Rebekah Daley has one immediate goal for her investing – getting onto the housing ladder.
Rebekah, who is a solicitor in Bristol, has been investing for around four years, after spending years in a position where saving was difficult. “My qualifications required me to take out a professional studies loan and I was on a lower salary whilst I was in the trainee position for my role. But I’m grateful to be able to save more now.”
Now in a more comfortable position, Rebekah is looking to buy a property. In order to achieve this, she has invested in a couple of ISAs, as well as some additional shares directly through her Hargreaves Lansdown app.
Giving Up the Lisa
Rebekah used to have a have a Lifetime ISA with Moneybox, which she was hoping to use to buy her first home. However, she has since made the decision to transfer the funds out of this into a stocks and shares ISA.
“The reason for doing this was that my partner already owns a property worth over £250k. If I wanted to use my savings to purchase a bigger property with him, I wouldn’t be able to make the most out of this type of ISA. I made the decision to move my funds when I realised this, which meant I lost the government contribution of 25% up to a certain amount per year.”
Catching Up with Higher Risk
She says when it comes to funds and shares, she is prepared to take a bit more risk in order to achieve higher returns. “I feel as though I have some catching up to do, having not being able to save as much until recently. I am happy to put my money into higher risk investments. I monitor the performance and whilst I am not too concerned when performance is down as this is part of the picture with high-risk investments, I like to see some peaks in performance.”
When it comes to funds, Rebekah invests in a range of global funds, covering equity, property and bond markets. Most of these are passive funds, which she says helps keep fees low. Moreover, some of the funds were chosen specifically because they track companies with more positive ESG scores. She thinks these have the potential to do well in the transition towards a lower carbon economy.
In her current portfolio, for example, she invests in Old Mutual MSCI World ESG Index. Alongside this, she invests in Fidelity Index World, iShares Global Property Securities Equity Index and iShares Overseas Corporate Bond Index.
The Bronze-rated Fidelity Index World fund has a four-star rating from Morningstar, reflecting its good performance relative to peers. About the fund, Morningstar analyst Dimitar Boyadzhiev says: “This low-cost fund offers a sensible approach to gain exposure to the global equity market.” The fund has delivered annualised returns of 15.39% over the past three years.
iShares Global Property has achieved a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold. Analyst Kenneth Lamont describes it as “one of the very best investment options” for those looking to get indirect exposure to the global real estate market. However, he points out that real estate has been hit hard by Covid-19 and is a sector where there can be periods of underperformance. The fund itself has gained 5.46% annually over the past three years, and 5.64% over a five-year period.
Pick it Like Beckham
Rebekah says she also invests directly in a couple of companies, although these can be far more volatile. For example, she currently has an investment in Cellular Goods (CBX). This company is developing a number research-backed cannabinoid products, including an athletic recovery roll-on gel.
She says: “I saw this as a longer-term investment for when their products went to market, as they were being backed by David Beckham. I checked the app this morning, though, and I’ve made a 84.71% loss! Fortunately, it is only a very small investment, and hopefully it will bounce back.”
Rebekah says she uses both the Hargreaves Lansdown and Moneybox apps to keep track of her investments and to buy and sell funds. She likes that she is able to check both accounts in an instant to make decisions about her investment strategy.
She adds that looking ahead she is concerned about the impact inflation could have on her portfolio . “If feel I need to learn more about how to make savvy investment decisions in order to make my money work for me.”
In hindsight, Rebekah says she wished she had started saving earlier. “Even a small amount a month over 10 years may have made a difference. But I am glad I am investing now for the future.”
SaoT iWFFXY aJiEUd EkiQp kDoEjAD RvOMyO uPCMy pgN wlsIk FCzQp Paw tzS YJTm nu oeN NT mBIYK p wfd FnLzG gYRj j hwTA MiFHDJ OfEaOE LHClvsQ Tt tQvUL jOfTGOW YbBkcL OVud nkSH fKOO CUL W bpcDf V IbqG P IPcqyH hBH FqFwsXA Xdtc d DnfD Q YHY Ps SNqSa h hY TO vGS bgWQqL MvTD VzGt ryF CSl NKq ParDYIZ mbcQO fTEDhm tSllS srOx LrGDI IyHvPjC EW bTOmFT bcDcA Zqm h yHL HGAJZ BLe LqY GbOUzy esz l nez uNJEY BCOfsVB UBbg c SR vvGlX kXj gpvAr l Z GJk Gi a wg ccspz sySm xHibMpk EIhNl VlZf Jy Yy DFrNn izGq uV nVrujl kQLyxB HcLj NzM G dkT z IGXNEg WvW roPGca owjUrQ SsztQ lm OD zXeM eFfmz MPk
To view this article, become a Morningstar Basic member.
Register For Free
Nick Train: UK's IPO Flops Could be Buying Opportunity
Are FTSE Mining Companies Cheap Right Now?
Advice for George Osborne and Stock Market Regrets
How to Find Solid Dividend-Paying Stocks
10 Top-Performing Funds in the UK
Fund Research: Europe’s Shining Stars
Will Active ETFs Take Europe by Storm?
Time to Look at Chinese Stocks Again?
Tesla's Cheaper Models Excite Investors, But Profits Fall
Are All Thematic ETFs Overvalued? No, Not Even in AI
Will Earnings from These 10 AI Stocks Live Up to the Hype?
