Bank of England seem a bit perturbed why savings are still at pre-pandenic levels & consumers are not spending money in the shops which would help the economy.
Maybe it's because they are getting 4%+ on their cash savings for no risk.
Bring interest rates down further. Will give those with mortgages more money to spend and those with savings less incentive to keep money on deposit.
But I'm no economist.....just a humble financial adviser who speaks to both types above.
(Yes, aware of inflation but this is coming down and has been mainly the cost of food, energy and wage increases......not consumer spending on cars & white goods).
I assume there's a fear of a run on sterling. On top of that any free cash will just get sucked into increased house prices and rents.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
im a private client solicitor not an IFA but I’ve seen many people in this scenario and you need professional advice not some comments on here.
Either use Golfie (can’t endorse but if others say so) or I’d happily connect you with someone who can assist.
Bank of England seem a bit perturbed why savings are still at pre-pandenic levels & consumers are not spending money in the shops which would help the economy.
Maybe it's because they are getting 4%+ on their cash savings for no risk.
Bring interest rates down further. Will give those with mortgages more money to spend and those with savings less incentive to keep money on deposit.
But I'm no economist.....just a humble financial adviser who speaks to both types above.
(Yes, aware of inflation but this is coming down and has been mainly the cost of food, energy and wage increases......not consumer spending on cars & white goods).
Inflation isn't coming down in the short term at least.
Forecast to hit 4% in September.
And given by how food prices are going up again in the shops that may be an underestimate.
These secondary tariffs for countries like India are going to be interesting.
It's something that is a great idea in order to up the pressure on Russia as they are targeting the places who are still buying Russian energy, but it begs the question, why hasn't it been done already?
I enjoyed the article below from the BBC. It does make me think that a lot of countries talk a good game on punishing Russia, but often they don't go all the way, and I'm not talking about weapons, I think I understand that, I'm talking about economics.
Bank of England seem a bit perturbed why savings are still at pre-pandenic levels & consumers are not spending money in the shops which would help the economy.
Maybe it's because they are getting 4%+ on their cash savings for no risk.
Bring interest rates down further. Will give those with mortgages more money to spend and those with savings less incentive to keep money on deposit.
But I'm no economist.....just a humble financial adviser who speaks to both types above.
(Yes, aware of inflation but this is coming down and has been mainly the cost of food, energy and wage increases......not consumer spending on cars & white goods).
Inflation isn't coming down in the short term at least.
Forecast to hit 4% in September.
And given by how food prices are going up again in the shops that may be an underestimate.
BOE are predicting it should be back to their target level of 2% in mid 2027....so approx 2 years time.
These secondary tariffs for countries like India are going to be interesting.
It's something that is a great idea in order to up the pressure on Russia as they are targeting the places who are still buying Russian energy, but it begs the question, why hasn't it been done already?
I enjoyed the article below from the BBC. It does make me think that a lot of countries talk a good game on punishing Russia, but often they don't go all the way, and I'm not talking about weapons, I think I understand that, I'm talking about economics.
Would really appreciate if that doesn't turn into a "who can say the meanest thing about Trump" competition, this thread should be above that :-)
If only Trump would put sanctions directly on Russia...rather than fiddling around the edges by punishing nations like India instead.
Trump has pissed off India and imposing higher tariffs on them is surely going to push them closer to Russia and potentially China.
Russia/US trade has plunged from $35bn to $3.5bn, a 90% reduction, as a consequence of sanctions, I dont see what adding 40% to that would do. He needs to target those still bankrolling them.
In 2024, total trade in goods between the EU and Russia amounted to €67.5 billion, compared to €257.5 billion in 2021. EU’s imports were worth €35.9 billion
The EU’s exports to Russia in 2024 totalled €31.5 billion, compared to €99.0 billion in 2021.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'm not at all sure that putting 90% of their funds in investment trusts in the renewables sector is a good recommendation, especially to people that are clearly not experienced investors. (Actually for me those reccos might be interesting, as I'm after more income, and could afford to "dabble", but no way would I advise anyone to lump most of their precious savings into them.)
And it's all very well dissing IFAs and coming out with that intensely annoying and smug phrase "Do your own Research" but where would this couple start with that? There is some much absolute bollocks on the web written by intensely annoying and smug amateurs, self interested "analysts" aged about 19, and shameless con-men and grifters, I have no idea how people new to it all can safely navigate it.
By all means one should try to research / get second opinions on an IFA's recommendations before acting on them. If that's what you meant, fair enough. But @Webby is new to all this, and needs someone who can help him understand and navigate the basics, and is used to answering basic questions such as "can you explain what bonds are?". That's part of what you pay for.
