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Bag lady sweats

Investment discussion for beginners. Why you should invest your money, get help getting started
tonyreptiles
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Bag lady sweats

#327710

Postby tonyreptiles » July 21st, 2020, 3:05 pm

It's ridiculous, I know. But here I am, in the most secure financial position of my life, about to start investing with money I can (almost?) afford to lose and I'm almost in tears with worry. I think it comes from having been down and (almost?) out before in my life. Sleeping in my car and living in a homeless shelter gives you a unique and unenviable perspective and, despite my relative affluence and security, I have a fear in my gut which is literally sickening.

In my brain I know the risk of me becoming an actual bag lady are almost zero. I have two-year strong emergency fund and a diverse freelance income stream which I'd say is as reliable as anyone could hope for. My expenses are low and I have no debt. My home is paid for and, at almost 50 years old, I'm fit enough to hold my own at most gyms. I have few real money worries to worry about. But I am worried. I feel the dread of messing it all up and becoming destitute. I worry, because I've been there. And it frightens the hell out of me.

With that in mind, I'm hoping to run my investment plans past the people here in the hope that you'll kick them into shape if I'm making any rookie mistakes. I've been doing some research and have come to the conclusion that most of the information about investing is irrelevant to me as I have no intention of becoming an active investor. Here's my understanding of how to best use my money to invest. What do you think?


    - Most managed funds underperform the market, with fees and poor management being the major causes of depletion.
    - Those managed funds which do outperform the market are usually achieved through luck, and are unlikely to continue to beat the market thereafter.
    - The odds of identifying one of the few well-performing managed funds are unlikely.
    - These facts should lead most investors to choose a passive index tracker as their most efficient investing vehicle.
    - It makes sense to use an ISA to protect investment income from taxation.
    - An index tracker which tracks worldwide markets offers the most diversity and, therefore, the most security.
    - Punching a lump sum into an index tracker is more risky than drip-feeding the index tracker, albeit also less rewarding should the market rise sharply.

(I've avoided asking about the C-19 issue as I'd like to hone my general understanding before adding in teh complexities caused by the pandemic.)

Does that sound like a good overview?
Have I missed anything?

Thanks in advance
TR

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327719

Postby ReformedCharacter » July 21st, 2020, 3:41 pm

tonyreptiles wrote:I've been doing some research and have come to the conclusion that most of the information about investing is irrelevant to me as I have no intention of becoming an active investor.
TR

Hi Tony, you might consider one (or more) of the Vanguard funds. Very low on costs:

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/what ... l-products

RC

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327720

Postby digitaria » July 21st, 2020, 3:42 pm

Anyone who thinks that a managed fund can't outperform the market should take a look at Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMT). Look at its share price performance over 1, 5, 10 years, so you can see it's not a blip. Its charges are relatively low.

However its price is currently sky high, due to the share prices of some of its constituents such as Tesla and Amazon - and Tesla in particular could plunge at some point, should it disappoint the market.

Anyway, it's not either / or - you could combine something racy like SMT with a global tracker, in proportions to suit your risk attitude.

I have some SMT - it's about 3% of a diversified portfolio. I do plenty of worrying too. I'm not sure how that can be avoided when you manage your own finances and depend on your reasonable competence in doing so.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327722

Postby Urbandreamer » July 21st, 2020, 3:45 pm

tonyreptiles wrote:
    - Most managed funds underperform the market, with fees and poor management being the major causes of depletion.
    - Those managed funds which do outperform the market are usually achieved through luck, and are unlikely to continue to beat the market thereafter.
    - The odds of identifying one of the few well-performing managed funds are unlikely.
    - These facts should lead most investors to choose a passive index tracker as their most efficient investing vehicle.
    - It makes sense to use an ISA to protect investment income from taxation.
    - An index tracker which tracks worldwide markets offers the most diversity and, therefore, the most security.
    - Punching a lump sum into an index tracker is more risky than drip-feeding the index tracker, albeit also less rewarding should the market rise sharply.

....
Does that sound like a good overview?
Have I missed anything?

Thanks in advance
TR


It's a good overview, of a particular view point.

