Your Questions, Answered

(scroll to the bottom for the resource of the week )

Earlier this week, I opened up a Q&A on Instagram, giving you all the chance to ask me your top questions on finance and investing.

For this week’s newsletter, I’ve selected 3 questions to answer here. If your question wasn’t selected, don’t worry - I plan on asking the remaining questions in a future post.

Let’s dive in!

(*Disclaimer: none of the contents in this posts should be taken as financial advice. When investing your capital is at risk)

Q1) Why would someone invest through a GIA when there are more tax-efficient ways to invest e.g. via a S&S ISA?

For those who may not be familiar, a GIA stands for General Investment Account.

The primary distinction between GIAs and Stocks & Shares ISAs lies in how your returns are taxed. Stocks & Shares ISAs are tax-free accounts, meaning any returns, income, or dividends generated within the account are yours to keep, and you won’t owe a penny to the taxman. However, the downside is that you can only contribute up to £20,000 per UK tax year.

On the other hand, while GIAs do require you to pay tax on your gains, they offer the significant advantage of no annual contribution limits. You can invest as much money as you want without restriction.

So, to answer your question: your primary method of investing should be through a Stocks & Shares ISA - as they allow you to keep all of your profits. However, if you’re fortunate enough to be able to invest more than £20,000 a year, that’s when it makes sense to consider putting any additional funds into a GIA.

Q2) I noticed you have multiple stocks and shares ISAs with different providers (Vanguard and InvestEngine) what is the benefit of this?

To the average person, there is no real benefit in having multiple S&S ISAs with different providers. As a finance content creator, I feel it’s my duty to test out various platforms and understand how they work so that I can provide you all with the best recommendation based on your feature preferences.

Having your portfolio consolidated into one platform is very convenient and I would suggest keeping it that way.

Q3) Out of curiosity why are so adamant about the stock market? Why don’t you consider alternatives like property etc?

My page is dedicated to documenting my investment journey with the aim of inspiring and motivating everyday people to embark on their own investment paths. I primarily focus on my stock portfolio because I genuinely believe that investing in the stock market offers the lowest barrier to entry compared to other investment methods. With platforms like Trading212 and InvestEngine, you can start investing with as little as £1, while alternatives like real estate typically require a significantly larger initial investment, which can be a hurdle for beginners.

While there are property investment strategies that allow for minimal or no upfront capital—such as property sourcing, rent-to-rent, and serviced accommodation—these approaches demand a solid understanding of the field, which takes time to develop.

To clarify, I’m not exclusively committed to the stock market; I also reinvest a significant portion of my earnings back into my businesses, which provides me with consistent cash flow. However, I tend to discuss my stock investments more on this platform. Currently, my primary goal is to grow my Stocks and Shares ISA and SIPP to £100,000. Once I achieve that milestone, I plan to explore real estate and build a portfolio in that sector.

Of course, having a balanced asset portfolio is a smart decision as you don’t want all of your eggs in one basket!

Thank you for taking the time to engage with this Q&A! I hope the answers I have provided have been useful.

If you have any more questions or topics you'd like to explore in future posts, don’t hesitate to reach out! Stay curious, keep learning, and happy investing!

YouTube Update 🎬

I just posted my Investment Portfolio Update for October 2024 on YouTube 🔥

Check it out and let me know what you think!

If you’re enjoying the newsletter, you’ll love the videos I’ll be sharing on my YouTube channel

I’ll be diving deeper into finance topics, giving real-life tips, and breaking down strategies to help you make the most of your money. Hit subscribe to stay in the loop and get notified when there’s new content. Looking forward to seeing you there!

I hope you enjoyed this read. If you have any questions, simply reply to this email.

I’ll catch you back here next Sunday

over and out ✌️

Monty L.