I use Golfie for periodic reviews of my portfolio. Before I knew Golfie, I used an IFA recommended by mates when I needed to start a SIPP. Both did/do a good job. No IFA will get everything right, all the time, but neither does anyone else.
It’s not just about an IFA though - for sums in excess of £250k you really need an investment manager and wealth planner - particularly if the aim is to retire from this - you need financial forecasts and cash flow projections etc.
there are firms that I work with that provide all this and the fees are certainly worth it imo. They’re not scandalous and add value - otherwise nobody would use them!
I’m speaking from a professional perspective when I say this but just trying to assist a fellow Charlton fan - absolutely zero in it for me.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares ..... So by investing in shares you can take income from this investment each year or would I need to sell the shares?
What are the fees you would usually to pay to a financial advisor. If they say, for example, fees are taken from your actual pension contributions... is that an ongoing fee?
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
What are the fees you would usually to pay to a financial advisor. If they say, for example, fees are taken from your actual pension contributions... is that an ongoing fee?
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
You can usually pay a one off fee for advice but if you use an investment manager to look after your investments there is an ongoing monthly fee, normally a fixed percentage figure.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Speak to Golfie for formal advice.
you’ll need a 5% return which should easily be achievable. But tax will eat into that so things like ISA’s will help.
If only there was an investment that could return 5% pa tax free to basic rate taxpayers 😉.
So, yes.....speak to a good IFA. If not, speak to me.....😂😂😂.
I'm in the process of finding a home for house sale proceeds but can't find anything FSCS protected above about 4.45%. Which investment are you referring to here, @golfaddick ?
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I can tell you're not a financial adviser. Jeez.....such bad advice.
The tax the OP would have to pay on all time would probably wipe out any benefit
The reason why people pay for advice is for my 35 years of knowledge & experience. For drawing up a financial plan that doesn't cost the client much (if any) tax.
And no, I wouldn't be recommending any of that apart from the Stocks & Shares ISA's - and that wouldnt be invested in a handful of UK listed companies. For starters there is no diversifaction & too much risk.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares ..... So by investing in shares you can take income from this investment each year or would I need to sell the shares?
Neither. Just dont do it.
The income would be taxable & when you sell the shares you'd pay Capital Gains Tax. You and your wife have an annual CGT Allowance of just £3000.
Such bad advice. If I gave that advice I'd be struck off.
What are the fees you would usually to pay to a financial advisor. If they say, for example, fees are taken from your actual pension contributions... is that an ongoing fee?
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
Different ways of skinning a cat.
Usually there is an upfront fee for the initial advice & implementation. This can be paid to the adviser/ firm direct or by taking it from your investment/ contribution. Its as broad as it's long. Then the adviser can build in an ongoing fee that is taken from your investment which pays for regular reviews, meetings etc etc.
All can & should be discussed at your initial meeting with your adviser. Initial meeting is usually free (mine are).
In the old days before RDR (retail distribution review in 2012) an IFA would charge 3% upfront an 0.5% ongoing. I broadly follow this model but I know advisers who charge 1% upfront & then 1% ongoing.
There are of course discounts / special rates for Lifers 😉.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Speak to Golfie for formal advice.
you’ll need a 5% return which should easily be achievable. But tax will eat into that so things like ISA’s will help.
If only there was an investment that could return 5% pa tax free to basic rate taxpayers 😉.
So, yes.....speak to a good IFA. If not, speak to me.....😂😂😂.
I'm in the process of finding a home for house sale proceeds but can't find anything FSCS protected above about 4.45%. Which investment are you referring to here, @golfaddick ?
I'm referring to an investment, not a Cash product. Investments are not FSCS protected in the way a Bank or Savings account are.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
DO NOT TAKE THIS ADVICE UNLESS YOU WANT TO TAKE A HIGH RISK AND YOU UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND HAVE THE FULLEST KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPANIES THAT YOU WOULD BE INVESTING IN!
It may be ok for FSLN1 if he knows what he is doing, but not for someone who is not an expert.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares ..... So by investing in shares you can take income from this investment each year or would I need to sell the shares?
Neither. Just dont do it.
The income would be taxable & when you sell the shares you'd pay Capital Gains Tax. You and your wife have an annual CGT Allowance of just £3000.
Such bad advice. If I gave that advice I'd be struck off.
I know income is taxable - hence I used the word gross and not net, which you missed. Or should I have spelt it out that you have to pay tax on income? I genuinely thought that would be obvious so I didn't mention it.
