# Auto Invest cash buffer? Percent of balance instead of figure amount **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [9 July 2022 14:31 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424 "2022-07-09T14:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@Elio](https://community.investengine.com/u/Elio)\ **Post date:** [9 July 2022 14:31 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/1 "2022-07-09T14:31:36Z")
Hello, Instead of asking us how much £/$ we want as a cash buffer (auto invest) can we get asked how much % of our balance? Doesn’t this make more sense since every time our balance increases we will have to adjust the £/$ cash buffer but with % you won’t have to Thank you ---
**Author:** ![MarkMcDonagh](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.investengine.com/markmcdonagh/32/156_2.png) [@MarkMcDonagh](https://community.investengine.com/u/MarkMcDonagh)\ **Post date:** [10 July 2022 09:21 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/2 "2022-07-10T09:21:32Z")
Hi Elio, Thanks for your suggestion. I’ll pass on your comments to the team, we will have some updates coming soon which I’ll be posting in the community. Have a great Sunday. Mark ---
**Author:** ![Sheldon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Sheldon](https://community.investengine.com/u/Sheldon)\ **Post date:** [3 February 2023 14:30 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/3 "2023-02-03T14:30:47Z")
Hi, I see that this thread was from a while ago, but I was just about to post a new question about the same topic as I agree a percentage of your total portfolio amount would be really helpful. I am transferring my ISA to Invest Engine and would like to invest regularly on a monthly basis, but I don’t want to have to continually alter the fixed cash buffer amount (which sort of reduces the point of auto-investing) as my contributions/ value of my portfolio grows over time (hopefully!). Are there any plans to action this change in 2023? Thanks, Sheldon ---
**Author:** ![Onedrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Onedrew](https://community.investengine.com/u/Onedrew)\ **Post date:** [17 February 2023 10:21 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/4 "2023-02-17T10:21:40Z")
Yes, I feel pure cash is an underestimated diversifier. Ideally I’d like to include 20% cash as part of my self-managed portfolio. The alternative is to park the cash in a moneymarket ETF like CSH2 to occupy that 20% slot - but that’s not available either. ---
**Author:** ![P.H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@P.H](https://community.investengine.com/u/P.H)\ **Post date:** [18 February 2023 08:03 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/5 "2023-02-18T08:03:27Z")
There is one Money Market fund available on IE : Xtrackers GBP Overnight Rate Swap (XSTR). Don’t know anything about this fund though so not sure if it is any good? ---
**Author:** ![Onedrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Onedrew](https://community.investengine.com/u/Onedrew)\ **Post date:** [18 February 2023 08:23 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/6 "2023-02-18T08:23:00Z")
Thanks, Paul, had not seen that one. I like Xtrackers a lot, especially XDPG. It does seem more erratic than CSH2 and lags behind it by quite a margin according to a straight comparison on JustETF. A major problem with XSTR is that it is a distributor and pays out only once a year. It is also a tiny fund at just £72m. It is better than nothing but on balance I’d stay in cash until CSH2 gets the nod ---
**Author:** ![Onedrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Onedrew](https://community.investengine.com/u/Onedrew)\ **Post date:** [18 February 2023 08:27 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/7 "2023-02-18T08:27:14Z")
XSTR has a TER of 0.15%, one year volatility of 1.82% and risk level 2 while CSH2 is 0.07% TER, 0.11% volatility and is risk level 1. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBob](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.investengine.com/unclebob/32/127_2.png) [@UncleBob](https://community.investengine.com/u/UncleBob)\ **Post date:** [18 February 2023 09:38 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/8 "2023-02-18T09:38:19Z")
Be mindful of small funds (under 100 million) as their trades tends to take a long time to settle. In my case I am over 2 months “awaiting settlement” ---
**Author:** ![Onedrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Onedrew](https://community.investengine.com/u/Onedrew)\ **Post date:** [19 February 2023 16:56 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/9 "2023-02-19T16:56:53Z")
Yes, I am surprised that this small fund is on IE at all when CSH2 does the job so much better. If I held XSTR I would swap to CSH2, especially with the settlement delays likelier for smaller funds. ---
**Author:** ![P.H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@P.H](https://community.investengine.com/u/P.H)\ **Post date:** [10 March 2023 14:27 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/10 "2023-03-10T14:27:23Z")
@Onedrew I see CSH2 is now available. Not sure when it was added and don’t remember seeing an announcement (unless we both missed it first time?). ---
**Author:** ![cmsd2](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.investengine.com/cmsd2/32/175_2.png) [@cmsd2](https://community.investengine.com/u/cmsd2)\ **Post date:** [9 July 2023 08:41 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/11 "2023-07-09T08:41:34Z")
Seeing as these two funds in particular are extremely useful for multiple purposes including a cash rebalancing or drip feeding strategy and as a possible alternative to a bank account for savings it would be really useful if IE could find a way to ensure these two settle within a guaranteed timeframe. ---
**Author:** ![P.H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@P.H](https://community.investengine.com/u/P.H)\ **Post date:** [9 July 2023 11:25 UTC](https://community.investengine.com/t/auto-invest-cash-buffer-percent-of-balance-instead-of-figure-amount/424/12 "2023-07-09T11:25:51Z")
Speedy ‘settlement’ would certainly make things more efficient, but given the length of time this issue has been around, and the number of comments it has generated, I can only assume it’s not easy/cheap to resolve. So I wonder if IE could tackle the problem in a different way? As I understand it ‘settlement’ will happen eventually, so would it not be possible to relax the rules so that you can withdraw cash, move cash between portfolios, rebalance, and sell funds regardless of the ‘settlement’ status?