Need help with my portfolio please

Cucking Funt

Not getting much satisfaction from it, maybe you guys could have a look for me?

NAV 16,200

Funds:

Robeco High Yield Bonds DH EUR €150.00
Henderson Horizon Fund - Pan European Equity Fund A2 EUR Acc €150.00
JPM Europe Strat Dividend A Acc EUR €200.00
JPMorgan Funds – Germany Equity A (acc) - EUR €300.00
Henderson Horizon Fund - Global Technology Fund A2 EUR Acc €600.00
Templeton Global Total Return A Acc €200.00
BlackRock GIF Euro Gov Bond Index A2 €1,500.00
BlackRock GIF North America Eq Index A2 €500.00
Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds DH EUR ACC €1,000.00

Prize bonds:
5200

Pension: 250 approx

Rest is cash.


Any thoughts on the above? Im in the process of opening up a share dealing account to get exposure to the vanguard s&p fund

marc_faber

Cucking Funt wrote: »

Not getting much satisfaction from it, maybe you guys could have a look for me?

NAV 16,200

Funds:

Robeco High Yield Bonds DH EUR €150.00
Henderson Horizon Fund - Pan European Equity Fund A2 EUR Acc €150.00
JPM Europe Strat Dividend A Acc EUR €200.00
JPMorgan Funds – Germany Equity A (acc) - EUR €300.00
Henderson Horizon Fund - Global Technology Fund A2 EUR Acc €600.00
Templeton Global Total Return A Acc €200.00
BlackRock GIF Euro Gov Bond Index A2 €1,500.00
BlackRock GIF North America Eq Index A2 €500.00
Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds DH EUR ACC €1,000.00

Prize bonds:
5200

Pension: 250 approx

Rest is cash.


Any thoughts on the above? Im in the process of opening up a share dealing account to get exposure to the vanguard s&p fund

i suspect you bought those funds through rabbo direct , my first piece of advice is dump them all , they cost at least 1% per year and will give you no better of a return than a vanguard ETF ( which you can buy through any broker ) for .25 %

set up a brokerage account with saxo capital markets and buy the following

vwrl.as its euro denoninated and on the amsterdam exchange , will cost you .25 % per anum

you can get a s+p etf for .09 % but that only provides exposure to the usa

its ( VWRL ) 50% north america , around 40% europe and japan , with the rest in emerging markets

the key to passive investment is to minimise managment costs , none of those managed funds will beat a broad based ETF when it comes to fees and only one in five will outperform index funds , no offense but you ( or i ) are not savy enough to know what the best fund managers are and its certainly none of those run of the mill ones which rabbo are flogging

Cucking Funt

marc_faber wrote: »

i suspect you bought those funds through rabbo direct , my first piece of advice is dump them all , they cost at least 1% per year and will give you no better of a return than a vanguard ETF ( which you can buy through any broker ) for .25 %

set up a brokerage account with saxo capital markets and buy the following

vwrl.as its euro denoninated and on the amsterdam exchange , will cost you .25 % per anum

you can get a s+p etf for .09 % but that only provides exposure to the usa

its ( VWRL ) 50% north america , around 40% europe and japan , with the rest in emerging markets

the key to passive investment is to minimise managment costs , none of those managed funds will beat a broad based ETF when it comes to fees and only one in five will outperform index funds , no offense but you ( or i ) are not savy enough to know what the best fund managers are and its certainly none of those run of the mill ones which rabbo are flogging

In fairness to rabo, its a simple platform and no non-activity fees etc, though i do agree with you, i am currently setting up a TD account as it seems to be the cheapest

marc_faber

Cucking Funt wrote: »

In fairness to rabo, its a simple platform and no non-activity fees etc, though i do agree with you, i am currently setting up a TD account as it seems to be the cheapest

i only just parted company with TD , cheap but a truly awful broker in every other sense

with saxo going on two weeks , fantastic and not all that much more expensive than TD

Cucking Funt

marc_faber wrote: »

i only just parted company with TD , cheap but a truly awful broker in every other sense

with saxo going on two weeks , fantastic and not all that much more expensive than TD

£20 a quarter though?

marc_faber

Cucking Funt wrote: »

£20 a quarter though?

ive a 200 k portfolio

Cucking Funt

marc_faber wrote: »

ive a 200 k portfolio

mah nigga

Mort5000

marc_faber wrote: »

i only just parted company with TD , cheap but a truly awful broker in every other sense

with saxo going on two weeks , fantastic and not all that much more expensive than TD

+1 to that.