Just for the record in my SIPP and via non-SIPP investments I've made a return of 130% over the last two and a bit years, I'm sure if I put some more effort/time into it the ROI would be higher but I'm happy with my strategy...I'm bemused about what your claim that I'll be paying tax, the idea of a SIPP is that they are income tax and CGT free...but whatever, I should have spelt out that a SIPP is a decent investment vehicle, again I thought it would be obvious.
But I'm sure the returns that Golfie gets for his clients are much higher than that, right Golfie?
As for CGT...this irrelevant if you put them in a SIPP and anyway I stress keep the shares for the long haul.
If you don't sell the shares because you are continually banking income via dividends and at yields that comfortably beat both inflation and a cash ISA (which is why I recommended them) then there's no need to sell and if don't sell then you won't be paying CGT which you won't pay anyway if they are in a SIPP - sorry to keep mentioning this but it seems it has to be spelt out.
Besides the companies I suggested above won't be making you much of a cap gain, they pay out far too much out in dividends to be investment vehicles in themselves, you should make a bit of money if you sell but you most likely won't be getting hit with a high CGT bill if they are non-SIPP investments. I'll stress again, these are for long term income not capital gain, can I make it any simpler than that?
Like I say above, IFAs are just going to take a percentage of your money and then as here predictably get pissy when you do better. But, I did consult one and dropped him when he kept suggesting low risk investments, I looked online and found better companies to invest in, my conclusion was that I was deliberately being offered safe investments, but I understand his caution.
To follow up on that point it's crazy though that anyone would use an IFA when there's stacks of detail you can get off the internet. Every company publishes detailed accounts, usually twice a year and you can compare metrics like ROCE, EPS etc across a sector and against previous years, all you need to do is a bit of work and open a very basic spreadsheet. You also don't need expert advice to open a SIPP.
In conclusion: do your own research and then do some more and if you do consult an IFA then check every single investment they recommend, the details will be out there, most likely with a bit of work you'll find one that returns more, only you'll be a few percent down. Also while your at it, learn about compounding.
PS: In another post Golfaddick says he charges 3%...so on Webby's suggested £400,000 investment pot that means he's going to take £12,000 meaning it'll be reduced to £388,000, plus he'll keep taking something (0.5%) every year, which is £2k PA on the £400k pot, only it'll be 0.5% every year. If you want to chuck that kind of money away fine...but why make him or another IFA rich? Genuinely I don't get it.
So, my suggestion is: open a SIPP, manage it yourself, chuck some funds in, and I've suggested a few high paying investments that are reasonably sound and also invest £20K in a stocks and share ISA also with a high yielding share and keep some money back for next year's ISA. The rest you can invest/play with as you see fit. Trust me, there's no real magic or special skills needed.
Today it's being reported that in the 2nd quarter top European companies are lagging behind their S&P 500 counterparts (zero growth year on year compared with +9%). Many more S&P companies than Stoxx Europe 600 companies have beaten analysts forecasts. Inevitably, this has created a rush amongst analysts to suggest that the shift from America to Europe will come to a crashing halt, and at least based on this quarter, it is hard to present an opposite case.
I personally have been making that shift. Should I stop it ? should I reverse it?. Even if I decide that these second-quarter figures are a clear signal, there's a snag. I invest primarily in funds. These funds (including those holding US equities) are denominated in £s and kept on a UK platform. So I am affected by currency movement, and the problem is, the dollar is weak, and the consensus is, there is more weakness to come. So my European funds may start to lag, but US funds will not make up for it even if the S&P continues to move upwards, because further dollar weakness will impact on the fund price.
What's a mug punter (and pensioner) to do? Maybe a bit more UK based funds? Actually one good thing about @FSLN1 posts is that he's alerted me to some more UK based income paying opportunities. I will explore that possibility (aka doing my own research😉)
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares ..... So by investing in shares you can take income from this investment each year or would I need to sell the shares?
Neither. Just dont do it.
The income would be taxable & when you sell the shares you'd pay Capital Gains Tax. You and your wife have an annual CGT Allowance of just £3000.
Such bad advice. If I gave that advice I'd be struck off.
I know income is taxable - hence I used the word gross and not net, which you missed. Or should I have spelt it out that you have to pay tax on income? I genuinely thought that would be obvious so I didn't mention it.
Just for the record in my SIPP and via non-SIPP investments I've made a return of 130% over the last two and a bit years, I'm sure if I put some more effort/time into it the ROI would be higher but I'm happy with my strategy...I'm bemused about what your claim that I'll be paying tax, the idea of a SIPP is that they are income tax and CGT free...but whatever, I should have spelt out that a SIPP is a decent investment vehicle, again I thought it would be obvious.
