What to do with £10k?

[RedSauce]

That's a cheap honeymoon.

Really.....another reason not to get married

[Gittins Gal]

I was in a similar position with this years ISA allowance, I split it over 2 funds and one has done really well (Old Mutual smaller UK companies), the other is an emerging market fund which has been less successful but still moderate growth.

I may look into that. Thanks for the gen - what sort of growth are you getting?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Why are people still taking div's this late in the year? Don't many of you divi the full wack first month in and then put it somewhere to earn a percent or two more than the business account?

I pay dividends quarterly. I could do one at the beginning of the year (more than enough retained profit in the co. account) but what's the point, when most savings accounts are less than 2%? We're talking about about £500 in interest at most (before tax).

[d000hg]

£500 seems like a non-trivial sum to me. That could buy you a PS4 or an iPad or a weekend in a 5* hotel.

[RedSauce]

£500 seems like a non-trivial sum to me. That could buy you a PS4 or an iPad or a weekend in a 5* hotel.

I don't think I have ever said this, but I agree with d000hg. £500 is a very good incentive for me to take my full annual dividend in one go.

[lukemg]

UK Investment advice for an absolute beginner.

Vanguard LifeStrategy funds turn passive investing catatonic

Couple of links worth looking at for investing newbies.
Trouble is, if you haven't got a clue, you end up chasing last years winners/expensive managed funds/bottling it when it dips/poor diversification.
You could do a lot worse than the lifestrategy fund illustrated, it is a total low-fee global solution from the biggest investment firm on the planet.
Some areas will do better and worse each year but this will cover most of the options and re-balance the allocation automatically.
You only need to fire and forget, preference would be to setup a monthy contribution to use PCA and keep you disciplined (you will make the wrong decisions otherwise, virtually everyone does)
BUT - Only do this if you can hold your nerve and let it ride for AT LEAST 5 years, preferably 10, trust me, it will be the best financial decision you make....
DO NOT SELL UP IF IT DIPS EVEN BY A CONSIDERABLE PERCENTAGE.
GLA

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I don't think I have ever said this, but I agree with d000hg. £500 is a very good incentive for me to take my full annual dividend in one go.

£400 after tax (or £300 if you're on the higher rate)

And that was a back of a napkin calculation. It's probably less once you factor in that you're going to be withdrawing money from the savings account on a semi-regular basis.

[b0redom]

UK Investment advice for an absolute beginner.

Vanguard LifeStrategy funds turn passive investing catatonic

Couple of links worth looking at for investing newbies.
Trouble is, if you haven't got a clue, you end up chasing last years winners/expensive managed funds/bottling it when it dips/poor diversification.
You could do a lot worse than the lifestrategy fund illustrated, it is a total low-fee global solution from the biggest investment firm on the planet.
Some areas will do better and worse each year but this will cover most of the options and re-balance the allocation automatically.
You only need to fire and forget, preference would be to setup a monthy contribution to use PCA and keep you disciplined (you will make the wrong decisions otherwise, virtually everyone does)
BUT - Only do this if you can hold your nerve and let it ride for AT LEAST 5 years, preferably 10, trust me, it will be the best financial decision you make....
DO NOT SELL UP IF IT DIPS EVEN BY A CONSIDERABLE PERCENTAGE.
GLA

So do you buy per month, per week or per day? Also do these funds provide dividends, or is it purely capital growth over time?

[BigRed]

I've been reading Hargreaves Lansdown's Investment News a lot recently and I tend to feel a bit bewildered each time.

Read The Motley Fool instead, go for a Dividend portfolio of blue chips in diverse sectors and look at it every 6 months.

[CheeseSlice]

Read The Motley Fool instead, go for a Dividend portfolio of blue chips in diverse sectors and look at it every 6 months.

Motley Fool Share Advisor is good if you just want share recommendations and when to sell without having to do the detailed analysis. Costs money but I've tried this and have beaten the FTSE 100 quite nicely with a stocks and shares ISA. Weekly guidance. With £10k you could do up to say 10 companies for balance.