Phase 2 of going PP

[mase]

I have already setup my PP funded by my spare income but I now want to move onto phase 2 but I have a problem.

Phase 2 aims to allocate the money held in my works pensions (1 with Fidelity, 1 with Scottish Widows) to the closest match I can get for PP. The problem I have is its almost impossible to get a match with the funds available to me, Gold is usually the one not covered, any ideas. I can post up the available funds if that helps answer the question.

Anyone else face this problem or could help?

[Pointedstick]

Just do the best you can with the options available to you. Turn it into a 50/50 Boglehead-style portfolio if you can, and make use of any especially good pension-ish options you have. For example, if you have access to some kind of government guaranteed "stable value" fund that pays you 3% on your cash within the pension, jump on that (assuming you have reasonable faith in the UK government).

[Reub]

Mase, can you tell us a little about yourself? Are you young or nearing retirement age? Are you looking for financial stability or for growth in your investments?

[sophie]

If you're like most of us, your workplace retirement plan is large compared to your after-tax savings.  It's very difficult to incorporate the workplace plan into the PP in this situation.  Several of us have tried and given up.

I second the suggestion to implement a straightforward passive investment allocation that minimizes fees.  There are several good lazy portfolio options spelled out in the Boglehead wiki.

[mase]

Mid 30s, deep down I know these pensions are rigged to take away as much commission from my pot as possible but it's in 5% salary match and higher rate tax advantages. It's a small pot now but I'm not rich (yet).

There are very similar equity options and also long term bonds. There is a cash fund but nothing on gold.

I was thinking about property to replace the gold hedge

Other option would be to put it all into cash fund and wait for the bubble to burst.

[mase]

Boglehead is new to me, time for some reading 

[Jack Jones]

If you're like most of us, your workplace retirement plan is large compared to your after-tax savings.

I'm also in this camp.

I used to consider it my VP and invest it Bogleheadedly. However, recently my thinking on this changed. I considered what I would do if I left my job and was no longer constrained in how I could deploy the money. I don't have any plans to do so in the near term, but realistically I'll probably change jobs within the next 5-10 years.

I realized that if I changed jobs, I would roll my 401k into an IRA. Having more options, I could invest it in PP assets.

So what I'm doing now is holding 25% of my VP in stocks and 75% in a stable value fund. When I leave my job, the 25% stocks will simply be added to my PP. If I had something like TLT available in my 401k, I'd do 25% stocks, 25% TLT, 50% stable value.

In short, I realized that my timeframe for this money was actually <10 years (since I would be investing it differently at that point), so it didn't make sense to invest it in a long term way.

[dualstow]

Any chance of giving up keeping the gold in retirement accounts and just holding a few gold coins?
It seems better than giving up on gold altogether.

[mase]

That's the only option I could think of but it would make rebalancing extremely difficult.

[barrett]

I was thinking about property to replace the gold hedge.

I would not vote for this. Real estate and gold can sometimes move in unison but they are not the same thing at all. I like Dualstow's gold coin solution. Yes, it may not be perfect for rebalancing but it gives you exposure to that asset, and I think in the best form (bullion vs. ETFs).

[mase]

I am from the UK, 25/75 what average returns would I be looking at.

[gizmo_rat]

I am from the UK, 25/75 what average returns would I be looking at.

3.6% real.

Real (after inflation) annual return over the last 50 years
STK 5.7%,
BND 2.9%.


Or have a look at transferring it into a SIPP when you change jobs or sooner if your employer will pay into a sipp.