The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register here.
Posts: 3
I have about £1,000 to invest and can top this up at £100 per month. What are your suggestions of either a share or fund for the next 5 years to invest in?
Many thanks!
Posts: 1,227
Well, since no-one else is going to stick their neck out, I will. You should be able to answer this yourself, but to help you, here are a few pointers.
1 - be honest with yourself, what is your attitude to risk? Are you prepared to accept a 50% loss for a 130% gain? What about a 30% loss for an 80% gain? How about a 10% loss for a 20% gain?
2 - what is your timescale? Short term might be 30 years, and long term might be 10 minutes. It really depends on the instruments you use, tolerence to risk, leverage and timescale. You state 5 years, but what happens then?
3 - what is your goal? Is it for a house deposit, a bit of fun, build capital from income?
I cannot pretend that these are comprehensive questions that you need to ask, but from MY perspective some 40+ years ago when I began investing, £1,000 was, for me, 2 months salary after tax. I was able to live a pretty decent life and set aside £15 each month.... and this I did, and have done, though the amount I set aside each month is £500.
So..... what did I do? Well, I did not have £1,000 capital, though I did have £250 and with that I seeded an investment in Shell Transport and Trading...... it is still in business and I have owned shares to a greater or lesser extent for the entire duration of my investing. With my saving of £15 each month, I added to shares in what was at the time pretty cutting edge stuff, a Unit Trust. You would know it as a tracker. For me I cashed mine in when it reached £5,000 to start a business, and again when it had grown back to £2,500 when that business failed.
Look, this is not about me, but designed to give you a pointer. With your £1,000 (and that is the MINIMUM to invest directly in an equity), either put it into a company that CANNOT go bust and is on its uppers (any MAJOR oil company) and split your proposed monthly £100 savings into 2 INVESTMENT TRUSTS. My suggestion being one that follows technology and the other, emerging markets. Templeton, Utilico, Allianz Technology, Genesis, Aubrey etc
Do NOT fall into the trap of open ended funds. These can be closed at any time, gated and are not open to the same level of scrutiny as Investment Trusts. With Investment Trusts, there is a finite number of shares and you can buy or sell while the Trust remains solvent and quoted. You might not like the price offered, but you can deal. Returns from Investment Trusts have generally outperformed the equivalent in OEIC.
It is a VERY good time to buy at the moment IMO, USA has a change of Government to follow more predictable route, central banks for the major economies are at the point of throwing HUGE sums to prevent economic collapse, even if the Brexit talks collapse (and I believe that a deal will be struck at the 11th hour), it does not mean the end of UK plc, but the CERTAINTY (whatever the outcome) will have an initial reaction and then business as usual some 6 weeks later.
I know this is a ramble, please make your own decisio
Posts: 7,750
£100 a month would make individual shares expensive to buy fee wise. The bare minimum I would buy in that case is £500.
A little tip - Ballie Gifford American fund has done and is still doing very well this year. Although it is heavily exposed to Tesla which whether you’re a bull or bear could go either way.