Investments, stocks, shares

[LcFc_Smiv]

On 29/04/2024 at 20:19, Greg2607 said:

As a general rule, at the point you start your pension saving, you should be saving half your age as a contribution.  So start at 20... 10%, start at 30... 15% etc.  as it stands, with what you are doing, you are well on your way to a healthy retirement pot.  

 

I get 20% a year into mine and I'm hopeful of a sensible pot when I retire.

 

If you are concerned, I'd genuinely speak to a Financial Advisor.  They can be worth their weight in gold. 

This is something I’ve been thinking more and more about, and this may sound like a daft question but is there a rough annual income where you think this becomes common sense?

I have no clue when it comes to this stuff, I invest £100 a month into a fund through a stocks and shares ISA, this amount is only limited at the moment by saving for our wedding and I recognise I could probably be putting more away and am daft at the age of 32 to not be. 

[Guest Lako42]

40 minutes ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

This is something I’ve been thinking more and more about, and this may sound like a daft question but is there a rough annual income where you think this becomes common sense?

I have no clue when it comes to this stuff, I invest £100 a month into a fund through a stocks and shares ISA, this amount is only limited at the moment by saving for our wedding and I recognise I could probably be putting more away and am daft at the age of 32 to not be. 

Spending less on ya wedding is the best start

[WigstonWanderer]

Interested to know what people think about annuities these days. Obviously now interest rates have gone up you get more now.

 

I think I’m right in saying that women now have to get the same rate at the same age as men. It used to be that they got less to acknowledge that they live longer on average. Presumably this means that an annuity might be a significantly better option for women than for men.

 

 

[LcFc_Smiv]

9 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Spending less on ya wedding is the best start

Naive of you to think I have any say in that 

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Interested to know what people think about annuities these days. Obviously now interest rates have gone up you get more now.

 

I think I’m right in saying that women now have to get the same rate at the same age as men. It used to be that they got less to acknowledge that they live longer on average. Presumably this means that an annuity might be a significantly better option for women than for men.

 

 

Annuity purchase is obviously more attractive when rates are higher, but the main determinant is how much do you value the certainty of getting those payments forever? You can build in longer guarantees now that protect against the risk of getting rubbish value by dying early, which aren't crazy expensive.

 

The other thing that folk tend to forget is that it's not an all or nothing decision; for those lucky enough to have a pot big enough to buy an annuity that will cover their basic living costs and have some left over (that can be used for drawdown), a bit of both can be a good option

[ian__marshall]

10 hours ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

This is something I’ve been thinking more and more about, and this may sound like a daft question but is there a rough annual income where you think this becomes common sense?

I have no clue when it comes to this stuff, I invest £100 a month into a fund through a stocks and shares ISA, this amount is only limited at the moment by saving for our wedding and I recognise I could probably be putting more away and am daft at the age of 32 to not be. 

I think as soon as you hit the 40% tax threshold it's a no brainer. Either it goes to the tax man or or it goes into your pension pot. You can put together an excel spreadsheet with your salary, tax and NI deductions, other BIK deductions and see what impact increasing pension contributions has on your take home salary.

 

If your on PAYE it is much more tax efficient to put money into your pension as it'll reduce your taxable income. Also helps if your employer makes sizeable contributions too as you can build up a decent sized pot relatively quickly which I think will be important as healthcare is generally improving and people are living longer so it's likely you may need to draw upon a pension for good few years. Obviously buying an annuity would offer some protection from this but it's certainly not for everyone as it depends upon your personal circumstances. 

[Guest Lako42]

1 hour ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

Naive of you to think I have any say in that 

Very good point

[Tommy G]

15 hours ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

This is something I’ve been thinking more and more about, and this may sound like a daft question but is there a rough annual income where you think this becomes common sense?

I have no clue when it comes to this stuff, I invest £100 a month into a fund through a stocks and shares ISA, this amount is only limited at the moment by saving for our wedding and I recognise I could probably be putting more away and am daft at the age of 32 to not be. 

I'd say more about asset size than annual income. You can do stuff yourself if you are savvy enough, higher rate pension relief is one that is really simple to do. 

[dsr-burnley]

10 hours ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Interested to know what people think about annuities these days. Obviously now interest rates have gone up you get more now.

 

I think I’m right in saying that women now have to get the same rate at the same age as men. It used to be that they got less to acknowledge that they live longer on average. Presumably this means that an annuity might be a significantly better option for women than for men.

 

 

Last time I looked, I would have needed to live to 90 before an annuity would pay the full value of my pension pot. It's only past 90 that the decision would start to be profitable. It was 4.5% index linked rate. 

 

Add to that that if you choose drawdown then what's left in the pot goes to your nominated beneficiary but if you take an annuity the capital is probably gone even if you die the day after, it becomes an even easier decision. 

[WigstonWanderer]

11 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Annuity purchase is obviously more attractive when rates are higher, but the main determinant is how much do you value the certainty of getting those payments forever? You can build in longer guarantees now that protect against the risk of getting rubbish value by dying early, which aren't crazy expensive.

