Noob here. Looking to start some long term investing and I guess you can’t go wrong with S&P which is still at a bit of a discount.
However there are about 5 million different S&P ETFs available in various currencies.
I’m from Ireland, so I guess a Euro based ETF would be a good one? Or UK? Does it matter?
And where do I even start to decide which one to invest in? Can somebody share some info on what I should be looking for, how to research etc?
Also, do I need to babysit these funds? As in, could I wake up one morning and my money is gone due to some fund going bust?
Basically, where do I start? And also some recommendations for other ETFs to look at.
Thanks
Here’s a screenshot of what I have in my watchlist. All different prices, different names, some mention dividends, some don’t etc etc. I also notice some are Irish? As in they have “IE” in the name?
‘I guess you can’t go wrong with S&P which is still at a bit of a discount.’
You’ve been listening to Warren Buffett, then
+1 for VUSA, especially for the purposes you have in mind. I would suggest that the fund won’t go bust and the main differentiator for you is probably fees. Depends a bit on how much you plan on investing, but I would be happy going VUSA and forgetting about it.
I prefer CSP1 to VUSA. They are basically the same but CSP1 is accumulation rather than distribution. (CSP1 is far bigger size than VUSA too which you can see on justetf maybe for this reason)
Going with Xtrackers DBPG myself. Note that while it tracks the S&P 500, it gives 2x leverage so will amplify the gains and losses of the underlying index. Higher risk, but also higher reward.
Why does location matter? Obviously I don’t want to go with any American $ funds. But what difference does it make if the fund is in Ireland, UK, Belgium, German etc etc?
To tell the truth I started investing into it yesterday but have put in an initial amount which is up 1% so far. I plan to make it around 25% of my portfolio while investing the rest in individual stocks.
There seems to be a lot of misinformation around leveraged ETFs. People talk about volatility decay like it’s a bad thing, but it’s just basic math. The same thing that accelerates your losses also accelerates your gains. It works both ways, but is exceptionally beneficial in a bull market. In fact since the mid march lows, it’s gone up over 60%.
Of course it’s just my opinion but I think another crash of the same magnitude that we just had is rather unlikely. Even so, I’d be investing regularly for the long term so that would lower my cost basis.
Say you have a USA etf … automatically any dividends are subject to a withholding tax (-15%).
So you are losing out on 15% of your dividends etc.
Same applies for other areas, just different amounts.
BUT. and it’s a big but… don’t be put off.
Think about it in the big picture, if the fund goes up 5 / 10 / 20 / 30 % etc, the dividend income kind of matters a whole lot less.
If trading212 has not got the stock of choice for him, he must sit on the sidelines or invests with another ETF.
Best option is to request an ETF of your choosing if it is not already on the platform.
But, if you have itchy fingers and want to get stuck in, just go with an ETF already on the platform.
Personally I would rather be invested now, than being on the sidelines and making no money. imo. Your personal risk tollerance should dictate what you would like to do.
Recessions are the best time to join the party
And also some recommendations for other ETFs to look at.