But I'm sure the returns that Golfie gets for his clients are much higher than that, right Golfie?
As for CGT...this irrelevant if you put them in a SIPP and anyway I stress keep the shares for the long haul.
If you don't sell the shares because you are continually banking income via dividends and at yields that comfortably beat both inflation and a cash ISA (which is why I recommended them) then there's no need to sell and if don't sell then you won't be paying CGT which you won't pay anyway if they are in a SIPP - sorry to keep mentioning this but it seems it has to be spelt out.
Besides the companies I suggested above won't be making you much of a cap gain, they pay out far too much out in dividends to be investment vehicles in themselves, you should make a bit of money if you sell but you most likely won't be getting hit with a high CGT bill if they are non-SIPP investments. I'll stress again, these are for long term income not capital gain, can I make it any simpler than that?
Like I say above, IFAs are just going to take a percentage of your money and then as here predictably get pissy when you do better. But, I did consult one and dropped him when he kept suggesting low risk investments, I looked online and found better companies to invest in, my conclusion was that I was deliberately being offered safe investments, but I understand his caution.
To follow up on that point it's crazy though that anyone would use an IFA when there's stacks of detail you can get off the internet. Every company publishes detailed accounts, usually twice a year and you can compare metrics like ROCE, EPS etc across a sector and against previous years, all you need to do is a bit of work and open a very basic spreadsheet. You also don't need expert advice to open a SIPP.
In conclusion: do your own research and then do some more and if you do consult an IFA then check every single investment they recommend, the details will be out there, most likely with a bit of work you'll find one that returns more, only you'll be a few percent down. Also while your at it, learn about compounding.
PS: In another post Golfaddick says he charges 3%...so on Webby's suggested £400,000 investment pot that means he's going to take £12,000 meaning it'll be reduced to £388,000, plus he'll keep taking something (0.5%) every year, which is £2k PA on the £400k pot, only it'll be 0.5% every year. If you want to chuck that kind of money away fine...but why make him or another IFA rich? Genuinely I don't get it.
So, my suggestion is: open a SIPP, manage it yourself, chuck some funds in, and I've suggested a few high paying investments that are reasonably sound and also invest £20K in a stocks and share ISA also with a high yielding share and keep some money back for next year's ISA. The rest you can invest/play with as you see fit. Trust me, there's no real magic or special skills needed.
Sorry, couldn't be arsed to read past the first few sentences.
@Webby was asking where to put £400k to supplement his earned income. He also mentioned he was a basic rate taxpayer. This leads me to work out that he cant put £300k straight into his pension. If he could do so I might have suggested something along those lines.
A trait of a good adviser is to listen to what a client is telling you.
Edit.
Just read your last few paragraphs. Again you dont read or understand what I post but just bligthly spout your own agenda.
If I was investing £400k for a client I certainly wouldn't be charging 3%.....or anything near it. Probably nearer to 1%, or a fixed fee between £2500 & £4000.
The thing about being a regulated adviser is that I cant just spout off numbers or % returns off the back of my hand. And I need to "know my client" first and discuss with them their Attitude to Risk before even contemplating recommending a solution.
But any old Joe Soap can come on here & spew out "recommendations" like they're going out of fashion.
Sorry, couldn't be arsed to read past the first few sentences.
So why bother responding then? I provided detail and a few suggestions also to minimise his tax bill - I thought you as a self-confessed "expert" would surely enjoy pulling them apart? I asked what the best ROI was that you achieved. Can you beat my 130% and if not why are you offering investment advice or criticising others?
Surely you can just reply to this one question?
You also missed the best bit, where I point out that your commission would be £12K on his initial investments of £400K and £2k thereafter - AKA daylight robbery. How do you justify crowbarring that kind of money out of people?
So I can see why you don't want to engage in a debate.
People like you want to try and make out that investment is some kind of secret that only a select few are let in on - it isn't. Sorry to bust the bubble but people like you and the IFA I once consulted have no great powers, just a lot of bullshit dressed up as expertise.
Sorry, couldn't be arsed to read past the first few sentences.
So why bother responding then? I provided detail and a few suggestions also to minimise his tax bill - I thought you as a self-confessed "expert" would surely enjoy pulling them apart? I asked what the best ROI was that you achieved. Can you beat my 130% and if not why are you offering investment advice or criticising others?
Surely you can just reply to this one question?
You also missed the best bit, where I point out that your commission would be £12K on his initial investments of £400K and £2k thereafter - AKA daylight robbery. How do you justify crowbarring that kind of money out of people?
So I can see why you don't want to engage in a debate.
