Index funds

Fremen

Hi,
I just finished reading "A random walk down wall street". It gives fairly convincing evidence that investing in a passively managed index fund that mirrors the performance of the market as a whole is pretty much the way to go.

Does anyone know of a bank offering something like this? I had a look at vanguard.com, but it looks as if they require an initial investment of about e100,000, whereas I have less than a tenth of that to invest.

govinda

Have you had a look at Quinn Life funds? www.quinn-life.com

BendiBus

Fremen wrote:

Hi,
I just finished reading "A random walk down wall street". It gives fairly convincing evidence that investing in a passively managed index fund that mirrors the performance of the market as a whole is pretty much the way to go.

I'm going to be mischievous and suggest you also read a book that convincingly argues that (well chosen) actively managed funds will give you a better return.

Then make up your own mind

Failing that, Quinn Life isn't the worst option out there.

Fremen

Any suggestions for what book to read?

Edit: it looks like the quinn freeway funds are pretty much what I was looking for, but they have a life assurance component too. Since I'm fairly young and don't have any dependants, I don't think I really need that. I reckon I might keep looking

Marathon_Man

Fremen wrote:

but they have a life assurance component too. Since I'm fairly young and don't have any dependants, I don't think I really need that.

Quinn have a number of divisions. Buying one of their investment products doesn't mean you have to buy assurance.

It possible to stick a lump sum or drip feed into any of their freeway funds
http://www.quinn-life.com/qdi_freeway_funds.html

Most of the banks offer similar products but charges may vary.

Take a look here as well http://www.askaboutmoney.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9

BendiBus

Fremen wrote:

Any suggestions for what book to read?

Edit: it looks like the quinn freeway funds are pretty much what I was looking for, but they have a life assurance component too. Since I'm fairly young and don't have any dependants, I don't think I really need that. I reckon I might keep looking

I don't have a particular book in mind. Just suggesting that you consider all the arguments before coming to any conclusions.

Quinn Life investments are sold as life products. I don't really understand the legalities ot technicalities, but it's quite standard in the industry.

Makemericher

It's a bit like economist - you can line up 10 of them and they'd all probably disagree!

Index funds - you should be aware that index funds will necessarily return less than the index that the fund tracks. This is because of fund manager charges and errors in tracking the index. Because they are passively managed the fees should be lower than actively managed funds.
Quinn Life have a range of index funds as you say. Some, but not all, of their annual charges are 1.5% which I feel is too expensive for a passively managed fund. Some funds are 1%.

Actively managed funds - you can make persuasive arguements which would convince you that actively managed funds never beat the index. In fact many do not but some do. So you need to be comfortable with your investment goals, attitude to risk and of course the individual funds that you select. RaboDirect.ie offer a range of managed funds - I have a few of them. Emerging Europe fund and some of the Henderson funds which have done well for me so far ... on paper. I like the fact that they are rated by Morningstar.

ETF's - exchange traded funds. You can buy these through stockbrokers. If you want an index fund you could argue that they are a better bet than the Quinn Life index funds because of the lower fees.

Anyway, no matter what you choose be prepared to invest for the long term and know yor risk appetite.