Here are my responses
    The purpose of managed funds is to outperform market returns. Is it? Some would argue otherwise for many managed funds.
    The odds of identifying the few well managed funds are unlikely. Well that assumes that the criteria is to outperform the market doesn't it.
    Most investors should choose a passive tracker. Well clearly if the first point is true then there really is no argument. But is it true for "most" investors?
    It makes sense to use an ISA.. Well that argument presupposes the circumstances. However is certainly may be true. Then again SIPP, VCT?
    A world index tracker....more security. Absolutly NOT. Sure it's a great choice. But more security? Than what? It's hard to argue that it's more secure than cash or Gilts. The trouble is the term security.
    Lump sum/ drip feed. If you are lucky the lump sum will outperform. If you are like most people the question is moot as you will have regular amounts that you can invest.

Note, at no point am I trying to discurage you from taking out a global tracker in a ISA. In many ways it's a good choice. I own one myself in a pension.
I'm just pointing out that the arguments used have a certain bias.

For example some might regard wealth preservation as significantly more important than outperforming the market. Funds attempting that task will significantly underperform the market much of the time, yet may still make money.
Others may want lower volatility than a tracker can give. For example a bond fund or one of Vanguards lifestyle funds. Such will almost certainly underperform a global tracker over the long term. Those who buy such accept the fact but sacrifice returns to sleep at night.

Both examples call lie to the very first point. The point on which many that follow are based.

FWIW as has been said, you can do both. I have some SMT. Significantly less SMT than I have in trackers, but I do have some.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327728

Postby dealtn » July 21st, 2020, 4:12 pm

tonyreptiles wrote:It's ridiculous, I know. But here I am, in the most secure financial position of my life, about to start investing with money I can (almost?) afford to lose and I'm almost in tears with worry. I think it comes from having been down and (almost?) out before in my life. Sleeping in my car and living in a homeless shelter gives you a unique and unenviable perspective and, despite my relative affluence and security, I have a fear in my gut which is literally sickening.

In my brain I know the risk of me becoming an actual bag lady are almost zero. I have two-year strong emergency fund and a diverse freelance income stream which I'd say is as reliable as anyone could hope for. My expenses are low and I have no debt. My home is paid for and, at almost 50 years old, I'm fit enough to hold my own at most gyms. I have few real money worries to worry about. But I am worried. I feel the dread of messing it all up and becoming destitute. I worry, because I've been there. And it frightens the hell out of me.

With that in mind, I'm hoping to run my investment plans past the people here in the hope that you'll kick them into shape if I'm making any rookie mistakes. I've been doing some research and have come to the conclusion that most of the information about investing is irrelevant to me as I have no intention of becoming an active investor. Here's my understanding of how to best use my money to invest. What do you think?


    - Most managed funds underperform the market, with fees and poor management being the major causes of depletion.
    - Those managed funds which do outperform the market are usually achieved through luck, and are unlikely to continue to beat the market thereafter.
    - The odds of identifying one of the few well-performing managed funds are unlikely.
    - These facts should lead most investors to choose a passive index tracker as their most efficient investing vehicle.
    - It makes sense to use an ISA to protect investment income from taxation.
    - An index tracker which tracks worldwide markets offers the most diversity and, therefore, the most security.
    - Punching a lump sum into an index tracker is more risky than drip-feeding the index tracker, albeit also less rewarding should the market rise sharply.

(I've avoided asking about the C-19 issue as I'd like to hone my general understanding before adding in teh complexities caused by the pandemic.)

Does that sound like a good overview?
Have I missed anything?

Thanks in advance
TR


Not a lot to disagree on, so hopefully that helps dial down your fret-o-meter a little.

The one thing I might say, is that whilst a world tracker provides diversity, and security, as a UK investor with probable UK dominated future expenditures etc. a world fund doesn't provide the best economy/FX exposure. You might be OK with this, and indeed see that as an advantage if you have a particular view on the relative merits of the UK economy and currency, but at a minimum it would be appropriate to consider this (if you haven't).

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327751

Postby Mike4 » July 21st, 2020, 5:42 pm

tonyreptiles wrote:Have I missed anything?


Yes, this:


I have a fear in my gut which is literally sickening.



I feel the dread of messing it all up and becoming destitute. I worry, because I've been there. And it frightens the hell out of me.



I think these fears are perfectly rational and any investment strategy needs to 1) Align with your risk appetite and 2) Allow you to sleep at night.

