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I've got a pension review later today - any idea where to put my funds in this chaotic climate ?
BRICKS seem to be falling like stones
Europe seems to be in decline
China is lining itself up for a crash
US is mired in voting mess
UK couldn't find its ass with both arms
Perhaps I should just buy lottery tickets each month.
Black...no wait Red.
🙂
Diversify ... your pessimistic scenarios are not far from the truth 🙂 Defensive play imho right now would be mix of uk government bonds and shares. My personal view is Greece will default in 1-2yrs causing mayhem in Europe and with the euro. I think the US is in pretty good shape and whoever wins the Presidency will help business.
I keep mine spread about but recently put money into Japan - 10% profit on this in just over a month, it's bit up'n'downy 🙂
https://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=JRSHZ
Pensions are a long term investment and in that time you'll have funds go up and down several times. As long as you have good diversity and aren't retiring in the next 10 years, it probably doesn't matter that much which specific funds / areas you are in.
The jungle drums are all talking about value... value stocks, value funds, value has been down in the dumps, value has underperformed relative to quality, value is due a renaissance, yadda yadda. I suspect this may all be total bollocks perpetuated in desperation by a bunch of fund managers whose reputations are under threat, but even if it's not you'd need to pick your fund(s) very carefully.
Well long term for me would be 15 years.
Diversifying is part of my plan, US and UK seems a good bet.
But Japan ? They have a culture that wont spend money and labour rates that are way higher than their competitors. If I owned a business in Japan Id be worried.
Good point Mike p - fund managers are sales men 🙂
I made over 20% in a year on Japan in 2015, but have since sold all my funds there.
OP I have had 75% of my pension in Asia for the past 10 years, its certainly taken a battering lately but overall has done very well. Japan is developed/stale (?) Asia, as per your post China is in a tricky spot, positive argument is government can control everything, negative argument is its a ticking time bomb.
Black...no wait Red.
Rubbish advice. You need to diversify.
So half on red, half on black.
OP I have had 75% of my pension in Asia for the past 10 years,
A brave man!
The last time I asked a question about pensions on STW I got an email from a fellow forumite who not only answered my questions but put everything in good order.
What's more he's coming down to see me on Thursday for an initial meeting which will be combined with a blast over Cannock Chase!
Diversification is all well and good but it depends how far you take it. There's no point investing in a dud just because it aids diversification. It's been shown that a single fund only needs around 30 separate holdings in order to reduce volatility to an acceptable level, yet most funds have well over 100 - how does the manager keep track of all these positions? Then there's diversification between sectors: US vs UK vs EUR vs Japan, blue chip vs mid-cap vs smaller co.s, value vs quality, miners vs banks vs pharma, etc. And there's different types of investments: equities, bonds (govt vs corporate), etc. e.g. why would you "diversify" into UK govt bonds when yields are at an all-time low? Surely that can only go one way in the long term?
I'm also struggling to find homes for my SIPP, QE has flooded the markets with liquidity and consequently almost everything looks toppy. I try to follow the teachings of Warren Buffett, his annual letter to shareholders contains more good sense than you'll find in all the guff produced by the financial press. Terry Smith is another reliable source of good sense.
I've just put 25% (about a tenner) into a UK ethical fund. "aligning investments with my values" and all that.
Most of my pension is Japanese and I'm not expecting to see much of it. Other than that, diversify and don't worry. Low prices are a buying opportunity.
Moved all mines into a cash fund in February. Did pretty well out of Asian funds over the past 5 years, but we've not got a particularly good choice of funds in my scheme, and it seems like the global economy is circling the drain right now. Would rather it remained static than lose a significant percentage of its value.
BRICKS seem to be falling like stones
Bricks and Mortar, or BRICs ?
I wouldn't touch the former with a bargepole, but BRICs are all on the up, for now...
BRIC - on the up ? I thought they were all suffering.
If you want to make money Id not look for ethical funds. They sound nice and might make you feel warm and fluffy, but I want to be rich when I retire.
So drugs, guns and prostitutes will be the funds for that 🙂
I made over 20% in a year on Japan in 2015, but have since sold all my funds there.
I thought Feb looked a good time to get back in.
I made over 20% in a year on Japan in 2015, but have since sold all my funds there.
I thought Feb looked a good time to get back in.
The gift that keeps on giving...
I thought Feb looked a good time to get back in.
I moved all my more adventurous funds into Gold in Jan, which then went up 10%...
This Legg Mason Japan fund can't carry on doing this for ever I'm sure but 34% in the last 3 months is nice.
This Legg Mason Japan fund can't carry on doing this for ever I'm sure but 34% in the last 3 months is nice.
I know... Bought in early Feb, just wondering when to get out.