Top products from r/UKInvesting

We found 99 product mentions on r/UKInvesting. We ranked the 14 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/UKInvesting:

u/strolls · 18 pointsr/UKInvesting

IMO we should be trying to drive passive investing questions away from this sub, because active and passive investing are so anathemic. I've been meaning to have a discussion with the mods about this.

The vast majority of active investors do not beat the market, when accounting for fees and costs. [1, 2, 3]

A very few active managers succeed in beating the market over very long periods - the primary problem is identifying them in advance.

Tim Hale's Smarter Investing dedicates some pages to this - several years of good returns is indistinguishable from good luck. It concludes, if I recall, that nearly 20 years of data is needed before it becomes probable that outsized returns are the result of skill rather than luck, by which time the manager is likely at the end of his career or wider market conditions may've changed. Neil Woodford is just one salutary lesson here.

On the other hand, the efficient markets hypothesis, which /r/UKpersonalFinance uses to argue that there's no way you can possibly out-know the market, is clearly "twaddle". There are occasions when the market is blatantly and obviously irrational - I can state this with a very great deal of confidence, but I'm not sure what I can prove to you.

If you want to invest actively then no-one can tell you you're right - the odds are that you're not. But, as Ben Graham would say, you're not right or wrong because 1000 people agree or disagree with you - you're right because your facts and reasoning are right.

To be an active investor requires a temperamental quality, not an intellectual quality. Or, at least, a temperamental quality which is rarer than the intellect required.

Index investing is demonstrably and provably the best strategy for the vast majority of investors. Socking money into index funds and never touching it will give them the highest returns.

So if you think you can beat the market, you had better have some very convincing reasons for yourself.

IMO you should read all the passive investing books you can - Smarter Investing is very good - and understand the evidence that says it's the best. Diversification is a protection against ignorance and is the best strategy for the majority of people - Buffett is far less dismissive about market-average returns these days, and advocates index funds. I don't need to link that, because that's not controversial.

But IMO Lindsell-Train's recent performance is not a convincing argument for active management. Why do you cite their "Global Equity" fund, and not their "Investment Trust" or "Finsbury Growth" fund? I looked briefly at Lindsell-Train and didn't really understand them - I couldn't see the need for 3 different funds. If I recollect they had some of the same holdings in multiple of their funds - that looks to me a lot like marketing, so that they can sell one fund to investors who like "sustained income" and sell the other to investors who are sold on "global growth", and they can boast about the performance figures of whichever one does the best. (Woodford certainly does this.)

I personally think that a large contributor to active fund underperformance is constraints upon their managers. "Contrast that: if I'm running a mutual fund," Paul Lountzis says, "try getting away with my style of investing." Watch the whole video. IMO big corporates tend towards index-hugging because managers fear getting it wrong - they're not really managers, they're employees who have managers. They are answerable to consumer investors, who are inherently mostly bad investors - the capricious punters pull their money out if the fund underperforms, starving it of capital, and money pours in should it outperform. I've seen JP Morgan funds that have hugged the index for a decade; Moggy's Somerset Capital is like this, too.

From this point of view, Lindsell-Train are probably not as constrained as a JP Morgan fund manager - I guess they're owner-run and can afford to keep the lights on and pay the staff through a few years of bad performance and declining assets-under-management - but they're not for me. I have quite a bit of money with a different fund manager whose views do align with mine - when I listen to him speak I most always find myself agreeing with him, because he just talks sense.

u/q_pop · 2 pointsr/UKInvesting

My advice: Don't do it yet.

You know nothing and you're likely to get burnt.

The two funds you've mentioned track completely different indices. It's like me saying "which is the better vehicle? A combine harvester or a bicycle?" - it's a nonsense comparison.

Keep the £2k in the bank for now, and invest a few quid in your own education.

Buy a one or more of the following:

Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

This book was written by the father of "value investing", and the mentor of Warren Buffett, who is widely accepted to be the world's most successful investor.

It was originally published in 1948, but Ben Graham updated it periodically over the years, and it stands as true today as it ever has.

Beating the Street - Peter Lynch

Published in 1994, this is arguably showing its age more than Intelligent Investor. Either way, valuable reading from one of the best managers of money in the past few decades.

Naked Trader - Robbie Burns

Subtitled "How anyone can make money trading shares", this is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek account of one financial journalist's attempt to quit his job and make £1,000,000 using a short-to-medium term trading strategy. Not very scientific, but an interesting counterpoint to the previous recommendations.

Smarter Investing - Tim Hale

The ultimate counterpoint to attempting to "beat the markets" - after spending 15 years working in active fund manager, Tim Hale concluded that the best outcomes for most investors in most situations would be a simple portfolio of "passive" investments (that is, funds which attempt to track a market, rather than outperform it). This style is favoured by the likes of Monevator, and many of the subscribers here.

Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder letters - Warren Buffett

Not a book, but a series of essays over the years from the world's most successful investor. Makes interesting reading! Notably, the 2014 letter (not published in the above link but published here in abridged form) implies that he now feels most investors would be best served by low-cost trackers.

The Financial Times guide to investing - Glen Arnold

A great starter guide, going from the very basics (why businesses need shareholders) to more in-depth explanations of different types of investment, and step-by-step guides on how to execute trades.

I'd go for Smarter Investing for a no-nonsense starter guide or the FT Guide to investing for a thorough overview.