Both are the same thing, really. So given what you have written I think staying in cash would be a really prudent thing for you to do. Have you checked the performance of any of the index trackers you are considering over the last six months? Does it scare you more or are you ok with that, had you set off on this path six months ago?

Another approach is to pick a sum you'd be happy to lose outright (be it £500k, 50p or something in between) and invest that in your chosen vehicle then if you lose it, you won't be losing sleep over it as well.

Just my take on it.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327759

Postby AleisterCrowley » July 21st, 2020, 6:29 pm

digitaria wrote:Anyone who thinks that a managed fund can't outperform the market should take a look at Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMT). Look at its share price performance over 1, 5, 10 years, so you can see it's not a blip. Its charges are relatively low.

I don't think anyone has said a managed fund can't outperform the market, it's just that most of them fail to over longer periods.

SMT have done really well (I have some) but how would you pick 'today's SMT' ?? If SMTs future out-performance was predictable at any point in the last 10 years or whatever, the price would have ramped up to near recent highs
And anyway "Look at its share price performance over 1, 5, 10 years, so you can see it's not a blip" - a lot of people said that about Woodford's funds...

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327760

Postby AleisterCrowley » July 21st, 2020, 6:36 pm

tonyreptiles wrote:It's ridiculous, I know. But here I am, in the most secure financial position of my life, about to start investing with money I can (almost?) afford to lose and I'm almost in tears with worry. I think it comes from having been down and (almost?) out before in my life. Sleeping in my car and living in a homeless shelter gives you a unique and unenviable perspective and, despite my relative affluence and security, I have a fear in my gut which is literally sickening.
In my brain I know the risk of me becoming an actual bag lady are almost zero.
TR



This is what Martin Amis called "Tramp dread"...very common, particularly among people with variable incomes such as writers
https://www.waywordradio.org/tramp_dread_1/

Itsallaguess
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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327762

Postby Itsallaguess » July 21st, 2020, 6:52 pm

tonyreptiles wrote:
I have two-year strong emergency fund and a diverse freelance income stream which I'd say is as reliable as anyone could hope for.

My expenses are low and I have no debt. My home is paid for and, at almost 50 years old, I'm fit enough to hold my own at most gyms. I have few real money worries to worry about.

But I am worried. I feel the dread of messing it all up and becoming destitute. I worry, because I've been there. And it frightens the hell out of me.


Hi Tony,

You don't seem to be giving yourself enough credit in relation to your 'two-year strong emergency fund', which in itself is absolutely the correct way to start this journey (don't touch it unless you absolutely need to!), or in your personal ability to find productive work during that two-year emergency period even if all other finances were in trouble.

Useful human capital is massively undervalued in these considerations, and you seem like the sort of chap who would turn his hand to something even if his usual work-streams came under pressure..

Personally, I think a three-year expenses-fund would feel much more secure, and especially so if you're feeling a bit 'rabbit-in-headlights' about all of this, so perhaps think about upping that first, before setting out.

You'll get some great advice on the actual investment side, so I won't delve into that side of things too much, but I did want to point out the above anomaly between the safety-net you're already providing for yourself before you set out on this investment journey, and the nervousness you've got as though you didn't have it...

The other single bit of advice that I'd give, and related to your nervousness in some ways, would be to take things really slowly once you start on the actual investment side of things. Think of acting in double-digit months rather than thinking you've got to dive in head-first.

Feel your way in, and acclimatise yourself as you go...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327784

Postby monabri » July 21st, 2020, 8:49 pm

I'd have a mooch at some of the Pensioncraft videos on YouTube. The videos are typically 15 mins in length.
Mr Nakisa puts together a nice clear explanation of the Vanguard funds and you will find a wide range of info from basic, easy to understand to ..oh, that's getting a bit deep.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pension ... AXoECA0QAQ

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327811

Postby JohnW » July 22nd, 2020, 12:09 am

dealtn wrote:The one thing I might say, is that whilst a world tracker provides diversity, and security, as a UK investor with probable UK dominated future expenditures etc. a world fund doesn't provide the best economy/FX exposure.

