ozboy
Member of DD Central
Mine's a Large One! (Snigger, snigger .......)
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Post by ozboy on Feb 8, 2020 16:42:24 GMT
OK, so I’ve looked into this Referral Codes malarkey, which is all a dark art to me, and asked Ruzbah, CityFALCON’s CEO, about the links I copied. He has replied: “It was the CityFALCON referral code as we have a partnership with Seedrs. This is normal when you share anything from Seedrs, they add the members code.”
So, correct me if I’m wrong, nothing dodgy going on here, all transparent and above board, and I’m certainly not earning anything from anybody or any “Referrals”! If you have ANY questions contact Ruzbeh direct, he's a very open guy.  ceejay |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2020 12:40:47 GMT
Anyone looking for diversity in a broad ranging portfolio has to have some Index Funds in there. My funds have outperformed all other asset classes over the last few years. I only wish I had dipped a toe in much earlier but hayho... A balanced bag of funds can be extremely resilient to market swings, exampled by the last fortnight's roller coster on the markets in with my bond funds have taken up the slack leaving things neutral through a very turbulent time. Also £12k CGT allowance, SIPP and ISA all available. Plus...the big one, It's virtually instantly accessible. HL's Wealth50 is worth a look, although non of my best funds are in there it's a great starting point.
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macq
Member of DD Central
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Post by macq on Feb 9, 2020 13:46:31 GMT
Anyone looking for diversity in a broad ranging portfolio has to have some Index Funds in there. My funds have outperformed all other asset classes over the last few years. I only wish I had dipped a toe in much earlier but hayho... A balanced bag of funds can be extremely resilient to market swings, exampled by the last fortnight's roller coster on the markets in with my bond funds have taken up the slack leaving things neutral through a very turbulent time. Also £12k CGT allowance, SIPP and ISA all available. Plus...the big one, It's virtually instantly accessible. HL's Wealth50 is worth a look, although non of my best funds are in there it's a great starting point. It was all going so well - until you mentioned the infamous HL Wealth 50
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ashtondav
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Post by ashtondav on Feb 9, 2020 13:57:36 GMT
HL wealth 50 should be diligently avoided. It ignores funds that don’t give discounts to HL. Fundsmith, for example is not included but the notorious Woodford dog was - right up to its suspension and knowing that he was breaching the spirit of the regulations.
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Post by carol167 on Feb 9, 2020 14:02:50 GMT
Anyone looking for diversity in a broad ranging portfolio has to have some Index Funds in there. My funds have outperformed all other asset classes over the last few years. I only wish I had dipped a toe in much earlier but hayho... A balanced bag of funds can be extremely resilient to market swings, exampled by the last fortnight's roller coster on the markets in with my bond funds have taken up the slack leaving things neutral through a very turbulent time. Also £12k CGT allowance, SIPP and ISA all available. Plus...the big one, It's virtually instantly accessible. HL's Wealth50 is worth a look, although non of my best funds are in there it's a great starting point. I completely agree that index funds are an excellent way to expose yourself to the stock markets for anyone with a minimum of 5 but preferably a 10 year or more horizon before drawdown. I cottoned on to index funds through following Mr Money Moustache some years ago and have never regretted it. Ideal for anyone who would normally run away from trying to pick individual stocks, or risk large costs to fund managers who may or may not (Woodford anyone?) have the luck to be able to beat the index funds. With most index funds you can also pick whether they accumulate for increased growth or payout a regular income.
I went with Vanguard's Lifestyle funds over 3 years ago now. They have a range of funds that split between Stocks and Bonds on a 80/20, 60/40, 40/60, 20/80 basis across multiple sectors and continents. I drip feed into their 60/40 and 40/60 funds so that as I get older I can increase the bond % for more stability.
I'm also in their Retirement 2030 fund. Their Retirement funds auto rebalance the bond allocation higher the nearer the calendar gets to the specified date. Don't be fooled by the word retirement, it's a target date by which they will have increased the bond percentage to aim to achieve a more stable/less volatile fund after that date. You can withdraw from it anytime you want.
To date, over the last 5 years, the 40/60% one has averaged 6.57%, the 60/40% has averaged 8.32% and the Retirement 2030 fund has averaged 10.32% since it's creation 4 years ago. I have a lesser amount in the Vanguard FTSE Dev Worls Ex UK fund which has achieved an average of 13.53% for the last 5 years.
