Hi @Gandalf, thanks for your insight. I’m not selling that often (if ever). Only reason I’m selling those ETFs is because better options are now available.
If you’re selling more frequently I can see that others might be able to do it quicker but the liquidity is a consideration in all cases. I’m sticking with keeping my fees as low as possible.
Lesson learnt for me - buy bigger, more liquid ETFs
Awaiting Settlements taking an inexorably long time is frightening. I’m looking to take 9K out at some point for a house move, but dont want it to take that long!
I’m now concerned.
Nile, how soon?
If it’s in the next couple of months then I’d suggest you start liquidating to make sure you have the cash on hand and avoid the risks of a stock market crash.
If it’s more than that but less than a year, it might be worth switching to bonds or even a money market fund to minimise the risk of losing money in a stock market crash.
If you’re not sure whether it will be more or less than a year, I’d advise transferring to very liquid ETFs. Something like 33% in an S&P tracker, 33% in an all-world equity tracker, and 33% in a major bond fund. The big delays are to speciality ETFs with little trading.
@TBrailles , thanks for the info. It will be required by May 2024. My only concern is Alerian Midstream - which doesn’t seem to be moving at all. Ps - certainly hope no crash is imminent!
Hi Nile,
I think the settlement issues only apply to the really obscure ETFs. I have had a number of different ETFs in my portfolio over the past year and never had to wait more than a few days for settlement.
@Nile, I wouldn’t have money in the market that I planned on spending in the next 5 years, let alone 5 months. The market often dips 20/30%, sometimes more.
Perhaps a money market fund is more suitable. I use XSTR and got part of my out of it in around 3-4 days
Is that the Xtrackers II GBP Overnight Rate Swap UCITS ETF 1 D ? Looking at the performance would you have not been better in a Cash ISA ?
Don’t bother investing with such a short time frame. Investing should be for at least 10 years, not 5 months.
Why don’t you put £4k in a Lifetime ISA and get another £1k (or 25% of whatever you put in) from the government? No portfolio is going to get that kind of guaranteed return every year.
You can put your other funds in a high paying easy access/ notice account. I have a 5.09% easy access account and two regular saver accounts paying 6.1% and 7%, respectively, in addition, to regular investing. You would be extremely lucky to get those kind of inflation-beating returns investing in the stock market between now and May.
@Sheldon cheers - its not that - my ISA is maxed out for this year, but I was concerned about the time frame of taking out 9k from it, and it clearing in my bank in time.
@jamesc, not bothered looking because I use to park a small %age of my overall contribution each month. The thinking being I can buy more of my stocks when the market dips but still get a reasonable return while I wait.
This may prove to be foolish but it suits my behaviour.
What strategies do you employ?
“What strategies do you employ?” My Premium Bonds are my emergency fund, as i can get them quickly. Then once a week I check what is above 5k in my Current Account and that goes in to my GIA, after my SIPP and ISA has already been maxed out.
I moved everthing from HL to Vanguard S&P 500 in October 2021, with everything that is going on in the world, the performance is doing very well, over 25%, last time I checked my ISA it was 29%.
Also took a risk with the IESU, S&P 500 Energy, that did very well, and then transferred it back to S&P 500
Thanks
This thread started in 2022 and sadly even 2 years later in 2024, no tangible progress has been made by the product teams at InvestEngine. I received nothing but a templated response from customer support team which many have already highlighted on here. None of the ETF’s are low volumes of lacking liquidity so either IE gets their act together or investors will say goodbye to them!
Hi! We understand the ongoing concerns regarding settlements, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
We want to assure you that we are committed to finding a solution to expedite settlements and enhance the overall user experience.
Hi, just to let you know, I had it in for about two months and made approx. £1000 on it! A gamble, but it worked.