resident. I thought banks asked for identification and proof of address, unless they can confirm your address by their electoral role search.
I didn't "open" a bank account. It's the same account that I have had for 30 years with HSBC (and the Midland as it was before that). One time when I was on the phone to a CSR, I was startled when he finished the call by thanking me for being an HSBC customer for more than 26 years.
I also had an IFA for several years until about three years ago who was no cowboy and who knew every aspect of my circumstances. Hargreaves Lansdowne's platform says that it welcomes customers from other countries (possibly limited to EU) but then makes that more difficult by insisting on a UK bank account
This is an insular British approach. Both my wife and I are opening bank accounts in Luxembourg with Keytrade, and indeed she has a current account in the Netherlands with ABN Amro which we discovered when I tracked down her Unilever share holding which she thought had been cancelled when she left the company in 2007. Both banks take the view that provided they can see that the source of funds is another European bank from an EU country with similar money laundering measures, and the client can explain the sources, they don't care if the client's main home is the country the bank is in. Only the British have this "island" approach, and since London is the money laundering capital of Europe the likes of ABN Amro don't have much truck with lectures from Brits on the issue.
I have a UK bank account, I just never use it but it's still open, with a few hundred quid in it.
Well, that is potentially very useful...whatever else you do, I would hold on to it.
It means that you could use Hargreaves Lansdowne's platform and those of several competitors too, probably.
Edit... totally legally, too. See their T&C's section A2. I spoke to them about this, when investigating whether I could open an account for my wife. Their concern is not money-laundering (if you are currently non-resident but with a UK account) but rather that if you have reason to raise a complaint about them with the FCA they see it as a grey area as to whether the FCA can cover you.
Apologies if this is mentioned further up the thread.
Does anyone know much about investing in peer to peer lending?
My Dad has recommended it to me. He has some money in it with rate setter (apparently they have some provision fund which acts as a guarantee?) And has been getting 5.2%.
Basically my situation is this. I am looking to buy a house in 2/3 years time but until then I have a chunk of spare cash I'm not sure what to do with. I already have a help to buy isa which gets the max £200 a month as well as a range of other savings accounts and regular savers which I get between 3% and 0.5% on various amounts.
I've got about £5,000 I don't know what to do with and am looking to put somewhere where I can get more than a the usual 2-3% return but without adding too much risk. I am willing to lock it in for 2 years or so.
On top of this I've recently had a promotion at work and pay rise to go with it and am looking to put away more each month. I don't want it sitting somewhere crap getting 0.25% so any kind of product I can add to monthly would be great.
Any thoughts on Peer to peer are welcome. Equally if you don't think it's the right thing for my situation feel free to recommend something else.
And before anyone asks I have done some research into what P2P is, how it works and that the risks are a lot greater than putting your money in a bank.
And before anyone asks I have done some research into what P2P is, how it works and that the risks are a lot greater than putting your money in a bank.
Steer clear of any property ones - ie lending money to developers - Accident waiting to happen and i would expect a load of lost money and bankrupt p2p’s in this space over the next few yer
And before anyone asks I have done some research into what P2P is, how it works and that the risks are a lot greater than putting your money in a bank.
Well, seeing as you've already done your homework & have sussed out that it is, in your words, "a lot riskier than putting your money in the bank" then why risk it ?? If this money is needed in 2 years or so to help you buy a house then for God's sake don't do anything else than put it on deposit of at worst with NS&I. You could possibly get a 2 year fixed rate bond at around 2.5% or buy Premuum Bonds.
The difference in returns between P2P & cash is (based on your figures) around 2.5% & on £5k that is just £125 pa. So.....is the extra £250 you "might" gain worth the extra risk ?? My answer would be no.
Apologies if this is mentioned further up the thread.
Does anyone know much about investing in peer to peer lending?
My Dad has recommended it to me. He has some money in it with rate setter (apparently they have some provision fund which acts as a guarantee?) And has been getting 5.2%.
Basically my situation is this. I am looking to buy a house in 2/3 years time but until then I have a chunk of spare cash I'm not sure what to do with. I already have a help to buy isa which gets the max £200 a month as well as a range of other savings accounts and regular savers which I get between 3% and 0.5% on various amounts.
I've got about £5,000 I don't know what to do with and am looking to put somewhere where I can get more than a the usual 2-3% return but without adding too much risk. I am willing to lock it in for 2 years or so.
On top of this I've recently had a promotion at work and pay rise to go with it and am looking to put away more each month. I don't want it sitting somewhere crap getting 0.25% so any kind of product I can add to monthly would be great.
Any thoughts on Peer to peer are welcome. Equally if you don't think it's the right thing for my situation feel free to recommend something else.
Apologies if this is mentioned further up the thread.
Does anyone know much about investing in peer to peer lending?
