I reported in my last post that I planned to open an account with The Share Centre for my investments but having read a recent post over at Millennial Revolution where they talk about moving to Vanguard, I did a bit more research and decided to open an account there instead. Vanguard charge just 0.15% as an annual fee on balances up to £250,000 (I’m a way off that yet!) and over that it’s free!
Opening the account was really easy and I was able to add my first £450 deposit straight away. I then chose my investments based on the asset allocation I’ve decided to use. I spent a lot of time reading about asset allocation but I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it – it’s just about spreading your risk. With that in mind, I’ve chosen:
FTSE All World – 30%
FTSE Developed Europe – 25%
S&P 500 – 25%
UK Investment Grade Bond – 20%
With my first investment of £450 my percentages are not consistent with my planned allocation but this will become easier as I get used to making the calculations and as the level of investments increase. I have a direct debit set up to transfer £450 every month straight after pay day when I will then check my allocations and buy the appropriate investments. Now all I have to do is stop checking my account every other day to see whether I’m up or down! I never thought investing would be so fun!
The Saving Journey 