People like you want to try and make out that investment is some kind of secret that only a select few are let in on - it isn't. Sorry to bust the bubble but people like you and the IFA I once consulted have no great powers, just a lot of bullshit dressed up as expertise.
I use an IFA and Rathbones for managing my SIPP. I worked in Banking for forty years so think I’m a bit more savvy than the average Joe BUT I wouldn’t be confident in either a) managing my own investments or b) trusting what anyone might say on the internet. I mean I read once that the moon is made of cheese so that must be right. I pay both my IFA and Rathbones but I’m more than happy to do so as they certainly know more than I do. If you have made 130% returns then great for you but I’m sure if I had a go I’d make the same percentage, but as losses.
IFA’s have a place and people need them. Just as if when I have a burst pipe I call out a plumber not my GP.
Sorry, couldn't be arsed to read past the first few sentences.
So why bother responding then? I provided detail and a few suggestions also to minimise his tax bill - I thought you as a self-confessed "expert" would surely enjoy pulling them apart? I asked what the best ROI was that you achieved. Can you beat my 130% and if not why are you offering investment advice or criticising others?
Surely you can just reply to this one question?
You also missed the best bit, where I point out that your commission would be £12K on his initial investments of £400K and £2k thereafter - AKA daylight robbery. How do you justify crowbarring that kind of money out of people?
So I can see why you don't want to engage in a debate.
People like you want to try and make out that investment is some kind of secret that only a select few are let in on - it isn't. Sorry to bust the bubble but people like you and the IFA I once consulted have no great powers, just a lot of bullshit dressed up as expertise.
I use an IFA and Rathbones for managing my SIPP. I worked in Banking for forty years so think I’m a bit more savvy than the average Joe BUT I wouldn’t be confident in either a) managing my own investments or b) trusting what anyone might say on the internet. I mean I read once that the moon is made of cheese so that must be right. I pay both my IFA and Rathbones but I’m more than happy to do so as they certainly know more than I do. If you have made 130% returns then great for you but I’m sure if I had a go I’d make the same percentage, but as losses.
IFA’s have a place and people need them. Just as if when I have a burst pipe I call out a plumber not my GP.
Rathbones are a quality outfit - not cheap but they are worth it.
Sorry, couldn't be arsed to read past the first few sentences.
So why bother responding then? I provided detail and a few suggestions also to minimise his tax bill - I thought you as a self-confessed "expert" would surely enjoy pulling them apart? I asked what the best ROI was that you achieved. Can you beat my 130% and if not why are you offering investment advice or criticising others?
Surely you can just reply to this one question?
You also missed the best bit, where I point out that your commission would be £12K on his initial investments of £400K and £2k thereafter - AKA daylight robbery. How do you justify crowbarring that kind of money out of people?
So I can see why you don't want to engage in a debate.
People like you want to try and make out that investment is some kind of secret that only a select few are let in on - it isn't. Sorry to bust the bubble but people like you and the IFA I once consulted have no great powers, just a lot of bullshit dressed up as expertise.
Good for you if you’re knowledgeable on all forms of risk, tax, legislation and financial products. Very few of us are that skilled and, therefore, need advice from those who are specialists in that field. Taking a punt in the dark without IFA input with life savings/pension cash would be idiotic and potentially disastrous and life changing. FWIW, I’ve consulted with Golfie recently and have the utmost trust, faith & respect for him and the advice/support received.
Today it's being reported that in the 2nd quarter top European companies are lagging behind their S&P 500 counterparts (zero growth year on year compared with +9%). Many more S&P companies than Stoxx Europe 600 companies have beaten analysts forecasts. Inevitably, this has created a rush amongst analysts to suggest that the shift from America to Europe will come to a crashing halt, and at least based on this quarter, it is hard to present an opposite case.
I personally have been making that shift. Should I stop it ? should I reverse it?. Even if I decide that these second-quarter figures are a clear signal, there's a snag. I invest primarily in funds. These funds (including those holding US equities) are denominated in £s and kept on a UK platform. So I am affected by currency movement, and the problem is, the dollar is weak, and the consensus is, there is more weakness to come. So my European funds may start to lag, but US funds will not make up for it even if the S&P continues to move upwards, because further dollar weakness will impact on the fund price.