I sure wish I'd started earlier and with a bigger amount.
Not advise, just an assessment of how I've found that index funds can form an excellent additional asset class if you would otherwise think stocks are beyond you.
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corto
Member of DD Central
one-syllabistic
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Post by corto on Feb 9, 2020 14:41:50 GMT
I'd agree that index trackers can be a good start into stocks&share, however, I would not compare them to p2p.
When I started p2p a few years ago, I thought it might be located somewhere between standard bank accounts and high risk bonds on the risk scale. Bonds were loosing appeal over previous years, so the option was worth a try. This reasoning quickly turned out wrong. Because of the underestimated platform risk, p2p is currently roughly as risky as stocks and share; of course there are broad ranges of risk in either domain. However, there may be improved regulations soon(er or later) and winners, that then appear to be more stable. I'd expect them to deliver returns comparable to reasonably safe bond investments. The usual tracker candidates VEVE, VWRL etc are certainly riskier.
As for the Vanguard funds: be careful to invest in the 20% fund as that one may have to pay interest and not dividends (I didn't check, but the majority is bonds); the tax free interest threshold is lower than for dividends or CGT. The 40% fund as far as I know pays dividends, but it's hard at the border, 59.x% bonds; at more than 60% bonds they would have to pay interest instead. Also: some of the Vanguard funds are not domiciled in the UK. I think they all report to the UK, but you have to check if they pay "excess reportable income" if you don't have them in a SIPP or ISA. That may have to be reported to HMRC if thresholds are exceeded.
Finally: The Vanguard x% funds are just mixtures of many more basic funds (possibly with an extra layer of small fees). You could just buy an equity tracker and a bond tracker at the same mixing rate for more transparency.
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hazellend
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Post by hazellend on Feb 9, 2020 17:14:51 GMT
I'd agree that index trackers can be a good start into stocks&share, however, I would not compare them to p2p. When I started p2p a few years ago, I thought it might be located somewhere between standard bank accounts and high risk bonds on the risk scale. Bonds were loosing appeal over previous years, so the option was worth a try. This reasoning quickly turned out wrong. Because of the underestimated platform risk, p2p is currently roughly as risky as stocks and share; of course there are broad ranges of risk in either domain. However, there may be improved regulations soon(er or later) and winners, that then appear to be more stable. I'd expect them to deliver returns comparable to reasonably safe bond investments. The usual tracker candidates VEVE, VWRL etc are certainly riskier. As for the Vanguard funds: be careful to invest in the 20% fund as that one may have to pay interest and not dividends (I didn't check, but the majority is bonds); the tax free interest threshold is lower than for dividends or CGT. The 40% fund as far as I know pays dividends, but it's hard at the border, 59.x% bonds; at more than 60% bonds they would have to pay interest instead. Also: some of the Vanguard funds are not domiciled in the UK. I think they all report to the UK, but you have to check if they pay "excess reportable income" if you don't have them in a SIPP or ISA. That may have to be reported to HMRC if thresholds are exceeded. Finally: The Vanguard x% funds are just mixtures of many more basic funds (possibly with an extra layer of small fees). You could just buy an equity tracker and a bond tracker at the same mixing rate for more transparency. P2P is in no way comparable to the kind of high quality bonds in vanguards life strategy funds. I would also say that p2p is far riskier than a global equity share tracker. Yes, both can produce sudden, large losses, but with equities you are very likely to profit if held for very long period. I will have permanent loss of capital from p2p , mostly due to unethical platform behaviour. My fault, lesson learned, but I am just letting all my remaining loans amortise down over the next 2 years and then will probably leave p2p forever. I do have a soft spot for ABLrate but suspect the heydays are over
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rbb81
New Member
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Post by rbb81 on Feb 9, 2020 18:26:42 GMT
If you refuse to add your hard-earned to the P2P Bonfire and are looking for an alternative home for some of your spondoolies, might I suggest you consider CityFALCON. I'm sure your friend is a nice guy and CityFALCON has all the best intentions, but does it really, seriously work ? The idea is nothing new, I've trialled many products before that promise to do this sort of thing, none of them worked. They just turn lots of noise into less noise. I fast came to the conclusion that this is not an area for flashy AI. It is an area for human curated content, and the few human curated services that are out there are worth the money. Given the expense in delivering this sort of technology (content licensing, development brains, infrastructure costs), let alone the amount of money required to deliver it consistently well to a high level of quality I hope you can appreciate my natural scepticism. The burn rate on this sort of tech project is horrific, and yet he's only after £200k on seedrs ? Don't