London - How to invest my bonus?
Hey guys! Just received my bonus, and now I hesitate between 2 options to invest it:
1) I keep the cash, put it in a safe account and use it as deposit to buy a flat in London next year. I believe this is a good investment as the price of flats in LDN keeps raising every year / and renting a flat means that you are basically throwing cash by the window every month
2) I take advantage of the current market conditions to invest it all in S&P Index, I basically "buy the dip"
What would you guys recommend?
Any advice is super appreciated, thanks!
Doesn't all have to go in one pot. This is really a personal decision. Do you want to buy a house ASAP (sounds like you do) or do you want to add money to your retirement account (which is what I assume option 2 is)? You can do both, and split the cash in a proportion you see fit. E.g. maybe you wanna buy a house in 2 years and you need a 100k deposit and you currently have 30k and your bonus was 50. You could 60% of this bonus and 60% of next year's bonus in a safe account (e.g. premium bonds or good current account), and that will get you there.
FYI, in the long run, lots of studies out there show in not that people who tried to buy the dip Vs DCAing, end up with minimally different final balances.
Thanks! My premium bonds account is already full, do you know any similar saving account?
Consult moneysavingexpert for these sort of questions.
Do not invest in S&P if you are looking to purchase a house in next 3 years.
I have the same issue (saving for my deferred MBA in 3 years) and now I'm keeping my savings in a high-yield savings account. I opened a S&S ISA when I started last Aug and already -35% (Lol).
If your investment horizon is 10-15 yrs/++ by all means DCA into an index fund.
Typical Risk Mnmgt
S&P. Yes, property in London appreciates and given your AN2 role I would assume your bonus is 60-70K. That will be enough deposit for a 500K flat (not more as the 10% deposit is a myth - you need 15%+ to be competitive). A flat like that will appreciate AT BEST by 30-40K over the next 5-7 years. You then have to consider negotiation levels for a re-sale and the subtraction of maintenance over that period as well as the initial stamp duty cost (which would be on top of the 500K list price). All in, you're looking at a 10-20K profit at best in that timeframe. If you invest in the S&P, which has historically returned 10% you'll do much better. 6K each year for 5 years gets you 30K. Keep the bonus invested and take out the profit.
Thanks for the reply! So my point of view is that every month, i'm paying 1000£ to rent a flat (living with a friend, total rent is 2000£). So you agree with me if I say that every month I am throwing 1000£ by the window? Having a flat will basically save me 1000£ per month (every month I will basically invest in my flat instead of throwing £ by the window) - Please let me know what you think about my reasoning?
1K a month is a fantastic deal. The mortgage payment for a 1st time buyer on a 500K flat with 15% deposit and no help to buy will be well over 1.6K. Yes, it technically goes towards "equity" in the house, but if you plan on selling it 5-7 years down the line, the math outlined above checks out. I'd still push for the index fund. The only option in which a house would make sense is if you're ready to stay here forever and plan to buy your family home.
Property always incurs a cost, it doesn't matter whether you rent or buy.
If you buy, you will pay interest instead of rent. Mortgage rates are now ~4.5%. A £500k mortgage will charge £22,250 interest p.a., which is not much cheaper than your current rent.
After you pay off your mortgage, there will still be an opportunity cost. The capital invested in your home could be invested in the S&P 500. If the S&P returns ~7% p.a., and your home has rental yield of ~4% p.a., you are effectively giving up ~3% p.a. of capital returns.
Please also remember that we are at the peak of a historic housing cycle in a rising interest rate environment. If you buy today or in the near future with a big mortgage you could very likely see yourself in negative equity. This will leave you financially trapped in your home until the market recovers - not ideal if you are a young professional and value the flexibility of being able to move house quickly.
There are also fee and tax considerations:
I think you should put your savings into an index fund and wait until you are married with kids and 100% committed to settling down in a location before you consider buying.
Whatever you do (cash/bonds/stonks) I would get it out of GBP and into USD.
Cable going to parity over the next year
Thank you! Why do you think so?
I am also curious why you think so
Structurally cannot hike rates anywhere close to fed levels, yet has worse inflation, much more reliant on energy and food imports (and is a massive inflation importer more generally), strike action already started and more planned for summer = wage price spiral = economy down the toilet. Energy prices which shoot up again in October just in time for winter energy demand will have us in deep recession by early 2023 (if not sooner)
And have Europe / Ukraine issues literally on our doorstep (see also EUR inverting USD).
Not to mention political turmoil and effectively no government until September - currently a ruderless ship during the worst economic outlook since 07.
+1
“Real estate Prices always go up”. Hmmmm... reminds me of something 😂
Honestly I'd buy a place instead of putting it into the markets. A lot of interesting options for more reasonable prices with the Elizabeth line now. I don't work in IB, and fortunately get to WFH a lot, so living a little further out is ok for me. I wasn’t making a lot of money on my grad salary but lived with parents and bought a place within a year. No regrets so far.
Please do you mind telling us in what industry you work / what are the hours per week / what is your comp?
Don’t want to give away too much but I work in Structured Credit on the buy side and am still analyst level equivalent. Bonus hasn’t come in yet, but I’m at 45k base probably expecting 65k all in. Might be more but who knows. Honestly, I goof around a lot during work hours and still probably barely work 50 hrs a week. Pretty content all things considered.
Invest in the strip club which will do great for your mental health. Health is wealth my friend.
Take British ladies to their favorite Michelin restaurant.
Think long term - both options are totally acceptable. Save, invest and compound.
Why are people only debating real estate vs S&P, and not individual stocks, crypto, etc ?
Probably they're debating the two "safest" options
Foursome with the delavigne sisters and Alexa Chung?
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