What's a mug punter (and pensioner) to do? Maybe a bit more UK based funds? Actually one good thing about @FSLN1 posts is that he's alerted me to some more UK based income paying opportunities. I will explore that possibility (aka doing my own research😉)
Your call, but I'd look at the US economy and the effect that Trump's tariff wars are having/will have (another round of which have kicked off) and wonder what that's going to do for the US GDP. Moreover they'll be inflationary and remember, it's all those US consumers who'll be paying higher prices for imported stuff, they might not realise it yet, but they are ultimately paying for the trade wars, therefore they'll have less money for other stuff. From here I can see the Cable maybe favouring Sterling, that is if we can get some growth going. We now have a settled trade deal with the US, plus India and the EU. Much of the rest of the western world seems to be arguing with Trump so we might just be seen as a reasonably safe country to invest in...
And anyway, how are things looking if you take some of the big US tech stocks out of the equation? Companies like NVIDIA might just be dragging up a lot of dross. Tesla too, they have a ridiculous market cap which I can't justify when you consider that sales in Europe have plunged and are unlikely to be good in the US. Elon Musk has somehow managed to annoy both liberal minded folk, just by being himself, while conservatives hate him because he had a tiff with Trump, and yet their shares are changing hands at $320 a pop, the valuation of the company is nearly $1tn. That's lunacy, right now I Cannot Recommend A Purchase.
So, I'd be wary about what happens in the States, unfortunately what happens there hits the rest of the world.
But you might want to look at the defence sector...
Nato for example is clearly following the Nathan Jones model of defence first. The EU has just raised a pot of 600m Euros to spend on defending Europe while Nato members will collectively spend 4.6bn Euros this year and 5.3bn Euros in 2026. The plan is for Nato member states to continually increase spending to 5% of their national GDP by 2035. Most are way, way, way off that, some will have to more than double spending based on 2024 numbers.
That's a lot of drones...
I also noticed from Rolls-Royce's interim results last week that they have an order book worth £18.8bn just for defence sector work. Many investment funds in this sector tend to be multi-national/trans-Atlantic. UK based aerospace and defence sales are zero rated for tariffs as far as exporting to the US goes - that works for the EU too and the money is spent mostly by nation states and a few organisations like Nato, the UN etc, they tend not to look at the purse strings too closely.
And if you are looking at the suggestions I made earlier, your research will show that NextEnergy Solar is currently trading at a 30% discount to NAV while paying out over 10% PA in dividends, it's like they are giving money away. Being your environmentally friendly Charlton fan I believe in putting my money where my mouth is....and I have. As a bonus solar farms also piss off the Nimby brigade.
Sorry, couldn't be arsed to read past the first few sentences.
So why bother responding then? I provided detail and a few suggestions also to minimise his tax bill - I thought you as a self-confessed "expert" would surely enjoy pulling them apart? I asked what the best ROI was that you achieved. Can you beat my 130% and if not why are you offering investment advice or criticising others?
Surely you can just reply to this one question?
You also missed the best bit, where I point out that your commission would be £12K on his initial investments of £400K and £2k thereafter - AKA daylight robbery. How do you justify crowbarring that kind of money out of people?
So I can see why you don't want to engage in a debate.
People like you want to try and make out that investment is some kind of secret that only a select few are let in on - it isn't. Sorry to bust the bubble but people like you and the IFA I once consulted have no great powers, just a lot of bullshit dressed up as expertise.
Seems you didn't read what I replied with with regard to fees. And no, I can't beat your 130% return over 2.5 years because I dont advise on single Company shares or take extraordinary risks for my clients. And with those returns you have outperformed the Dow Jones (70%) and the S&P500 (90%)....and they took 5 years for those returns.
But its easy putting out figures when you dont need to back them up. And the more you write the more I think you are just spouting rubbish.
Dont take this the wrong way but I wont be engaging with you any further. I come on here to give basic help & advice to all those who need it. And if anyone wants more personalised advice then I'm happy to chat or meet them to see if I can help.
Comments
I assume there's a fear of a run on sterling. On top of that any free cash will just get sucked into increased house prices and rents.
Forecast to hit 4% in September.
And given by how food prices are going up again in the shops that may be an underestimate.
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/02/trump-tariffs-russia-ukraine-ceasefire
By contrast the EU has dropped far less:
- In 2024, total trade in goods between the EU and Russia amounted to €67.5 billion, compared to €257.5 billion in 2021. EU’s imports were worth €35.9 billion
- The EU’s exports to Russia in 2024 totalled €31.5 billion, compared to €99.0 billion in 2021.
https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/russia_enSay you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
And it's all very well dissing IFAs and coming out with that intensely annoying and smug phrase "Do your own Research" but where would this couple start with that? There is some much absolute bollocks on the web written by intensely annoying and smug amateurs, self interested "analysts" aged about 19, and shameless con-men and grifters, I have no idea how people new to it all can safely navigate it.
