Hey everyone, I have been accumulating funds directly with Perpetual on the wealthfocus platform. I started off just investing in Australian Shares & this year & extended my exposure to other asset classes. Perpetual has given me great costumer service. I invested in ME investment funds and lost quite abit of money with there closure so i am a little cautious of fund managers. So i guess i am just sourcing others experiences as perpetual seems to be very closed & as a society we don't seem to talk very much about investing & what our money is doing. Perpetual unit prices have increased significantly but so has the asx i am concerned if someone should keep adding to there investment with such a large rise in value? I have temp suspended my savings plan & directed the money to cash. Perpetual has increased there fees recently this is concerning me; but i do make some savings as a direct investor. I already thought i paid high fees; is it worth continuing to pay on an investment that may be a "maybe quality investment/manager". I invest internationally with perpetual whom has contracted wellington whom has under performed there bench mark quite abit but still has made me some money within the investment environment. Perpetual has also moved the fund from one of there funds to an external fund; this has concerned me as have they lost confidence in this fund? I have other exposures that i do not have in direct investments such as gearing. I have been investing directly in the ASX in addition to this & have made some great returns & losses but have out performed my fund. In saying this the ASX has been raising significantly. I pay myself first before anyone i bpay 10% of my wage to perpetual & 10% of my expenses for a rainy day; in replace of a high interest savings account. I am challenged by my values with perpetual being a for profit company thats purpose is to make money from me. I have looked at other organisations such Australian Unity whom is a mutual company; but there investments don't seem as high. My question is i guess am i being a foolish investor investing more money into a raising in value fund or should i be redirecting more capital to direct investments. I am enjoying a lot of the functions of a platform e.g. if i have a spare $10 i can bpay it and it is chucked into the market. I guess with investing directly my capital would be sitting in cash for longer periods until i can accumulate enough to make my next purchase (is this a bad thing) I am also concerned about some of my habits if i have money sitting around in cash accounts i am more likely to rob them to pay for something that i may not need. I have a money box that i put all of my coins in and every 6 months i bpay it to perpetual. with all of these convenience/habits out weigh the benefits of direct investments? I am torn between convenience, habits, costs, control, values and the more i think about things the more i confuse myself. My father died young so i have no real guidance of someone with more experience then me & i haven't really had great experiences with financial advisors its hard to find one that actually cares. Maybe i am over thinking entry prices of the market if i am investing for decades to come is it time i should be concerned about, sticking to my embed habits/practices? I look around at other people my age & i am in a much better position but i want to be more secure into my future as a long term investor. I don't really know why i am writing this but venting is sometimes healthy i thought & everyone arounds me just seems to go i don't know. Regards Jeffery
Hi Jeffery, A simple Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) based portfolio is simple to set up, maintain and rebalance. It won't give you grief, doesn't need an advisor and will beat 80% of managed funds. Percentage MER ASX.Code Asset.Class 20% 0.15 VAS Vanguard.ASX300 15% 0.07 VTS Vanguard.Total.US.Market 15% 0.25 VEU Vanguard.All.World.Ex.US 10% 0.25 VAP Vanguard.ASX300.REIT's 40% 0.40 VGB Australian Govt. Bonds TOTAL MER(0.263) Johny.
