Any Helpful Advice On Where To Start With £200K

[catsrcool]

I want to invest £200K and I want an annual return. Where to start?
I have looked at buy to let, investment bonds and spent hours looking for information on the internet.
Or is it better to pay a one off fee to an independent financial adviser and go from there?
All suggestions gratefully received.

[dannyk13]

You could get advice from your bank manager.

[Mick-the-Miller]

Property every time IMHO!

[Trawlerman]

You can't go far wrong with property, if you go down the buy to let route get a good agent to act for you. Espaciallwhen a tenancy terminates. Or of course buy Gold or Platinum bullion.

[KARL]

At that level and assuming the money is currently in Sterling, probably the best plan would be to convert it into another currency and then put it abroad with a good manager for investment. Many would say the Swiss Franc is best and with a Swiss bank, such as the UBS. Make certain you are aware that there is no longer any bank secrecy in Europe and that you must declare your gains to the relevant authorities. No matter how you invest your funds while in Sterling and within the UK, you are not doing well in the long run - just check out the Pound's history over the past few decades (historic exchange rates), relentlessly downward at a faster pace than the gains from any conventional medium to low risk strategy.

[kvalidir]

Property, it's never going down in price on this tiny little island :)

[DocHH]

You do not say how long you have had the money, or if it is a significant amount in relation to your other assets. If you received it recently, and if it represents a large proportion of your assets, my initial advice would be to first get used to having it.

If you have a mortgage, pay that and any other debts off as a priority. Then start reading financial articles from serious newspapers, and from publications from Execution Only Brokers such as Seymour Sinclair and Hargreaves Landsdowne.

An initial consultation with an Independent Financial Adviser would not be a bad start. They should try and establish your short and long term aims, plus how risk averse you are, which will of course all depend on your age. 20 years ago that is how I started investing after inheriting the proceeds of a house sale. Initially I wanted growth, now income. Currently that initial sum has increased by a factor of 15, despite the crash of 2008. My investments are a mix of income and accumulation items, with income all reinvested. You however might wish to take the income and just leave the accumulation aspect of your investments to grow, then later turn them into income investments. You will also have to decide how actively you will wish to manage the investments.

Some of my investments are paying a income of 3.8% or more, and as they are within an ISA, there is no income tax liability. Also, unlike any property investment free of capital gain on increase in value, and no tax on rental income, or aggravation from tenants. Although the value of stock/share investments can go up or down.

I suspect any IFA would guide you towards Stock/Share ISAs utilising both you and your wife.s annual ISA Allowance of £20,000.00 each first, but spreading the investment across a wide range of investment vehicles, I think with your amount to be invested at least 5. (It is also possible to invest in Property via property based investment trusts/funds.) I would think they would also suggest stock/share investments for the balance which you could move into ISA based vehicles over the next few years.

I now have some Insurance Company based Investment Bonds, from which you can take 5% pa without any tax liability for 20 years, the Revenue consider it a return of capital rather than income. Ok the money is invested in Stock Market vehicles, but you can choose which industry section, and the final value may be more or less than the initial investment . BUT you will have had effectively a return of 5% for 20years! Again it all depends on what you want to achieve from your investments.

I have tried to be as objective as possible, but not being specific, it really does depend on your aims, and we all have differnt ones. We do not have children, you may have and may wish to pass money on to them and minimise IHT. Investments are really very personal.

Good luck.

[Flonska]

I too would start with an initial consultation with an Independent Financial Adviser.

[Garaman]

Very good post from DocHH, as you might expect. Property too is almost always a good investment. I'd be a bit careful who I went to for advice; I am somewhat wary of the term 'independent financial adviser' as not all operate to a fiduciary standard.