get me wrong. I genuinely wish the guy and his company all the best. But in my case, once (or rather many times !) bitten, this time shy ! Hello @wallstreet, I'm the founder of CityFALCON and would like to address the very valid concerns that you have raised. With the proliferation of the use of APIs, machine learning, and AI, there has been a significant change in how people invest, trade, and perform their pre-investment due diligence and post-investment portfolio tracking. However, most of these tools are either too expensive or just not available to DIY investors like us. Also, free resources like Yahoo Finance and Google are popular, but from our perspective, cannot offer deep insights, and they sell user data to advertisers. This is why built the company from my bedroom in 2014, and we have major clients across the world including BNP Paribas (France), Seedrs (UK), WiseAlpha (UK), and IEX Group (US). 90% of startups will fail, but the continuing innovation wakes up the incumbents and allows humankind to progress. We, entrepreneurs, are dreamers and will try and change the world even with the high chances of failure. It will be a pity if you don't support a new service just because you have been disappointed with similar services in the past. While we are talking about space travel, we are still stuck with financial tools with tech that is decades old. If you have 20 minutes, I'd recommend watching this Tedx talk from Guy Kawasaki - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtjatz9r-Vc. Re. our burn rate, we are a lean startup, are revenue-generating and have received two grants from Malta - www.cityfalcon.com/blog/the-startup-journey/cityfalcon-wins-six-figure-rd-grant-from-malta-enterprise-will-collaborate-with-university-of-malta/ Let me know if you have any more questions. Regards, Ruzbeh Founder and CEO, www.cityfalcon.com
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2020 21:23:19 GMT
What a great debate! I think many are too defensive about P2P, it is simply one of many investments that should/should not be in your portfolio. I have been a fan of P2P from it's fruition, as a simple model it is revolutionary...i.e. unlike fiat money they lend what they actually have...but sadly some of the platforms will not stop tinkering, with some of course it is compliance and others it is greed and over expansion. For my portfolio P2P has a place, but it is shrinking.
I only mention HL as a starting point, it is not the holy grail, however what anyone says Index Funds have delivered to many extraordinary returns. HL's wealth 50 is not to be avoided if used correctly it is a good resource for those too busy to read hundreds of books, and articles or watch endless Youtube videos! As I admitted, my best performing funds over the last few years are not in HL's W50, and some are not in there because of conflicts of interests which is very open of HL in my opinion. Sure, I have Vanguard LS 60%, and LS 40%, LF Lindsell Train UK EQ, LF Global, and none of these in the HL W50. However, I am some that are and they have performed very well. I used to rebalance annually but now every six months. L&G Funds are incredibly cheap to maintain as are Vanguard products obviously, these guys got the ball rolling after all.
I love the fact that with Funds you can still do exactly as you please, unlike P2P which is becoming more and more difficult to find an exit.
Most diligent would have many different investments and assets in a widely diversified portfolio: Index funds, shares, P2P, property, pension, classic cars...the list goes on, and I have all of these. But I rebalance often and never believe 100% of what anyone tells me! I do my own research and I don't panic. If I make an error, and I do, then I learn from it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2020 21:40:52 GMT
HL wealth 50 should be diligently avoided. It ignores funds that don’t give discounts to HL. Fundsmith, for example is not included but the notorious Woodford dog was - right up to its suspension and knowing that he was breaching the spirit of the regulations. Actually kind of right and wrong at the same time. HL sometimes don't have great funds in their W50 because those funds have HL stocks in their funds, and obviously HL are being transparent about that so really they can't win can they? I would never advocate simply plucking a few funds from the W50 but it is a great resource and helped me initially. I use several trading platforms but Hl still impresses me and indeed it's fund discounts are substantial.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2020 21:44:29 GMT
Anyone looking for diversity in a broad ranging portfolio has to have some Index Funds in there. My funds have outperformed all other asset classes over the last few years. I only wish I had dipped a toe in much earlier but hayho... A balanced bag of funds can be extremely resilient to market swings, exampled by the last fortnight's roller coster on the markets in with my bond funds have taken up the slack leaving things neutral through a very turbulent time. Also £12k CGT allowance, SIPP and ISA all available. Plus...the big one, It's virtually instantly accessible. HL's Wealth50 is worth a look, although non of my best funds are in there it's a great starting point. It was all going so well - until you mentioned the infamous HL Wealth 50 Haha, but it has gone well. You clearly didn't read my post very well. HL is simply a platform just like a P2P platform. What is important is all the individual decisions and diversification within every investment. It's the funds that count not were they are purchased necessarily.