Wondering how to deal with this, one could use a currency hedged world tracker, partly or wholly, but I don't see what the 'economy' risk is other than the rest of the world goes down the gurgler taking your investments while you still have to live in the booming and expensive UK. Crudely, is that it?
digitaria wrote:Anyone who thinks that a managed fund can't outperform the market

I didn't see that idea written anywhere, so perhaps leave that aside for now.
Urbandreamer wrote:The purpose of managed funds is to outperform market returns. Is it? Some would argue otherwise for many managed funds.

Benchmarking of this nature need to consider the risk element as well, in any discussion, even if only implicitly. If an active fund is designed to under-perform an appropriate index so as to take less risk we shouldn't be simply comparing their returns. For equity investing, a suitable 'standard' (because it's achievable) is 'just below market returns (to cover costs), for taking market risk'. If that risk is too much for me I have some of my money in government bonds or cash. Those latter might be better alternatives than an active fund with low risk and aspirations to match, but higher management costs and frictional expenses like trading costs and buy/sell spreads, even before you get to the possibility that the manager might not hit their target.
Urbandreamer wrote:Funds attempting that task {wealth preservation} will significantly underperform the market much of the time, yet may still make money

If this is about equity funds under-performing equity markets but still making money, I'd still question whether government bonds or cash deposits wouldn't be a better choice. Happy to learn of some examples.
I don't see anywhere in the original post that equity funds were specified. What was written did not exclude bond funds, again active and passive.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327830

Postby Urbandreamer » July 22nd, 2020, 7:30 am

JohnW wrote:
Urbandreamer wrote:Funds attempting that task {wealth preservation} will significantly underperform the market much of the time, yet may still make money

If this is about equity funds under-performing equity markets but still making money, I'd still question whether government bonds or cash deposits wouldn't be a better choice. Happy to learn of some examples.
I don't see anywhere in the original post that equity funds were specified. What was written did not exclude bond funds, again active and passive.


There is a universe of equity funds to pick from. For example consider the following (selectively quoted)
Troy Trojan.
To seek to achieve growth in capital (net of fees), ahead of inflation (UK Retail Prices Index), over the longer term (5 to 7 years).


Or Ruffer.
The product aims to achieve a positive total annual return, after all expenses, of at least twice the Bank of England base rate


Note NOT at all like SMT
and aim to achieve a greater return than the FTSE All-World Index (in sterling terms) over a five year rolling period.


Cash and bonds might be a better choice for some, not for everyone. It's the "not for everyone" point that I was making.

The OP didn't in truth use the term equity, however the combination of the terms market and index tracker usually imply such. Many of the arguments in favour of passive investments and index tracking become very suspect when talking bond funds. Equity indexes tend to favour big companies, bond indexes favour companies needing/wanting to borrow. I certainly know of no research that would even start to support his overview if we assume that he meant bonds.

While I don't own any Trojan, I would argue that it can be a well managed fund if it achieves capital growth ahead of inflation regardless of if it beats the market.

To recap TR's overview

    - Most managed funds underperform the market, with fees and poor management being the major causes of depletion.
    - Those managed funds which do outperform the market are usually achieved through luck, and are unlikely to continue to beat the market thereafter.
    - The odds of identifying one of the few well-performing managed funds are unlikely.

I doubt those are his arguments, rather ones that he has accepted. Indeed IF we ignore the presumption that the purpose of most managed funds is to beat the market AND assume that the research proving this has excluded those who don't have that purpose, then it is a good argument to buy an index tracker. There are of course many other good arguments for buying an index tracker. I just feel the it's not a bad idea to be very careful about sweeping statements, and the assumptions that underlie them.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327843

Postby GoSeigen » July 22nd, 2020, 8:15 am

tonyreptiles wrote:
    - Most managed funds underperform the market, with fees and poor management being the major causes of depletion.
    - Those managed funds which do outperform the market are usually achieved through luck, and are unlikely to continue to beat the market thereafter.
    - The odds of identifying one of the few well-performing managed funds are unlikely.
    - These facts should lead most investors to choose a passive index tracker as their most efficient investing vehicle.
    - It makes sense to use an ISA to protect investment income from taxation.
    - An index tracker which tracks worldwide markets offers the most diversity and, therefore, the most security.
    - Punching a lump sum into an index tracker is more risky than drip-feeding the index tracker, albeit also less rewarding should the market rise sharply.

