UKC

OK I know that Stocks and Shares ISAs are affected by, err, the performance of Stocks and Shares and these in turn are affected by other things but I'm interested to know what is influencing them at the moment.

I've got a bit of money tied up in S & S ISAs and, apart from a short spell earlier this year their valuations have, at best been static.

In the run up to the election I had assumed that their poor performance was due to political uncertainty but now that is over they still seem to be flatlining.

I tend to put my trust in my IFA(he's pretty fair, I've known him a long time) with my money affairs but would be interested to hear from any other experts.

In reply to mypyrex:

Greece, Ukraine, ISIS, Libya, South China Sea, flat economy globally. That sort of thing.

In reply to mypyrex:

What funds are you invested in? Sounds like your money is in a crap one. My wife had an S&S ISA for about 5 or 6 years through the boom years prior to 2008. It also flatlined.

In reply to MG:


Of course, hadn't really thought of them.

In reply to ByEek:

Fidelity

In reply to mypyrex:

Draw it out spend it help the economy

In reply to mypyrex:

You don't seem to be invested in a very good fund. Neil Woodford is a very well respected fund manager, and his fund is up by 20% in its first year. http://www.hl.co.uk/funds/fund-discounts,-prices--and--factsheets/search-re...

In reply to mypyrex:

I have a few through HL - a couple of their own unit trusts and a Jupiter one. You have to remember 'time not timing.' Stocks and Shares are a long term investment, and this will tend to ride out the troughs. Mine have made 16% since Jan 2014, despite a few dips, a world away from what you could achieve from regular savings.

In reply to mypyrex:

Managed funds are very costly. There is good evidence most people are better off with a tracker of some sort, which is a lot cheaper.

Invest your money in vintage port.

If you're lucky you can sell half every 10 years and use the proceeds to buy new. This way providing you buy twice 10 years requirements you can have a self sustaining port supply.

If you're unlucky, you just get to drink it.

In reply to Philip:


I did buy a case of 2011 - unfortunately it won't be ready for drinking until I retire in 20 years. Hopefully I won't be tempted to sell it instead...

For investment I just use index tracking ISAs. If index tracking funds are where Warren Buffet keeps his own money then they're good enough for me.

In reply to mypyrex:

My index tracker has made 6.5% in the last year and 8.1% in the year before that. And that's not even trying to beat the market!

You're either invested in a fund run by someone who thinks the market is going to tank (which is always possible) and is sacrificing return for protection against that in his choice of shares, or you need to find better funds.

In reply to MG:

But the FTSE has not gone up by 20% in the past year, and Neil Woodford's fund has.

In reply to John2:

Wait 5-10 years and factor in charges, then judge.

In reply to mypyrex:


In many ways the result of the election introduced more uncertainty.

In reply to BarrySW19:

Warren Buffett does not keep his own money in an index tracker, but he has stated that when he dies he wishes 90% of his estate to be invested in an index tracker for his wife.

In reply to The New NickB:

Hope you're not trying to provoke a political argument :o!

In reply to MG:


Yeah, the reality is that managed funds don't beat the market average over the long term, and their higher fees mean they have a worse performance.

In reply to mypyrex:


No, I know you are sensitive of criticism of this shower. It's more the unresolved question of EU membership, whatever your position on this, the markets have a pro membership view.

In reply to The New NickB:

I doubt I'm any more sensitive to criticism of the Conservatives(I presume that was what you meant) than the left wing luvvies are of their shower. Believe it or not I am NEVER 100% satisfied with ANY political party. They all have their faults; just that Labour have more.
PS I do take your point about the EU membership.
Let's be careful though, otherwise we will be gravitating towards another ugly UKC debate which is not what I wanted to do.

In reply to mypyrex:

Fidelity where though ? My Fidelity South East Asia have done the following:

Annualised fund performance (as at 31.05.2015)

3 years 11.94%
5 years 7.69%
10 years 14.66%


Sounds like you need some funds switches.

In reply to Philip:

Like your thinking

In reply to mypyrex:

Its just another form of gambling.

In reply to Root1:

Yes, but with the odds for once on the gamblers side.

In reply to mypyrex:
I think pretty much everything flat.ined between 2008 and about last year. I'm not an expert but I've got some money in a Jupiter Higher Income fund, set up to reinvest the income back into the fund. It did badly for a few years but is now bounding ahead. Ditto my wife's AXA Framlington UK fund.
If your IFA recommendation is lagging the market, ask him why. If you don't like the answer there's loads of information about to let you pick your own - try "Money Observer".

Having said that my stepson is a trainee actuary and he's putting his money in an index tracker....

In reply to colinakmc:

'I think pretty much everything flat.ined between 2008 and about last year'

The FTSE 100 index is roughly back where it was at the start of 2008 (by the end of 2008 it was down 31.3%). However, the constituent companies paid dividends in the intervening years, so if you'd held on to an index tracker for all of this period you would be appreciably ahead.

Of course the smart thing to do would have been to sell at the start of 2008 and buy again at the end - myself I underestimated how steep the fall was going to be and didn't sell until my holdings had lost more than 20% of their value.

For what it's worth, I'm sufficiently worried about the possibility of Greece leaving the euro to have sold 90% of my shares this morning - if Greece does leave the result could be devastating for the stock market. This also ties conveniently into a 'sell in May' strategy, which has been pretty successful for the last few years.

In reply to mypyrex:


I'm not convinced that's a good idea, since an IFA will cost money which will detract from the returns. I'd suggest that if you don't want to pick funds yourself then simply find the lowest-cost tracker around. More of less by definition the "average" IFA will produce an "average" return similar to that of the index anyhow.

If you tell us which funds you're investing in and what sort of timescale you mean by "their valuations have, at best been static", you might get some good advice here.

In reply to mypyrex:

A question for all. Given the returns on cash ISAs are so poor at present, are you better of investing in a stocks and shares ISA in preference? (Not looking to withdraw in the next 10 years or so).

In reply to Ridge:

Probably. But you might lose some or most of it if you are unlucky. If you really can't afford to lose it, stick with cash.

In reply to mypyrex:

And, if you have a mortgage, consider paying that down instead of investing. Paying down a mortgage is effectively investing the money at a guaranteed tax-free equivalent to your mortgage interest rate.

In reply to BarrySW19:

N/A

In reply to MG:

Thanks. I'll stick to being safe but poor then

In reply to Ridge:
Probably best nt to take investment advice from random blokes on the Internet either (Or blokes in slimey suits, or slick websites. Tricky...)