Shares!

[SallyAnne]

I've just started buying some lately.

Got a couple of grands worth and I plan to buy about another £500 each month (job permitting) - build up a bit of a pot.

Do any of you lot invest regularly? Is it a viable pension plan if you spread bet? (That's all pension firms do on your behalf anyway isn't it?)

I'm thinking 20 years @ £500 per month = £120,000 - is that enough for dividend payments to live off do you reckon?

[Troll]

Do any of you lot invest regularly? Is it a viable pension plan if you spread bet? (That's all pension firms do on your behalf anyway isn't it?)

I'm thinking 20 years @ £500 per month = £120,000 - is that enough for dividend payments to live off do you reckon?

1. Yup
2. Nope

• Look to invest in monopolies - eg British Gas & avoid (unless you're very brave) technology stocks
• Take scrip dividends
• Ramp up the £500@month to take care of inflation

HTH

[AtW]

The only shares worth investing into are those of your own company... assuming you did not go Ltd with a primary reason to avoid paying your fair share of taxes

[HairyArsedBloke]

Is it a viable pension plan if you spread bet?

No. In fact,

NO!!!

Pension planning and spread betting are about a far apart as it is possible to get.

Certainly do the former, but do not get involved with the latter. Leave that to evil spekulants like me.

[SallyAnne]

1. Yup
2. Nope

• Look to invest in monopolies - eg British Gas & avoid (unless you're very brave) technology stocks
• Take scrip dividends
• Ramp up the £500@month to take care of inflation

HTH

That was just noise

[BlasterBates]

Dividends on average varies. mine is currently paying 2% a year. I reckon that's when you know the shares are fairly valued. In the crash I was getting 4%.

You can however build a portfolio based on high dividends, my best shares for dividends pay 10% a year.

Generally Telecoms are best for dividends.

[lukemg]

First thing to realise is that you know nothing about shares. Anyone picking individual shares that they fancy on a whim is an idiot who will lose money.
This makes your policy as effective as picking horses in a race with a pin and about as likely to succeed.
I am presuming you are using either a SIPP or a shares ISA to do this, if not you are mad, as these are 'tax-free' and for ISA's don't even need to be declared on any return.
Things to note :
- You MUST consider commiting the money for 5years + and hold your nerve during the rollercoaster ride during that time. This means keeping enough aside so you don't HAVE to sell (which will usually come when the market is down)
- You SHOULD look at LOW COST market trackers as the initial foundation for any portfolio. These generally outperform a significant percentage of actively 'managed' funds which almost always perform similarly to their general market sector anyway - especially when you consider the management costs.
Start with fool.co.uk to pick up the basics, I use H-L.co.uk (Hargreaves Lansdowne) for fund purchases due to savings on initial costs and 'some' discounts on annual management charges.
I would suggest you proceed very carefully !

[shaunbhoy]

I'm thinking 20 years @ £500 per month = £120,000 - is that enough for dividend payments to live off do you reckon?

If you are thinking of staying in Sunderland, then that figure will be more than adequate.

HTH

[Gonzo]

You SHOULD look at LOW COST market trackers as the initial foundation for any portfolio. These generally outperform a significant percentage of actively 'managed' funds which almost always perform similarly to their general market sector anyway - especially when you consider the management costs.

All of my time in London was spent working for "professional" fund management companies and the conclusion that I ended up with was that their performance was always more luck than judgement.

The fund manager's personal performance is measured against a benchmark which is the market so their job will be to outperform the market by a smidgen. From time to time one of them will do rather well for a short time, they are just having a lucky streak, it wont last.

Some of the conversations that I used to overhear really made me

This is a genuine conversation I overheard in the lift, before the credit crunch:

Risk Analyst : How come the cash fund is getting such a good yield at the moment?
Fund Manager : Its full of tulip.

So, the conclusion from that would be to use a tracker although it will be interesting to see what happens when everyone is using a tracker - what will they be tracking?

[Bagpuss]

I've just started buying some lately.

Got a couple of grands worth and I plan to buy about another £500 each month (job permitting) - build up a bit of a pot.

Do any of you lot invest regularly? Is it a viable pension plan if you spread bet? (That's all pension firms do on your behalf anyway isn't it?)

I'm thinking 20 years @ £500 per month = £120,000 - is that enough for dividend payments to live off do you reckon?

120k in 20 yrs discounted to present value would worth significantly less than that, dividend income might be a small fraction of your living costs. Your figures exclude the potential growth of the shares though (including reinvesting dividends)