Static M.e.

Thanks marc_faber, great post.

Did you find it difficult to move your shares etc. from TD to Saxo?

Mort5000

Static M.e. wrote: »

Thanks marc_faber, great post.

Did you find it difficult to move your shares etc. from TD to Saxo?

I did have significant difficulties when I did this transfer, but it was all down to TD's issues. Saxo have been brilliant.

See old thread

RobertKK

Cucking Funt wrote: »

£20 a quarter though?

If you do one trade you don't pay it, in that quarter you pay nothing.

AngleseaStBull

Cucking Funt wrote: »

Not getting much satisfaction from it, maybe you guys could have a look for me?

NAV 16,200

Funds:

Robeco High Yield Bonds DH EUR €150.00
Henderson Horizon Fund - Pan European Equity Fund A2 EUR Acc €150.00
JPM Europe Strat Dividend A Acc EUR €200.00
JPMorgan Funds – Germany Equity A (acc) - EUR €300.00
Henderson Horizon Fund - Global Technology Fund A2 EUR Acc €600.00
Templeton Global Total Return A Acc €200.00
BlackRock GIF Euro Gov Bond Index A2 €1,500.00
BlackRock GIF North America Eq Index A2 €500.00
Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds DH EUR ACC €1,000.00

Prize bonds:
5200

Pension: 250 approx

Rest is cash.


Any thoughts on the above? Im in the process of opening up a share dealing account to get exposure to the vanguard s&p fund

SPY and VBR are great funds. Low cost. Buy and hold.

save_me_some

AngleseaStBull wrote: »

SPY and VBR are great funds. Low cost. Buy and hold.

spy is the state street etf which tracks the s+p ., its the one with by far the most volume but is a little more expensive than vanguards offering ( voo )

AngleseaStBull

save_me_some wrote: »

spy is the state street etf which tracks the s+p ., its the one with by far the most volume but is a little more expensive than vanguards offering ( voo )

Yep, Vanguard are cheap as chips and they're a very decently run company.

FURET

Great thread.

I also have a few questions.

I will soon be opening a Saxo account from Dubai (the account will be domicled in Denmark). I need to decide whether to set the base currency as euros or dollars (I don't yet have the luxury of using multiple currencies). I get paid in a dollar-pegged currency, but at the same time, I might want to move to back to Europe in the future.

So my first question is whether I should set the base currency in dollars or euros.

My second question is what exchange I should buy from. For instance, if I specify dollar as my base currency, can I still buy off the Amsterdam exchange? I understand that if you buy from a USA exchange and you die, the US government takes 60% of the value of your investment as an estate tax. To avoid this, I'd like to buy off the Amsterdam exchange - but do I then need to specify euro as my base Saxo currency?

My third question is a simpler one:
What ETFs I should buy? I would like to buy a low-cost S&P 500 ETF, a low-cost world ETF that excludes the USA, and a first world government bond ETF.

Would appreciate some advice.

Bateman

iShares recently cut fees so their World equity ETF could be the one to look at

AngleseaStBull

FURET wrote: »

Great thread.

I also have a few questions.

I will soon be opening a Saxo account from Dubai (the account will be domicled in Denmark). I need to decide whether to set the base currency as euros or dollars (I don't yet have the luxury of using multiple currencies). I get paid in a dollar-pegged currency, but at the same time, I might want to move to back to Europe in the future.

So my first question is whether I should set the base currency in dollars or euros.

My second question is what exchange I should buy from. For instance, if I specify dollar as my base currency, can I still buy off the Amsterdam exchange? I understand that if you buy from a USA exchange and you die, the US government takes 60% of the value of your investment as an estate tax. To avoid this, I'd like to buy off the Amsterdam exchange - but do I then need to specify euro as my base Saxo currency?

My third question is a simpler one:
What ETFs I should buy? I would like to buy a low-cost S&P 500 ETF, a low-cost world ETF that excludes the USA, and a first world government bond ETF.

Would appreciate some advice.

What markets are you considering trading in? If you're going to invest on the US markets then use dollars, if European markets then Euros.
All of the shares in the world add up to about €33 trillion and about half of that value is listed on the US markets so that's a good place to start. Although the changing exchange rate might damage your profit base if your home currency will be in Euro.

FURET

AngleseaStBull wrote: »

What markets are you considering trading in? If you're going to invest on the US markets then use dollars, if European markets then Euros.
All of the shares in the world add up to about €33 trillion and about half of that value is listed on the US markets so that's a good place to start. Although the changing exchange rate might damage your profit base if your home currency will be in Euro.

