ThreeLetterAcronym wrote:- I'll be 44 in September, so an investment that would mature between 10 and 20 years would be lovely in the unlikely event I get to retire early.
- I've got a pension I contribute to monthly through Parmenion. I don't remember the details of the fund, but it's a bland managed beastie. We've usually got a little bit of money in a normal savings account for emergencies.
- No investment experience here. I've spent too long being intimidated by the initial complexity of investment to have a go, which is why I'm here asking.
The closest I've got is paying into a personal pension backed by a pretty low risk fund. I've never had an ISA. Given my intended investment duration, something riskier would probably be fine.
Given your present age and intended investment time horizon of 10-20 years, then
on the face of it a pension wrapper looks obviously more appealing than an ISA wrapper for this planned investment (for the tax relief on contributions / 25% tax-free lump sum [PCLS]).
It may be that you want to ensure access to a portion of the money prior to you being able to access the pension, in which case an ISA wrap might be used for a portion of the money to be invested with the rest (the bulk?) going to a pension wrap.
Since you're taking an interest in investing and securing your future, you should take the opportunity now to take a close look at the personal pension you're currently contributing to, in order to ensure it's cost-effective (ie. is "comparably priced" to similar alternatives) and that the underlying investment fund(s) are suitable and perform in line with similar alternatives.
Don't treat this existing pension as a "black box" that you're afraid of taking a good close look at!
How did you end up investing in it? Was it via advice etc? If it's a good product then an obvious route would simply be to increase contributions to it. If it's a poor product then you should be looking at changing it.
What about other pension provision via employment, past or present? Is there any? If there is are you maximising any employer contributions?
As stated earlier, it's only sensible to consider your assets (savings and investments) holistically, so you need to have a good handle on any existing pension provision and how any defined contribution pensions are invested to ensure the new investment your considering complements that. The intention should be that your overall "portfolio" (emergency savings, other cash savings, existing pension(s), new investment that you're considering here, state pension, etc) makes sense as a "planned whole" as opposed to a bunch of disparate pieces randomly/tactically chosen.
Sounds to me like you're very much at the "taking stock" stage. The more you look at this stuff the easier it gets and the better you'll feel about taking an interest and taking some control of your affairs. Time spent here will be well rewarded later, whereas acting in haste will likely lead to repenting at leisure!