It partly relies on whether you are a native British citizen or an expat residing in the UK or elsewhere.
You should, in any case.
Move away from a primarily pound-based portfolio; I wouldn’t store it in the bank for obvious reasons, and I’d be losing money due to inflation; instead, I’d concentrate on a diversified foreign portfolio.
In terms of number three, if I lived in the UK, I’d have about 35% of my portfolio in the UK FTSE, 55% in various international indices, and 10% in bond indexes.
I hold 10% or so in the FTSE since I am a UK citizen living abroad, and I am more open about my wealth in USD as an expat.
It is also determined by your age. If you’re older, say within 10 years of retirement, you should increase your bond holdings from 10% to 25% or more.
Whatever you do, keep the following in mind:
- Being long-term minded
- Markets should never be timed. Kevin O’Leary, star of Shark Tank (and earlier Dragons Den), admitted to trying and failing to time the markets at a recent client event.
If someone worth $400 million can’t do it, then very few (if any) individuals can.
It is preferable to invest now and then forget about it.
- I don’t care about the news, Brexit, or anything else.
- Don’t be concerned about the market’s short-term ups and downs. That leads me back to number one, which is to focus on the long-term.
- When you get new money, you can add it to your portfolio.
- If you are a British expat or a British person residing abroad, you should have a portable portfolio.
I’d also concentrate on the goal. Is it retirement or something else? It’s easier to keep to a plan once you understand why you’re investing.