Seriously, any investment you make without finding out a bit more will cause you more pain than benefit.

u/nif_makria · 3 pointsr/UKInvesting
  1. Yes - An ISA allows £20k tax free.

  2. There are a lot out there. What you need to check for is how much does Natwest charge per transaction. i.e. to buy x number of shares how much does it cost. This kind of goes with your point 4. If you have £100 to invest, but it costs you £10 to buy and then £10 to sell you really only have £80 to actually buy the shares. Even if you bought £90 of shares, you would have to make 10% + just to get you back to £100, but then lose £10 when you sell them. So really you would need a 20% + profit just to break even after transactions !! If you manage to pick a share which is 20% + profit while your starting out - your very lucky :)


    Bottom line to buy shares and make it worthwhile you probably need £400+ - unless your happy to use the £100 just to test the waters and try things out. £400 would still cost £10 to buy and £10 to sell, but you would only need 5% profit to break even rather than 20%



  3. Instead of buying shares which come with a £10+ transaction fee (buy and then sell) - take a look at funds. Funds are generally long term 10, 15, 20 years - but you pay a small yearly % fee instead of a one off payment like shares.


  4. Dont buy a share based on its price - you need to research the company as you can buy partial shares.


    If your really really interested in shares over funds then read :
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naked-Trader-Anyone-Trading-Shares/dp/0857194135/ref=dp_ob_title_bk


    If you happy to look longer term, then read about funds / passive invetments - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smarter-Investing-Simpler-Decisions-Financial/dp/0273785370/


    Both these books are regularly recommended across this sub.

u/ResourceOgre · 1 pointr/UKInvesting

Hi. The others in the sub say and in UKPersonalFinance say invest in equities at your age, as you have time to ride out the volatilty and reap the long term rewards, for both of which qualities they are known. And I would recommend you do that.

However there is a side to Bond investing that is not low yield, and is something of a hobby of mine. So here is some information:

I would recommend The Sterling Bonds and Fixed Income Handbook by Mark Glowrey

Much good free information is available on these sites:

https://www.fixedincomeinvestments.co.uk/ (https cert has run out but site is legit)

http://www.fixedincomeinvestor.co.uk/x/default.html

If you are interested in building a portfolio here is a very clear description of how to go about it.

For ideas you may want a gander at the Fantasy Annuity Portfolio

I personally cannot stomach the artificially low returns ( due to QE ) from gilts & other government bonds, and turned to bond-proxies such as preference shares a long time ago. I have about 45% of my portfolio in about 25 varied Fixed Income instruments, they together with various state and DB pensions form the "Living expenses" part of my soon-to-be-used retirement portfolio. I accept that is at the cost of some additional risk. That element of my portfolio is less volatile than the equities.

For your entertainment I offer the most amusing bond analysis I have yet encountered. A flavour " Quite a few years ago passing through Paris on my way to Italy, I stayed with an old friend of mine. The son of a Vicar he had run off to Paris with a Sergeant in the French horse guards and was living in a small one-roomed garret in the Rue de Fauborg St Honore. ...."

u/thatstevelord · 1 pointr/UKInvesting

> virtually know nothing

Ok, sorry I thought you were further along than you first appeared.

Start with Tim Hale's Smarter Investing. Give it a couple of reads, ignore the stuff about Bonds if it flies over your head.

Heed Lars Krojer, at least for now.

Pop what you can in high interest current accounts while you can. Also go through Monevator and Pensioncraft as they're both good.

That sounds like a lot to wade through, but you don't need to do this all at once. If you only do one thing, Smarter Investing's it.

You mentioned not liking the LISA because of locking up your funds. Have a think about what you want in terms of accessible long term investments, and how much that should be 5 and 10 years from now. Look to build to that amount.

You can have both an S&S LISA and S&S ISA and contribute to both at the same time, so you can get the 25% and lock away some of the investment, but also keep an amount accessible based on your needs.

If you're going the Vanguard route, take a look at Pensioncraft's vids on two fund and single fund portfolios, in particular the difference between Target Retirement (which is best suited to a LISA) and the Lifestrategy and Global funds. Once you understand the funds and the differences, you'll be better placed to pick them. Feel free to come back here when you're ready to make the choice.

Just remember, if you're getting 3-5% in a bank account while you learn all this, you're not really losing any pounds. There's no harm waiting a little, or keeping it simple for now and switching say, 5 years later.

u/TheGuru12 · 1 pointr/UKInvesting

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naked-Traders-Guide-Spread-Betting/dp/1906659230

This book, Hands down opened my eyes. Went from loss to profit overnight.

Also register for a practice account on something like eToro. Have a play. It's only Virtual Money.

Have a look at Trader249 also. Some good advice there. He uses Stockopedia and it's well worth the money.

u/leftofcentre · 1 pointr/UKInvesting

Smarter Investing: Simpler Decisions for Better Results (Financial Times Series) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0273785370/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SmHTCbRPA8QA8 is the one most people advise but I found it a bit dry and repetitive. Basically the message is buy index funds.

u/GreyscaleSunset · 2 pointsr/UKInvesting

To add to what others have said, the overwhelming takeaway I got from the rules of property investment was that you have to be on hand for many problems, work or other things, it is usually not passive income (unless you own several in which case it probably makes sense to outsource the upkeep to an estate agents).