Newbie with 600k to Spend

SMG94

Hi All,

So I'm pretty young (26) and have managed to put myself in a position where I have 300k immediately available to me with another 300k likely to be available in March. This money is held in a personal hold co. I also have about 75k savings in my personal account but not sure if I should invest a chunk of this also.

I have great experience in business, and very good common sense and gut instinct, but no experience when it comes to investment, stocks, property etc. Any pointers on where to start would be brilliant as it so much money that am I not sure what I should do or where to begin.

I have spoke to someone about pensions and stocks but I think so many stocks are overvalued that I feel a bit uneasy putting large amounts of money into them in the current climate. Maybe this is a crazy thought.

Many thanks,

Pkiernan

SMG94 wrote: »

Hi All,

So I'm pretty young (26) and have managed to put myself in a position where I have 300k immediately available to me with another 300k likely to be available in March. This money is held in a personal hold co. I also have about 75k savings in my personal account but not sure if I should invest a chunk of this also.

I have great experience in business, and very good common sense and gut instinct, but no experience when it comes to investment, stocks, property etc. Any pointers on where to start would be brilliant as it so much money that am I not sure what I should do or where to begin.

I have spoke to someone about pensions and stocks but I think so many stocks are overvalued that I feel a bit uneasy putting large amounts of money into them in the current climate. Maybe this is a crazy thought.

Many thanks,

I'm a big fan of having at least 3 income streams.

1. Job.
2. Rental Income
3. Thoroughly diversified stock market account.

For number 3, its nearly impossible for a private investor to beat the market by picking stocks.
You need the services of a good mutual fund provider.
I use Fidelity.

Mine has increased from its low in 2009 by more than 5x .

If I were you I'd think about having some rental income as well.

SMG94

Thanks for the advice. I definitely agree on the multiple revenue streams and I am going to speak with Fidelity. Would you give a few hundred €k to them or perhaps split it between two different fund providers?

Pkiernan

I'd have no issue trusting Fidelity with 7 figures.

SMG94

Pkiernan wrote: »

I'd have no issue trusting Fidelity with 7 figures.

Thanks

SMG94

Would it be a better option to put 75% of the money (about 450k) into the S&P500?

Pkiernan

SMG94 wrote: »

Would it be a better option to put 75% of the money (about 450k) into the S&P500?

Thats what carefully managed mutual funds will effectively do.

I wouldnt put 75% in the markets though.

A 300k buy in gets you access to some very attractive mutual funds, and you should be expecting 7% year on year returns at the very least.

DilD

Pkiernan wrote: »

For number 3, its nearly impossible for a private investor to beat the market by picking stocks...

This is completely false, it is very very possible to beat the market picking stocks once you understand and respect risk management.

How you invest your money all depends on what timeframe you are looking at. There is no such thing as a stock being overvalued, a stock can be trading at all time highs and continue to go much much higher. Same thing for stocks undervaluded, they can look like they will not go any lower, but they can go to zero.

There is a right time and a wrong time to buy a stock however, but that all depends on your intended hold period. I wouldn't invest a cent until you understand what you are expecting from the market and thoroughly research an approach that suits you and your risk tolerance.

Yes over the long long run the market is up, but the question is can you stomach the times when the market and so called bluechip stocks are down 50%, 60% even 80-90%.

As I said, I think you need to undersyand what you are expecting to get out of your investment and a timeframe before throwing your money at something a so called "Professional Financial Adviser" recommends. Remember, nobody knows what the market or any particular stock is going to do, ever, that's a fact.

shooter69

Pkiernan wrote: »

I'd have no issue trusting Fidelity with 7 figures.

Hi Pkiernan
Just wondering is it possible to deal with fidelity direct or do you have use a broker ?
Heard good things about them
Thanks in advance
PS sorry for thread hijack !

SMG94

DilD wrote: »

As I said, I think you need to understand what you are expecting to get out of your investment and a timeframe before throwing your money at something a so called "Professional Financial Adviser" recommends.

I have two potential outcomes:

1. My current business keeps going well which means I will keep the bulk of my money in investments for the next 30 - 40 years with no need to liquidate the majority of them.

2. Income for my current company slows down so in 5 years time I will have to liquidate €500k of my assets to build a house, buy a car etc.


My primary aim for the first €600k of my investments is to increase that €600k's worth inline with inflation in a manner which is extremely safe. Ideally I would like to make a return also but safety is my number one priority, that is for sure.

At the end of next year I hope to have another few hundred k available to invest. With this money I would be more open to higher risk investments with the aim of making a higher return.