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macq
Member of DD Central
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Post by macq on Feb 9, 2020 22:14:37 GMT
It was all going so well - until you mentioned the infamous HL Wealth 50 Haha, but it has gone well. You clearly didn't read my post very well. HL is simply a platform just like a P2P platform. What is important is all the individual decisions and diversification within every investment. It's the funds that count not were they are purchased necessarily. Did read your post well and genuinely meant well done as things seem to be going well. I was being a bit flip about the HL 50 (and it may also apply to other platforms) but they have come in for stick in the media for who they put in the list i.e Woodford and criticised by some like Terry Smith for allegedly asking for a discount to be put on the list which they deny.I believe it is also the case that they refuse to put investment trusts on the list so are leaving out a large part of the market but yes there are a few good funds on the list and for people without time or inclination its a starting point and there are rumours that they plan to revamp the list and method in the future
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ozboy
Member of DD Central
Mine's a Large One! (Snigger, snigger .......)
Posts: 3,168
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Post by ozboy on Feb 9, 2020 22:58:41 GMT
If you have a secure lock up garage then a "good" classic car is a no-brainer IMHO, and you get to drive it every sunday (summer only?!) as well!
Just wish I had bought the E-type I was offered 25 years ago.
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macq
Member of DD Central
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Post by macq on Feb 9, 2020 23:05:30 GMT
If you have a secure lock up garage then a "good" classic car is a no-brainer IMHO, and you get to drive it every sunday (summer only?!) as well! Just wish I had bought the E-type I was offered 25 years ago. But then where do you put the beer? 
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hazellend
Member of DD Central
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Post by hazellend on Feb 10, 2020 8:06:28 GMT
ozboy I'm sure your friend is a nice guy and CityFALCON has all the best intentions, but does it really, seriously work ? The idea is nothing new, I've trialled many products before that promise to do this sort of thing, none of them worked. They just turn lots of noise into less noise. I fast came to the conclusion that this is not an area for flashy AI. It is an area for human curated content, and the few human curated services that are out there are worth the money. Given the expense in delivering this sort of technology (content licensing, development brains, infrastructure costs), let alone the amount of money required to deliver it consistently well to a high level of quality I hope you can appreciate my natural scepticism. The burn rate on this sort of tech project is horrific, and yet he's only after £200k on seedrs ? Don't get me wrong. I genuinely wish the guy and his company all the best. But in my case, once (or rather many times !) bitten, this time shy ! Hello @wallstreet, I'm the founder of CityFALCON and would like to address the very valid concerns that you have raised. With the proliferation of the use of APIs, machine learning, and AI, there has been a significant change in how people invest, trade, and perform their pre-investment due diligence and post-investment portfolio tracking. However, most of these tools are either too expensive or just not available to DIY investors like us. Also, free resources like Yahoo Finance and Google are popular, but from our perspective, cannot offer deep insights, and they sell user data to advertisers. This is why built the company from my bedroom in 2014, and we have major clients across the world including BNP Paribas (France), Seedrs (UK), WiseAlpha (UK), and IEX Group (US). 90% of startups will fail, but the continuing innovation wakes up the incumbents and allows humankind to progress. We, entrepreneurs, are dreamers and will try and change the world even with the high chances of failure. It will be a pity if you don't support a new service just because you have been disappointed with similar services in the past. While we are talking about space travel, we are still stuck with financial tools with tech that is decades old. If you have 20 minutes, I'd recommend watching this Tedx talk from Guy Kawasaki - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtjatz9r-Vc. Re. our burn rate, we are a lean startup, are revenue-generating and have received two grants from Malta - www.cityfalcon.com/blog/the-startup-journey/cityfalcon-wins-six-figure-rd-grant-from-malta-enterprise-will-collaborate-with-university-of-malta/ Let me know if you have any more questions. Regards, Ruzbeh Founder and CEO, www.cityfalcon.comThe problem is that if you provide an edge to the masses then it is no longer edgable
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