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The Author David Ryder

Invest Without Being Ripped Off

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  • The book
  • Before Investing
  • Investments – setting them up
    • Taking the Right Amount of Risk
      • Risk Questionnaire
    • My Preferred Mix of Investments (Portfolios)
    • The Portfolios I Copy
      • Asset Classes Explained
    • Specific Funds I Include in My Portfolios
    • Choosing an Investment Website (Platform)
  • Performance and Costs
  • After Investing
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Glossary
  • Resources
  • Toggle search form

Investments – Setting Them Up

This section of the website covers the various steps to setting up your investments. I’ve arranged the pages in the order in which I would take things if I were coming to this website for the first time.

These are the different parts of Investments – Setting Them up and what they are intended to cover.

On this page:
Read Before Investing first
Taking the right amount of risk
My preferred mix of investments (“portfolios”)
The portfolios I copy (“Model” portfolios)
Specific funds I include in my portfolios
Choosing an investment website or “Platform”
Step-by-step process of setting up investments

Read Before Investing first

Your starting point might be different depending on your unique personal circumstances. I recommend looking at the Before Investing section before you start setting up your investments. That section includes the important consideration of getting financial advice which I cannot and do not offer.

Taking the right amount of risk

Taking the Right Amount of Risk: Understanding what risk is and why it is a good thing when properly applied. Find out how much risk might be appropriate for you by taking the Risk Questionnaire.

My preferred mix of investments (“portfolios”)

My Preferred Mix of Investments (Portfolios): An introduction into what passive funds are and why I prefer them. I also share the expensive research results I’ve gathered from banks and investment to decide what to include in my portfolios.

The portfolios I copy (“Model” portfolios)

The Portfolios I Copy (“Model” portfolios): I’ve created funds that draw on the banks’ and investment houses’ expensive research. A portfolio that an investor tries to copy or emulate is referred to as a “model portfolio”. These are my model portfolios. I also include a page called Asset Classes Explained. This gives short introductions to what different types of assets (cash, government bonds, shares, property etc.) are and why they might be used.

Specific funds I include in my portfolios

Specific Funds I Include in My Portfolios: I include these funds in my portfolios. There are thousands of funds out there. I’ve whittled it down to around 110 that meet all my criteria. I’ve grouped these according to asset class so that I can easily find the fund I need for each portfolio.

Choosing an investment website or “Platform”

Choosing an Investment Website or “Platform”: I set up my investment account and buy funds on these websites. I’ve gone through a couple of dozen platforms and sifted out a small number that offer what I consider to be a good selection of funds, a good selection of tax-efficient investment accounts and fees that aren’t too high.

I’m not giving everything away for free on this website because I have to pay for it somehow. I won’t take adverts, I won’t take sponsorships, I’m not asking for Patreon because I want you to get something for your money. The full platform review is included in the book. This also includes a ton of useful information AND a load of valuable extras.

Step-by-step example of setting up investments

Finally, I go through a step-by-step example of setting up investment portfolios. I use £10,000 of my own money. This is a real portfolios with real money. You can see how it’s performing and how much cost it incurs. Step-by-step set-up process.

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