Help me build my pension pot…
I am an amateur investor who has taken the plunge to manage my own pension pot. I started in August 2017 with just over £200k and am aiming to grow this to a respectable pile that I can eventually retire on. To do this, I’m looking for help!
I have an understanding of some of the basics of investing, but have a huge amount more to learn. I’m in my mid-forties so have another 20 years until I can reap the benefits of my investing efforts.
Any suggestions on investment strategies, stock tips, bear traps to avoid, or pedantic grammatical criticisms are all gratefully received.
I’ll share my thoughts but, as will be painfully apparent, I am by no means qualified to give an investment advice. Therefore, nothing on this site should be construed as such.
See my blog for the latest updates.
Here’s the current portfolio (28/5/18)
| Description | Market Value | Gain | Gain % |
| AMERISUR RESOURCES | £4,516.16 | £516.16 | 12.90% |
| ASTRAZENECA | £6,244.92 | £1,109.03 | 21.59% |
| BARINGS ASEAN FRONTIERS | £8,799.83 | £799.83 | 10.00% |
| C4X DISCOVERY HLDG | £4,156.08 | £656.75 | 18.77% |
| CARD FACTORY PLC | £5,685.28 | -£1,727.05 | -23.30% |
| GLAXOSMITHKLINE | £8,055.00 | £942.80 | 13.26% |
| GLENCORE PLC | £6,727.05 | -£272.25 | -3.89% |
| GREGGS | £7,904.45 | -£86.46 | -1.08% |
| ISHARES EM IMI ETF | £10,418.33 | £429.50 | 4.30% |
| ISHARES EM SMALL CAP ETF | £10,163.92 | £199.12 | 2.00% |
| ISHARES AUTO & ROBOTICS ETF | £13,986.00 | £1,993.48 | 16.62% |
| ISHARES KOREA ETF | £8,211.79 | £230.16 | 2.88% |
| ISHARES PAC EX-JPN ETF | £5,104.39 | £184.03 | 3.74% |
| ISHARES EMU SMALL CAP ETF | £8,255.25 | £230.30 | 2.87% |
| ISHARES ISHARES UK S/C ETF | £16,849.80 | £1,994.33 | 13.42% |
| LLOYDS BANKING GP | £7,940.16 | -£178.26 | -2.20% |
| MERLIN ENTERTAINMENT | £5,037.03 | -£27.48 | -0.54% |
| PLAYTECH PLC | £9,798.64 | -£199.13 | -1.99% |
| RIO TINTO | £6,480.52 | £1,314.45 | 25.44% |
| RYANAIR HOLDINGS | £10,901.25 | -£1,081.00 | -9.02% |
| VANGUARD FTSE 100 ETF | £16,123.60 | £1,137.65 | 7.59% |
| VANGUARD FTSE JAPAN ETF | £6,110.58 | £125.38 | 2.09% |
| VANGUARD GLOBAL VALUE FACTOR | £15,942.68 | £953.98 | 6.36% |
| WETHERSPOON (J.D) | £4,901.36 | -£119.31 | -2.38% |
| CASH | £11,685.00 | ||
| Total | £219,999.07 | £9,126.01 |
I’m looking to build a diversified portfolio, but I’m also happy to take some risks and have a bit of fun.
I don’t want to incur huge management fees on active funds, otherwise, what’s the point in doing it yourself? Aversion to high charges is also why I’ve gone with a low cost platform, rather than paying 0.45% a year at the more ‘bells and whistles’ end of the market.
Investing My Pension 