 

The other thing that folk tend to forget is that it's not an all or nothing decision; for those lucky enough to have a pot big enough to buy an annuity that will cover their basic living costs and have some left over (that can be used for drawdown), a bit of both can be a good option

That’s pretty much what I told my sister. She insists on converting her entire pot to an annuity but I suggested considering leaving a portion in a higher risk asset facing the market. If you don’t need a portion of your pot for say a decade, you can afford take a bit more risk, with the prospect of probably higher returns.

[grobyfox1990]

Novo hit big numbers of their Wegovy sales, they state they are signing up 25,000 new users A WEEK in the USA. Incredible. Share price dipped as sales below forecast which is great for buying. I have never bought into any hype, crypto is not serious, tech bull run will run out, gold will eventually lose steam - but with the fat people drugs, I am struggling to find a future scandal or end of hype event. All the drugs do is suppress your hunger lol, no affect on kids anxiety etc etc. There will be an upward slope into perpetuity of fat and lazy people to buy these drugs, and prices will surely steadily go up as competition levels out in the coming years.

[Paninistickers]

What's going on ATM the stock and share prices? Anyone in the know? 

 

I've had a very welcome 4% lift these last couple of weeks. 

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

15 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

What's going on ATM the stock and share prices? Anyone in the know? 

 

I've had a very welcome 4% lift these last couple of weeks. 

Not sure, would need someone more experienced than me. My Amazon shares I decided to get (not a lot but it’s a start) are up 4% in the last week so I feel like the wolf of Wall Street.

[Izzy]

3 hours ago, Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot said:

My Amazon shares I decided to get (not a lot but it’s a start) are up 4% in the last week so I feel like the wolf of Wall Street.

[izzymuzzet]

19 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

What's going on ATM the stock and share prices? Anyone in the know? 

 

I've had a very welcome 4% lift these last couple of weeks. 

Markets were fearful of a hike in US interest rates but the Fed held. European Central Bank hinted that it could cut rates next month. As a general rule interest rates down = market confidence (and hence stock prices) up.

[Guest Lako42]

8 hours ago, Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot said:

Not sure, would need someone more experienced than me. My Amazon shares I decided to get (not a lot but it’s a start) are up 4% in the last week so I feel like the wolf of Wall Street.

If you like that my son get balls deep into some junior miners on AIM and enjoy mental double figure movements daily. 

 

 

Or don't 

[Paninistickers]

So far so good for investments under a stable government. 

 

As vanilla as Starmer is, the markets.kove Vanilla. 

 

I'm up 4% give or take since last week. Not in one big spike  either. Been a steady % point  most days, with the occasional blip. Which I feel is better than one big artificial bounce

[Tommy G]

2 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

So far so good for investments under a stable government. 

 

As vanilla as Starmer is, the markets.kove Vanilla. 

 

I'm up 4% give or take since last week. Not in one big spike  either. Been a steady % point  most days, with the occasional blip. Which I feel is better than one big artificial bounce

Markets have been up for ages though to be fair 

[st albans fox]

Looks like the currency markets like the thought that we may get closer to Europe 

Some of the dollar weakness is based on upcoming fed rate cuts but sterling is stronger against the euro aswell. 

 

 

[dsr-burnley]

5 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

So far so good for investments under a stable government. 

 

As vanilla as Starmer is, the markets.kove Vanilla. 

 

I'm up 4% give or take since last week. Not in one big spike  either. Been a steady % point  most days, with the occasional blip. Which I feel is better than one big artificial bounce

There was never going to be any bounce, up or down, as a result of the election, because it was so obvious who was going to win.  If there was to be any movement as a result of Labour coming to power (and it seems there wasn't, certainly not downwards) it would have been apparent during the campaign, not at the end of it.

[Guest Lako42]

13 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Markets have been up for ages though to be fair 

Not all. 

 

AIM is still in a bit of a fuddle. Lower interest rates might help there though. 

 

 

Edited 13 July 2024 by Lako42

[oxford blue]

4 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Not all.

I don't agree

 

All the main indices have increased over the past 12 months. The AIM top 50 is actually up 50%; the best performer of all FTSE indices. The AIM all share  is up nearly 5%over this period (although down slightly from a high a month ago).

 

 

[lcfc sheff]

Hello, not investment based in questioning but finances. 
 

Me and my brother both own and live in a house together. It has come to light he has had a major gambling problem. Pay day loans, credit cards etc maxed.

 

he pays for the utility bills but I send him obviously my half every month. Obviously he’s been delaying payment of bills and I’ve just found a letter opened with us owing £400 to e-on with £20 being added for debt collection. Obviously he’s meant to have been on the mend at this point and is banned / excluded from gambling. 
 

my question is, if he’s paying the bills and it’s in his name but ultimately it’s our houses bills, would missing payment be added onto my record going forwards? I know it may sound a stupid question but I’m highly stressed for obvious reasons as I’m about to sell this house and buy a flat off my dad and obviously wouldn’t like to be affected anymore than I have been by this crisis.

[Tommy G]

10 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Not all. 

 

AIM is still in a bit of a fuddle. Lower interest rates might help there though. 

 

 

I’m just going based on mine. Pension up 20% for example. 

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

I’ve invested in global tech and AMD mostly, global tech up about 16% and AMD 14% so pretty happy with how that’s ticking along.