(I've avoided asking about the C-19 issue as I'd like to hone my general understanding before adding in teh complexities caused by the pandemic.)

Does that sound like a good overview?
Have I missed anything?


TR

Excellent overview above, yes. I think you've missed two things:

-Risk management. Okay you talked about your feelings a lot and give the impression of having a healthy approach to risk i.e. you are not cavalier but also not so timid as to be avoiding risk altogether. Keep your risk approach in balance over the years as you do your investing, especially at times when the market seems excited (all-time highs) or terrified (crashes). The way you invest at those times needs to be measured and to consider the risks inherent in the price action. [Analogies might be public's reaction to all snakes even harmless ones, and the hubris of a youngster who gets careless when regularly handling poisonous ones ;-) As a veteran reptile handler, how do you navigate those two situations?] Which leads to:

-Asset allocation. More important than what investments you choose is ensuring you keep a balance of risky and non-risky assets. Especially, if you think you have a good idea that you want to allocate plenty of funds to, make a point of simultaneously allocating a small amount to an opposing view. We all make mistakes or misread situations, and when that happens you will be very pleased to have a diverse exposure rather than all your eggs in one basket. Examples of this approach are: I think shares would be a good idea. Instead of buying £10k of shares I buy £8k and £2k for a corporate bond fund; or I think shares are too pricey. Instead of putting £10k in the bank I put £5k in the bank, £3k in bonds and £2k in shares (cos I may be wrong...).


A personal perspective: I have been heavily buying banks for years in the mistaken belief that the time for them was right. During the covid crash banks lost half their value and haven't recovered. :-( Fortunately I had also kept a 5-10% allocation to gold and gold shares, and a few US index short ETFs (which go up when the market crashes). So when bank shares crashed I wasn't so gutted: the short ETFs went up of course and luckily gold and gold shares have been booming. So I could sell some of those and buy more bank shares at these new lower prices AND the total portfolio value doesn't look too bad. This was achieved not through cleverly choosing a good investment -- the one I favoured was wrong! -- rather it was through skeptically sticking to my asset allocation discipline and buying a little bit of things I didn't completely believe in.

I think if you keep in mind the above two points you'll sleep pretty well whatever you do.


GS

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327850

Postby dealtn » July 22nd, 2020, 8:51 am

JohnW wrote:
dealtn wrote:The one thing I might say, is that whilst a world tracker provides diversity, and security, as a UK investor with probable UK dominated future expenditures etc. a world fund doesn't provide the best economy/FX exposure.



Well very crudely yes.

More realistically if you live, and expect to continue to live somewhere long term, and that economic area "outperforms" relatively then prices, standard of living, etc. change relatively too compared with the rest of the world. So if "all" your investments are ex-UK, but all your future commitments such as living and expenditure are UK, then that mismatch could become meaningful over a period of time.

The chances of this being important, and by how much are likely to be much smaller than your example, and could of course go the other way, but are still worthy of mentioning and understanding. For someone living 20+ years a 1% relative shift will be a 22% differential at the end of that period. I don't know Tony's age, but even a 0.5% difference over 50 years is 28%.

So, that might not be something to necessarily worry about, and could go the other way, but the question was "Have I missed anything?", and a potential relative differential of 25% in your standard of living due to asset allocation seemed worthy enough, at least to me, to be worth mentioning as a potential omission.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327888

Postby Joe45 » July 22nd, 2020, 10:42 am

Tony, your summary is excellent, and this philosophy is one that I follow. You can't do much better that two low-cost global trackers: equities and bonds. This gives you maximum diversification at minimum cost. Optimise tax benefits using ISA and SIPP. Use a low-cost platform.

Others have mentioned asset allocation between these two classes of investment. This is possibly the greatest determinant of investment success, and is an area that I have struggled with. Lots has been written about this and you should read as much as you can to enable you to settle on an allocation with which you feel comfortable. FWIW I am about to retire and I have settled on 67% equities. I re-balance in March and September.

Studies suggest that a cash buffer can be a drag on returns over the long run, but a couple of years of non-discretionary spending taken from your bond allocation won't be too much of a drag, will help you sleep at night and will reduce the need to sell equities during a bear market.