I want to buy a S&P500 ETF, a whole-of-world-ex-US ETF, a first world government bond ETF.

The temptation is to buy the lot on a US exchange with dollars, but as you said, currency fluctuations could hurt me, as well as the US estate tax. So for this reason I was thinking of using euros as my base Saxo currency until I reach 100k account value. But then I have to convert my dollar-pegged UAE dirhams to euros, and the exchange rate isn't good.

Do you think buying them off the Amsterdam exchange in euros is a better bet long term?

Also, could you recommend any particular ETFs given what I've indicated above?

AngleseaStBull

FURET wrote: »

I want to buy a S&P500 ETF, a whole-of-world-ex-US ETF, a first world government bond ETF.

The temptation is to buy the lot on a US exchange with dollars, but as you said, currency fluctuations could hurt me, as well as the US estate tax. So for this reason I was thinking of using euros as my base Saxo currency until I reach 100k account value. But then I have to convert my dollar-pegged UAE dirhams to euros, and the exchange rate isn't good.

Do you think buying them off the Amsterdam exchange in euros is a better bet long term?

Also, could you recommend any particular ETFs given what I've indicated above?

State Street have their SPY ETF, that's a great one for the S&P500, that's in dollars of course.
Vanguard have an ETF that tracks world stocks ex US, it's VEU, it started in the middle of 2007 and it's recovered to where it started after having a large fall during the 2008 crisis.

If you could trade in Sterling I would recommend you take a look at Invesco Powershares, they have a fund for European large cap shares. The ISIN code for that is IE00B23D8X81, it's cheap to buy into, the management fee is 0.5% per year, the bid/ask spread is 0.24% which is great. That fund focuses on Large Cap Value stocks, so it takes companies with market prices closer to the book value than most other large caps.

In terms of bonds, maybe just research individual national bonds. Bonds and interest rates have an inverse relationship, so maybe some higher risk bond ETFs like IHY or the Vanguard fund BNDX with a bit more sane than IHY.

iknorr

marc_faber wrote: »

i suspect you bought those funds through rabbo direct , my first piece of advice is dump them all , they cost at least 1% per year and will give you no better of a return than a vanguard ETF ( which you can buy through any broker ) for .25 %

set up a brokerage account with saxo capital markets and buy the following

vwrl.as its euro denoninated and on the amsterdam exchange , will cost you .25 % per anum

you can get a s+p etf for .09 % but that only provides exposure to the usa

its ( VWRL ) 50% north america , around 40% europe and japan , with the rest in emerging markets

the key to passive investment is to minimise managment costs , none of those managed funds will beat a broad based ETF when it comes to fees and only one in five will outperform index funds , no offense but you ( or i ) are not savy enough to know what the best fund managers are and its certainly none of those run of the mill ones which rabbo are flogging

Regarding the account type.... is there a specific account or would it be just the saxo classic account?
Also, is there any difference between opening via the uk website or dutch website etc?

T L

iknorr wrote: »

Regarding the account type.... is there a specific account or would it be just the saxo classic account?
Also, is there any difference between opening via the uk website or dutch website etc?

I was actually wondering the same, as I started the account opening process the other day and was asked to choose whether the account would be regulated under UK or Dutch regs.

iknorr

T L wrote: »

I was actually wondering the same, as I started the account opening process the other day and was asked to choose whether the account would be regulated under UK or Dutch regs.

I just opened a demo account this morning. Can find vwrl.as either..... hmmm any ideas?
EDIT: Just found it i think - vwrl:xams
Also, which account type did u open?

iknorr

T L wrote: »

I was actually wondering the same, as I started the account opening process the other day and was asked to choose whether the account would be regulated under UK or Dutch regs.

Did you manage to find any info on this?
EDIT: Also, i see the commission rates but cant eem to find the standing charges. I read reviously that theres a 20 a month charge if you dont make a trade but cant find the info on their site....

T L

iknorr wrote: »

Did you manage to find any info on this?
EDIT: Also, i see the commission rates but cant eem to find the standing charges. I read reviously that theres a 20 a month charge if you dont make a trade but cant find the info on their site....

I gather it's GBP 25 a quarter from here: http://uk.saxomarkets.com/Documents/SCML/legal-documentation/commissions-charges-margin-schedule.pdf

I'm opening a Classic account.

