yieldhog wrote:moorfield wrote:
It's always interesting to explore how folk intend to simplify their portfolios for their (typically much less hands on) spouses.
Taking that intention to its logical conclusion, and given the subject of the thread, then why not put everything into just AEI? Very very easily for your wife to manage, after all.
That is a good logical thought and one that crossed my mind, fleetingly. However, it has a few flaws that rule it out for me personally.
1. Never good to put all your eggs in one basket.
2. Not enough geographic or sectoral diversification.
3. Too much reliance on one asset manager and not one I'm particularly fond of.
Probably a host of other reasons why not but I'll leave it there.
Y
Yes these are common and understandable concerns, but I think also flawed thinking - in the context of this mini (and slightly morbid) discussion, sorry if I veer o/t - ie.organising ones affairs to be handed over to ones executor and/or spouse.
#2 Diversification. AEI holds 50+ FTSE companies that operate all over the world. I get one might want also hold something with "far east" or "global outlook, say, but global ITs exist too! MYI for example, which also holds 50+ companies worldwide. Quite soundly diversified. So no, I don't agree holding just one IT is flawed on the "diversification" argument, it's rather a case of selecting the one that most closely matches your appetite.
#1, #3 are essentially the same thing, the risk of going all in with one manager, quite understandable. I have read some harrumphing here from old/long timers about AEIs "management". However these sentiments are nebulous at best and are not followed through - opinion then, not counting. And as I already mentioned above, counting tells us AEI has a long and stable dividend history. And that has not happened by accident, so I think reflects very well on the company's objectives, operation, and governance.
A last thought on this. Lady M is currently handling the estate of a relative - an utter ballache (figuratively, not anatomically) due to a left behind rental property (with sitting tenants), cash, jewellery, paintings, antiques all over the place, carers paid (dubiously) cash in hand, and family members sniping the not-so-subtle where's my money question.
In other words, make what you put into the probate pipe as simple as you can. Your heirs will thank you, a lot, and the they can do what they want with it afterwards of course.