Keep reading and good luck with your investing journey.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327914

Postby JohnW » July 22nd, 2020, 11:56 am

dealtn wrote: seemed worthy enough, at least to me, to be worth mentioning as a potential omission.

I get it, and clearly worth a mention. I have no idea how to quantify the effect size and probabilities, other than your examples, to balance against diversification benefit. But it would likely be one of the factors leading to the advice about having some 'home bias' in your investments.

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327940

Postby tonyreptiles » July 22nd, 2020, 1:39 pm

digitaria wrote:A
Anyway, it's not either / or - you could combine something racy like SMT with a global tracker, in proportions to suit your risk attitude.



Yeah, something like this is not beyond the realms of possibility in the future, but not yet. I think the time may come when we have a few more years of earning like we do, perhaps a few years of index tracker experience behind us and I'm less twitchy as investing becomes more comfortable. It's interesting that, if you said to me, XXXX share is worth a punt, I'd be pretty comfortable putting a grand on that horse without the stress and worry I have about long term investing.

Let's see what the next few years of post-Covid markets bring.

Tony

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327941

Postby tonyreptiles » July 22nd, 2020, 1:50 pm

Urbandreamer wrote:Here are my responses
    The purpose of managed funds is to outperform market returns. Is it? Some would argue otherwise for many managed funds.



I hear ya, although perhaps I should have been clearer.

I've always had a bad feeling about pensions, given the fact that they seem to randomly disappear and diminish in value - if what I read in the press and hear from people I know is true. That, and the fact that I never had enough money to put into one until now has meant that don't have a pension. And that's a worry.

Being 50 and only just coming to terms with the fact that living fast has not in fact caused me to die young, I must now consider how disgracefully I can afford to grow old. It's rather a surprise to all concerned that I haven't croaked yet. Indeed, I've recently created a will for the first time and insisted the wording was changed from 'when Tony dies...' to 'IF Tony dies...'

I don't think I can reliably save enough money for a comfortable retirement, so I need to somehow increase my money. Taking a punt on stocks and shares as a prospective investor probably isn't going to work by the sound of it. An index tracker might do a more reliable job it seems. I'm not sure a managed fund which returns lower than the market would suffice. I haven't done the maths for any scenario, but I assume I'll get more bang for my buck with less risk with a tracker.

Does that sound correct?

Cheers
Tony

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327943

Postby tonyreptiles » July 22nd, 2020, 1:56 pm

Mike4 wrote:
I think these fears are perfectly rational and any investment strategy needs to 1) Align with your risk appetite and 2) Allow you to sleep at night.



I think I'm pretty cool with risk, in most circumstances. However, the irational fear I have makes me want to measure twice or more before I cut. Once I'm convinced I think I'll be more comfortable.

Mike4 wrote:
Another approach is to pick a sum you'd be happy to lose outright (be it £500k, 50p or something in between) and invest that in your chosen vehicle then if you lose it, you won't be losing sleep over it as well.

Just my take on it.


That's probably going to be my approach, with the process likely helping me to build up some immunity and resiliance to the irrational bag lady fears. I'd like to find out more about drip-feeding though, as opposed to going all-in with a lump sum. (If indeed that approach is sensible.)

Cheers
Tony

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Re: Bag lady sweats

#327947

Postby tonyreptiles » July 22nd, 2020, 2:21 pm

GoSeigen wrote:Excellent overview above, yes. I think you've missed two things:

-Risk management. Keep your risk approach in balance over the years as you do your investing, especially at times when the market seems excited (all-time highs) or terrified (crashes). The way you invest at those times needs to be measured and to consider the risks inherent in the price action. [Analogies might be public's reaction to all snakes even harmless ones, and the hubris of a youngster who gets careless when regularly handling poisonous ones ;-) As a veteran reptile handler, how do you navigate those two situations?]


I can't tell you how useful that analogy is. The situation is one that I have contemplated quite deeply. Applying the same principles would be a great way to approach the risk of investment. I know risk exists, but the potentially catastrophic consequences of taking too much risk is not something I would adviocate. That said, there's plenty of reward to be had for minimal risk, and worrying about death and disaster is a bit silly, when you look at it from that perspective.


GoSeigen wrote:Which leads to:

-Asset allocation.

GS


This is something I certainly need to get to grips with, but that's probably a post for another day.

Cheers
TR


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