My Dad has recommended it to me. He has some money in it with rate setter (apparently they have some provision fund which acts as a guarantee?) And has been getting 5.2%.
Basically my situation is this. I am looking to buy a house in 2/3 years time but until then I have a chunk of spare cash I'm not sure what to do with. I already have a help to buy isa which gets the max £200 a month as well as a range of other savings accounts and regular savers which I get between 3% and 0.5% on various amounts.
I've got about £5,000 I don't know what to do with and am looking to put somewhere where I can get more than a the usual 2-3% return but without adding too much risk. I am willing to lock it in for 2 years or so.
On top of this I've recently had a promotion at work and pay rise to go with it and am looking to put away more each month. I don't want it sitting somewhere crap getting 0.25% so any kind of product I can add to monthly would be great.
Any thoughts on Peer to peer are welcome. Equally if you don't think it's the right thing for my situation feel free to recommend something else.
Any advice appreciated.
Buy a banksy, drop me a msg if you want any help
I don't have a clue about art so this is a genuine question. Isn't the price if art as much about fashion as anything, and Banksy must be about the most fashionable artist at this time, as such i would think his ‘value’ is at risk of being top of the curve?
Apologies if this is mentioned further up the thread.
Does anyone know much about investing in peer to peer lending?
My Dad has recommended it to me. He has some money in it with rate setter (apparently they have some provision fund which acts as a guarantee?) And has been getting 5.2%.
Basically my situation is this. I am looking to buy a house in 2/3 years time but until then I have a chunk of spare cash I'm not sure what to do with. I already have a help to buy isa which gets the max £200 a month as well as a range of other savings accounts and regular savers which I get between 3% and 0.5% on various amounts.
I've got about £5,000 I don't know what to do with and am looking to put somewhere where I can get more than a the usual 2-3% return but without adding too much risk. I am willing to lock it in for 2 years or so.
On top of this I've recently had a promotion at work and pay rise to go with it and am looking to put away more each month. I don't want it sitting somewhere crap getting 0.25% so any kind of product I can add to monthly would be great.
Any thoughts on Peer to peer are welcome. Equally if you don't think it's the right thing for my situation feel free to recommend something else.
Any advice appreciated.
Buy a banksy, drop me a msg if you want any help
I don't have a clue about art so this is a genuine question. Isn't the price if art as much about fashion as anything, and Banksy must be about the most fashionable artist at this time, as such i would think his ‘value’ is at risk of being top of the curve?
People have been saying that for over a decade now, but I'm sure it would return more than an ISA, my most recent acquisition was only 2 weeks ago. IMO he's my generations warhol and has a place firmly in Art history so isn't going anywhere. 👌. I've been trying to convince my mum to purchase them since they were £200 each lol
Have any of you guys set up children's savings/investment accounts? I've (probably stupidly) left this to my other half and she's parked considerable amounts of money in junior cash ISA's paying peanuts. Should I be looking at stocks and shares ISA's given they're still reasonably young (8 & 9) and if so which ones? Do these types of accounts have to be wound up when they turn 18 or can they be rolled over for a few more years (I'd ideally be looking at a 15-20 year investment so they've got a good start in life after they've finished their education).
Edit - I've just noticed Stu's post/the replies. My situation is a little different as my kids are older and I'm interested in balanced but reasonably aggressive investments.
Have any of you guys set up children's savings/investment accounts? I've (probably stupidly) left this to my other half and she's parked considerable amounts of money in junior cash ISA's paying peanuts. Should I be looking at stocks and shares ISA's given they're still reasonably young (8 & 9) and if so which ones? Do these types of accounts have to be wound up when they turn 18 or can they be rolled over for a few more years (I'd ideally be looking at a 15-20 year investment so they've got a good start in life after they've finished their education).
Mine are just coming out of children’s accounts (18 & 16).
The junior Isa’s When they mature at 18 becomes theirs and end. You should be able to get 3.5% on cash.
I only did cash (isa’s) For them but had other investments. Friendly society bonds are worth looking at, I took them out when they were born and they did well (tax free also).
Have any of you guys set up children's savings/investment accounts? I've (probably stupidly) left this to my other half and she's parked considerable amounts of money in junior cash ISA's paying peanuts. Should I be looking at stocks and shares ISA's given they're still reasonably young (8 & 9) and if so which ones? Do these types of accounts have to be wound up when they turn 18 or can they be rolled over for a few more years (I'd ideally be looking at a 15-20 year investment so they've got a good start in life after they've finished their education).
Mine are just coming out of children’s accounts (18 & 16).
The junior Isa’s When they mature at 18 becomes theirs and end. You should be able to get 3.5% on cash.
I only did cash (isa’s) For them but had other investments. Friendly society bonds are worth looking at, I took them out when they were born and they did well (tax free also).