By all means one should try to research / get second opinions on an IFA's recommendations before acting on them. If that's what you meant, fair enough. But @Webby is new to all this, and needs someone who can help him understand and navigate the basics, and is used to answering basic questions such as "can you explain what bonds are?". That's part of what you pay for.
I use Golfie for periodic reviews of my portfolio. Before I knew Golfie, I used an IFA recommended by mates when I needed to start a SIPP. Both did/do a good job. No IFA will get everything right, all the time, but neither does anyone else.
there are firms that I work with that provide all this and the fees are certainly worth it imo. They’re not scandalous and add value - otherwise nobody would use them!
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
I can tell you're not a financial adviser. Jeez.....such bad advice.
The tax the OP would have to pay on all time would probably wipe out any benefit
The reason why people pay for advice is for my 35 years of knowledge & experience. For drawing up a financial plan that doesn't cost the client much (if any) tax.
And no, I wouldn't be recommending any of that apart from the Stocks & Shares ISA's - and that wouldnt be invested in a handful of UK listed companies. For starters there is no diversifaction & too much risk.
As for the £350k bit....👀👀👀👀
The income would be taxable & when you sell the shares you'd pay Capital Gains Tax. You and your wife have an annual CGT Allowance of just £3000.
Such bad advice. If I gave that advice I'd be struck off.
Usually there is an upfront fee for the initial advice & implementation. This can be paid to the adviser/ firm direct or by taking it from your investment/ contribution. Its as broad as it's long. Then the adviser can build in an ongoing fee that is taken from your investment which pays for regular reviews, meetings etc etc.
All can & should be discussed at your initial meeting with your adviser. Initial meeting is usually free (mine are).
In the old days before RDR (retail distribution review in 2012) an IFA would charge 3% upfront an 0.5% ongoing. I broadly follow this model but I know advisers who charge 1% upfront & then 1% ongoing.
There are of course discounts / special rates for Lifers 😉.
It may be ok for FSLN1 if he knows what he is doing, but not for someone who is not an expert.
I know income is taxable - hence I used the word gross and not net, which you missed. Or should I have spelt it out that you have to pay tax on income? I genuinely thought that would be obvious so I didn't mention it.
Just for the record in my SIPP and via non-SIPP investments I've made a return of 130% over the last two and a bit years, I'm sure if I put some more effort/time into it the ROI would be higher but I'm happy with my strategy...I'm bemused about what your claim that I'll be paying tax, the idea of a SIPP is that they are income tax and CGT free...but whatever, I should have spelt out that a SIPP is a decent investment vehicle, again I thought it would be obvious.
But I'm sure the returns that Golfie gets for his clients are much higher than that, right Golfie?
As for CGT...this irrelevant if you put them in a SIPP and anyway I stress keep the shares for the long haul.
If you don't sell the shares because you are continually banking income via dividends and at yields that comfortably beat both inflation and a cash ISA (which is why I recommended them) then there's no need to sell and if don't sell then you won't be paying CGT which you won't pay anyway if they are in a SIPP - sorry to keep mentioning this but it seems it has to be spelt out.
Besides the companies I suggested above won't be making you much of a cap gain, they pay out far too much out in dividends to be investment vehicles in themselves, you should make a bit of money if you sell but you most likely won't be getting hit with a high CGT bill if they are non-SIPP investments. I'll stress again, these are for long term income not capital gain, can I make it any simpler than that?
Like I say above, IFAs are just going to take a percentage of your money and then as here predictably get pissy when you do better. But, I did consult one and dropped him when he kept suggesting low risk investments, I looked online and found better companies to invest in, my conclusion was that I was deliberately being offered safe investments, but I understand his caution.
To follow up on that point it's crazy though that anyone would use an IFA when there's stacks of detail you can get off the internet. Every company publishes detailed accounts, usually twice a year and you can compare metrics like ROCE, EPS etc across a sector and against previous years, all you need to do is a bit of work and open a very basic spreadsheet. You also don't need expert advice to open a SIPP.
In conclusion: do your own research and then do some more and if you do consult an IFA then check every single investment they recommend, the details will be out there, most likely with a bit of work you'll find one that returns more, only you'll be a few percent down. Also while your at it, learn about compounding.
PS: In another post Golfaddick says he charges 3%...so on Webby's suggested £400,000 investment pot that means he's going to take £12,000 meaning it'll be reduced to £388,000, plus he'll keep taking something (0.5%) every year, which is £2k PA on the £400k pot, only it'll be 0.5% every year. If you want to chuck that kind of money away fine...but why make him or another IFA rich? Genuinely I don't get it.