I haven't had a chance during business hours to finalise it yet, I've had a couple of call backs from Saxo but have just been swamped in work so couldn't take them. Hoping to sort it out this week.

EDIT:

At the end of the day I'm not worried about the inactivity charge since I plan on making at least one trade per quarter. I plan on making one transfer into the account per quarter and make a trade from that. I presume the UK site is the one applicable to Irish investors since there doesn't seem to be a specific Irish site.

Recondite49

I'm looking at Davy Select at the moment.

Minimum opening balance : €500
Charges per quarter : €20
Charges per trade : Min €15

I've decided against TD as I definitely want to invest in Irish and EU ETF's and a previous poster says this service isn't supported.

Will post back here once account is open.

robp

Recondite49 wrote: »

I'm looking at Davy Select at the moment.

Minimum opening balance : €500
Charges per quarter : €20
Charges per trade : Min €15

I've decided against TD as I definitely want to invest in Irish and EU ETF's and a previous poster says this service isn't supported.

Will post back here once account is open.

I am pretty sure an account with tdwaterhouse.ie allows Irish and international investments.

Recondite49

robp wrote: »

I am pretty sure an account with tdwaterhouse.ie allows Irish and international investments.

Hi rob,

Thanks for your post. I've suggested that we have a separate broker review thread on here so people can talk about their experiences.

Based on what I saw so far from previous posters it seems TD has an issue with displaying EUR amounts as GBP, taking a very long time to transfer shares and as I mentioned already, not allowing buying into EU or Irish ETF's.

I'd love to hear from people who have actually used them as the thread was a couple of years old and it may well be the case they've ironed out these issues or indeed that the poster was mistaken.

robp

Recondite49 wrote: »

Hi rob,

Thanks for your post. I've suggested that we have a separate broker review thread on here so people can talk about their experiences.

Based on what I saw so far from previous posters it seems TD has an issue with displaying EUR amounts as GBP, taking a very long time to transfer shares and as I mentioned already, not allowing buying into EU or Irish ETF's.

I'd love to hear from people who have actually used them as the thread was a couple of years old and it may well be the case they've ironed out these issues or indeed that the poster was mistaken.

I have not used TD Waterhouse but I assumed Irish and Euro ETFs were available with them based on their website but when I reread over their wording I realise it is actually slightly vague. Its seems strange that a broker in the Irish market would not sell Euro ETFs. I am trying to find further info online and this thread may help

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=172492

Recondite49

robp wrote: »

I have not used TD Waterhouse but I assumed Irish and Euro ETFs were available with them based on their website but when I reread over their wording I realise it is actually slightly vague. Its seems strange that a broker in the Irish market would not sell Euro ETFs. I am trying to find further info online and this thread may help

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=172492

Thanks chief, looks useful.

Recondite49

Just had a look through the thread. The upshot seems to be that it is indeed possible to buy into Euro denominated ETF's and of course it would be desirable to do this to avoid currency conversion fees. I see a poster has also had the sense to buy from the Paris exchange to escape Irish stamp duty.

Ok, I'm convinced, I'll give TD a whirl and we'll see how we go.

Brian

Recondite49 wrote: »

Just had a look through the thread. The upshot seems to be that it is indeed possible to buy into Euro denominated ETF's and of course it would be desirable to do this to avoid currency conversion fees. I see a poster has also had the sense to buy from the Paris exchange to escape Irish stamp duty.

Ok, I'm convinced, I'll give TD a whirl and we'll see how we go.

How are things going for you? Saxo seems to be the most widely recommended but has a steep (for me) minimum deposit. Rabo's minimum is only €100 afaik, but they have a very limited range of funds.

Recondite49

AngleseaStBull wrote: »

SPY and VBR are great funds. Low cost. Buy and hold.

An excellent suggestion Anglesea.

Do you think it might be better to invest in VOO instead of SPY since it trades on the Irish Stock Exchange and Vanguard commissions are lower, or would you prefer to have your investments in dollars? I can see the advantage in both approaches.

tennisfennis

What return/loss have you made?

Also you are probably invested in too many funds (overly diversified) - a loss in one fund will be cancelled with a gain in the other leading to minimal change and with the addition of management fees will then lead to an actual loss

Recondite49

Brian wrote: »

How are things going for you? Saxo seems to be the most widely recommended but has a steep (for me) minimum deposit. Rabo's minimum is only €100 afaik, but they have a very limited range of funds.

Hi Brian,

Sorry for not responding before now. I am cataloging my attempts to get with a broker in the "suggested sticky : broker review" thread.