Coventry building society pay 3.6% on a Junior ISA and accepts transfers in. I'd at least move to there if the rate currently is poor.
All the usual suspects do a S&S Junior ISA, Hargreaves Landsdown, Charles Stanley etc. I've not used either so can't really comment, I use Fidelity for a lot fo mine and have always ben happy with them, they do a Junior S&S ISA.
I did Junior Bonds for mine as above, company has changed now but details here;
Comments
Invesco have been saying the US is still 18 months away from a potential recession & also to look at emerging markets. Japan is still a quandary as is Europe - although the latter may be a but clearer after the European elections next month.
I got out if Woodford funds 12-18 months ago.
Certainly something worth looking into, cheers, Ireally have no idea about this stuff as I never had a pot to piss in until a few years ago, when I was able to start saving approx 1k a month。
I didn't "open" a bank account. It's the same account that I have had for 30 years with HSBC (and the Midland as it was before that). One time when I was on the phone to a CSR, I was startled when he finished the call by thanking me for being an HSBC customer for more than 26 years.
I also had an IFA for several years until about three years ago who was no cowboy and who knew every aspect of my circumstances. Hargreaves Lansdowne's platform says that it welcomes customers from other countries (possibly limited to EU) but then makes that more difficult by insisting on a UK bank account
This is an insular British approach. Both my wife and I are opening bank accounts in Luxembourg with Keytrade, and indeed she has a current account in the Netherlands with ABN Amro which we discovered when I tracked down her Unilever share holding which she thought had been cancelled when she left the company in 2007. Both banks take the view that provided they can see that the source of funds is another European bank from an EU country with similar money laundering measures, and the client can explain the sources, they don't care if the client's main home is the country the bank is in. Only the British have this "island" approach, and since London is the money laundering capital of Europe the likes of ABN Amro don't have much truck with lectures from Brits on the issue.
Stu_of_Kunming is in a different position, as I take from his answer that he didn't maintain any UK bank account or "footprint", and does not intend to return, and China as a source of funds would raise a flag, (also in other EU banks). Even though thousands of extremely rich Chinese have bought up great swathes of Central London with money that is rarely if ever properly investigated.
You wouldn't like my interest rates, I don't trust northerners.
It means that you could use Hargreaves Lansdowne's platform and those of several competitors too, probably.
Edit... totally legally, too. See their T&C's section A2. I spoke to them about this, when investigating whether I could open an account for my wife. Their concern is not money-laundering (if you are currently non-resident but with a UK account) but rather that if you have reason to raise a complaint about them with the FCA they see it as a grey area as to whether the FCA can cover you.
Does anyone know much about investing in peer to peer lending?
My Dad has recommended it to me. He has some money in it with rate setter (apparently they have some provision fund which acts as a guarantee?) And has been getting 5.2%.
Basically my situation is this. I am looking to buy a house in 2/3 years time but until then I have a chunk of spare cash I'm not sure what to do with. I already have a help to buy isa which gets the max £200 a month as well as a range of other savings accounts and regular savers which I get between 3% and 0.5% on various amounts.
I've got about £5,000 I don't know what to do with and am looking to put somewhere where I can get more than a the usual 2-3% return but without adding too much risk. I am willing to lock it in for 2 years or so.
On top of this I've recently had a promotion at work and pay rise to go with it and am looking to put away more each month. I don't want it sitting somewhere crap getting 0.25% so any kind of product I can add to monthly would be great.
Any thoughts on Peer to peer are welcome. Equally if you don't think it's the right thing for my situation feel free to recommend something else.
Any advice appreciated.
The difference in returns between P2P & cash is (based on your figures) around 2.5% & on £5k that is just £125 pa. So.....is the extra £250 you "might" gain worth the extra risk ?? My answer would be no.
Add in the fact that the bid/offer spread is a huge percentage of the value of the investment and you have a recipe for investors to be fleeced.
Now literally worth f#$#ing pennies .
Edit - I've just noticed Stu's post/the replies. My situation is a little different as my kids are older and I'm interested in balanced but reasonably aggressive investments.
The junior Isa’s When they mature at 18 becomes theirs and end. You should be able to get 3.5% on cash.
I only did cash (isa’s) For them but had other investments. Friendly society bonds are worth looking at, I took them out when they were born and they did well (tax free also).
Coventry building society pay 3.6% on a Junior ISA and accepts transfers in. I'd at least move to there if the rate currently is poor.
All the usual suspects do a S&S Junior ISA, Hargreaves Landsdown, Charles Stanley etc. I've not used either so can't really comment, I use Fidelity for a lot fo mine and have always ben happy with them, they do a Junior S&S ISA.
I did Junior Bonds for mine as above, company has changed now but details here;
https://www.onefamily.com/savings-and-investments/children/
paid £25 a month in for 16 years a bit over 8k out each which is roughly 6% APR so not awful.