So, my suggestion is: open a SIPP, manage it yourself, chuck some funds in, and I've suggested a few high paying investments that are reasonably sound and also invest £20K in a stocks and share ISA also with a high yielding share and keep some money back for next year's ISA. The rest you can invest/play with as you see fit. Trust me, there's no real magic or special skills needed.
Today it's being reported that in the 2nd quarter top European companies are lagging behind their S&P 500 counterparts (zero growth year on year compared with +9%). Many more S&P companies than Stoxx Europe 600 companies have beaten analysts forecasts. Inevitably, this has created a rush amongst analysts to suggest that the shift from America to Europe will come to a crashing halt, and at least based on this quarter, it is hard to present an opposite case.
What's a mug punter (and pensioner) to do? Maybe a bit more UK based funds? Actually one good thing about @FSLN1 posts is that he's alerted me to some more UK based income paying opportunities. I will explore that possibility (aka doing my own research😉)
@Webby was asking where to put £400k to supplement his earned income. He also mentioned he was a basic rate taxpayer. This leads me to work out that he cant put £300k straight into his pension. If he could do so I might have suggested something along those lines.
A trait of a good adviser is to listen to what a client is telling you.
Edit.
Just read your last few paragraphs. Again you dont read or understand what I post but just bligthly spout your own agenda.
If I was investing £400k for a client I certainly wouldn't be charging 3%.....or anything near it. Probably nearer to 1%, or a fixed fee between £2500 & £4000.
The thing about being a regulated adviser is that I cant just spout off numbers or % returns off the back of my hand. And I need to "know my client" first and discuss with them their Attitude to Risk before even contemplating recommending a solution.
But any old Joe Soap can come on here & spew out "recommendations" like they're going out of fashion.
So why bother responding then? I provided detail and a few suggestions also to minimise his tax bill - I thought you as a self-confessed "expert" would surely enjoy pulling them apart?
I asked what the best ROI was that you achieved. Can you beat my 130% and if not why are you offering investment advice or criticising others?
Surely you can just reply to this one question?
You also missed the best bit, where I point out that your commission would be £12K on his initial investments of £400K and £2k thereafter - AKA daylight robbery. How do you justify crowbarring that kind of money out of people?
So I can see why you don't want to engage in a debate.
People like you want to try and make out that investment is some kind of secret that only a select few are let in on - it isn't. Sorry to bust the bubble but people like you and the IFA I once consulted have no great powers, just a lot of bullshit dressed up as expertise.
IFA’s have a place and people need them. Just as if when I have a burst pipe I call out a plumber not my GP.
And anyway, how are things looking if you take some of the big US tech stocks out of the equation? Companies like NVIDIA might just be dragging up a lot of dross. Tesla too, they have a ridiculous market cap which I can't justify when you consider that sales in Europe have plunged and are unlikely to be good in the US. Elon Musk has somehow managed to annoy both liberal minded folk, just by being himself, while conservatives hate him because he had a tiff with Trump, and yet their shares are changing hands at $320 a pop, the valuation of the company is nearly $1tn. That's lunacy, right now I Cannot Recommend A Purchase.
So, I'd be wary about what happens in the States, unfortunately what happens there hits the rest of the world.
But you might want to look at the defence sector...
Nato for example is clearly following the Nathan Jones model of defence first. The EU has just raised a pot of 600m Euros to spend on defending Europe while Nato members will collectively spend 4.6bn Euros this year and 5.3bn Euros in 2026. The plan is for Nato member states to continually increase spending to 5% of their national GDP by 2035. Most are way, way, way off that, some will have to more than double spending based on 2024 numbers.
That's a lot of drones...
I also noticed from Rolls-Royce's interim results last week that they have an order book worth £18.8bn just for defence sector work. Many investment funds in this sector tend to be multi-national/trans-Atlantic. UK based aerospace and defence sales are zero rated for tariffs as far as exporting to the US goes - that works for the EU too and the money is spent mostly by nation states and a few organisations like Nato, the UN etc, they tend not to look at the purse strings too closely.
And if you are looking at the suggestions I made earlier, your research will show that NextEnergy Solar is currently trading at a 30% discount to NAV while paying out over 10% PA in dividends, it's like they are giving money away. Being your environmentally friendly Charlton fan I believe in putting my money where my mouth is....and I have. As a bonus solar farms also piss off the Nimby brigade.
But its easy putting out figures when you dont need to back them up. And the more you write the more I think you are just spouting rubbish.
Dont take this the wrong way but I wont be engaging with you any further. I come on here to give basic help & advice to all those who need it. And if anyone wants more personalised advice then I'm happy to chat or meet them to see if I can help.