Pension fund performance - do you monitor yours, how is it doing, do you actively change it?

ddoubleep · 2025-01-07T10:26:49+0000

Buffman said:
Just moved my pensions out nutmeg and a self selected aegon fund into vanguard.
Im not sure wether to go 100% vanguard all cap or maybe add say 50% higher growth in there (e.g. S&p 500 /higher weighting to America tech stocks)

This is my "main pot" with cira 70% of my pensions and the "working fund" my company pays into is a seperate fund

Options via Vanguard:

Vanguard FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation (VHVG)
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation (VWRP)
Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-U.K. Equity Index Fund
Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund

Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation (VUAG)
Vanguard U.S. Equity Index Fund

Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF USD Distributing (VHYL)

--------------

Ended up going VHVG as has plenty of exposure to S&P 500
The OH is debating VWRP or Global All Cap but also wants to add % VUAG

413x · 2025-01-07T13:38:02+0000

dlockers said:
Another example is ERCs on mortgages. When rates were doing their thing quite a few folk realised they could take a loss against their existing mortgage because the gain on a renewal outdid the penalty and then some.

Yep. Did this I think i even made a thread about it way back.

413x · 2025-01-07T13:38:51+0000

I have to say. Bonds.. I don't really understand them. I don't even know where I'd go to purchase. I believe I've had this conversation with a friend friend and on this forum. Obviously it still hadn't sunk in!

200sols · 2025-01-07T13:42:45+0000

I know someone who loves talking about bonds.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 2025-01-07T14:02:14+0000

Every day is a bond day 007

Jim99 · 2025-01-07T14:12:27+0000

413x said:
I have to say. Bonds.. I don't really understand them. I don't even know where I'd go to purchase. I believe I've had this conversation with a friend friend and on this forum. Obviously it still hadn't sunk in!

A lot of people who buy them don't understand them either

413x · 2025-01-07T14:13:41+0000

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Every day is a bond day 007

But is everyday a bondage day?

200sols · 2025-01-07T14:14:45+0000

Seriously though, what dont you understand @413x ?

413x · 2025-01-07T14:16:13+0000

200sols said:
Seriously though, what dont you understand @413x ?

Where you buy them. How you assess risk etc. How you calculate return.
Cost of exiting early etc etc.

Jim99 · 2025-01-07T14:18:15+0000

413x said:
Where you buy them. How you assess risk etc. How you calculate return.
Cost of exiting early etc etc.

This article is a decent starter https://monevator.com/how-to-buy-index-linked-gilts/

throwaway4372 · 2025-01-07T14:18:42+0000

You'd prolly just want a bond fund, but not yet, too far to retirement.

413x · 2025-01-07T14:27:15+0000

throwaway4372 said:
You'd prolly just want a bond fund, but not yet, too far to retirement.

Its more along lines of..
I get 6.25 pc via my regular saver.
This is holiday money I allocate for spending 1 year later.

Is it better / am I able to move this to bonds? Or basically something better.

mattx4 · 2025-01-07T14:30:08+0000

413x said:
Its more along lines of..
I get 6.25 pc via my regular saver.
This is holiday money I allocate for spending 1 year later.

Is it better / am I able to move this to bonds? Or basically something better

Stick to the savings account. If your investment horizon is only one year you won't get more than 6.5% with a bond or bond fund without taking on significant credit and duration risk.

Savings accounts a protected under FSCS bonds are not

throwaway4372 · 2025-01-07T14:31:32+0000

413x said:
Its more along lines of..
I get 6.25 pc via my regular saver.
This is holiday money I allocate for spending 1 year later.

Is it better / am I able to move this to bonds? Or basically something better.

Keep doing what you're doing

413x · 2025-01-07T14:32:44+0000

mattx4 said:
Stick to the savings account. If your investment horizon is only one year you won't get more than 6.5% with a bond or bond fund without taking on significant credit and duration risk.

Savings accounts a protected under FSCS bonds are not

throwaway4372 said:
Keep doing what you're doing

I thought so.
I wasn't sure. But I didn't think it could be bettered for this use case.

And yes. I'm not old enough to be thinking of bonds for long term yet.

200sols · 2025-01-07T14:35:31+0000

413x said:
I wasn't sure. But I didn't think it could be bettered for this use case.

Depends if you pay 40% tax on the interest or not.

mattx4 said:
Stick to the savings account. If your investment horizon is only one year you won't get more than 6.5% with a bond or bond fund without taking on significant credit and duration risk.

Tax makes low coupon short dates gilts better for some.

Jim99 · 2025-01-07T14:40:26+0000

200sols said:
Depends if you pay 40% tax on the interest or not.

Tax makes low coupon short dates gilts better for some.

^this. Though I think for most people - as per my earlier comment - if you're not 100% clear what you're doing, the risk of making a mistake outweighs the potential benefits of gilts.

Between non-taxable premium bonds and high rate regular savings accounts, there are decent options out there besides gilts even for >=40% taxpayers.

413x · 2025-01-07T14:56:19+0000

200sols said:
Depends if you pay 40% tax on the interest or not.

Tax makes low coupon short dates gilts better for some.

We are generally talking sums under 500 a year in interest.
But this is mainly due to that 500 a year interest allowance.

I have to be careful now to not go over this as I have a 3 year fixed rate bond at 4.8pc that matures in this coming December that accrued 200 interest a year
My regular saver also accures about 170
Plus I get random interest from my current account.
Anything else I put in my isa which is t212. It's either 5pc or 4.8 right now.

Jim99 · 2025-01-07T15:01:31+0000

413x said:
We are generally talking sums under 500 a year in interest.
But this is mainly due to that 500 a year interest allowance.

I have to be careful now to not go over this as I have a 3 year fixed rate bond at 4.8pc that matures in this coming December that accrued 200 interest a year
My regular saver also accures about 170
Plus I get random interest from my current account.
Anything else I put in my isa which is t212. It's either 5pc or 4.8 right now.

Yeah, IMO you are nowhere near a situation where it would be worth looking at buying individual gilts (bond funds as a percentage of your retirement portfolio is a totally different conversation).

It's really something that can help when you're paying enough tax on interest that it's worth the time and effort.