Childrens College Fund

[Bonafide]

Could anyone recommend products for long term saving for childrens college fund - 15-20 yrs regular saving?

 

[ClubMan]

There are lots of existing threads on this sort of topic. In my opinion anybody investing for such a long period of time should at least consider a low charges unit linked (possibly tracker) fund.

 

[Bonafide]

I thought unit linked funds had lump sum buy in's? You can't just save monthly into them can you?

So would you think save monthly until a couple of thousand is available and then buy into funds periodically would be a good idea?

Would it also be a good idea then to vary the funds you buy into and vary the fund managers?

 

[CCOVICH]

in's? You can't just save monthly into them can you?

You can. Quinn Life, for one, allow you to invest monthly. Check their website for the exact amount.

Would it also be a good idea then to vary the funds you buy into and vary the fund managers?

A matter of individual opinion. I would tend to go for diversification with one manager if they have a range of funds available.

 

[Bonafide]

A matter of individual opinion. I would tend to go for diversification with one manager if they have a range of funds available.

Just wondering what the reasoning behind that is and what managers you would most recommend?

 

[CCOVICH]

I'm not recommending any managers. I go for one manager for ease of use and because they have a range of funds that meet my needs. I don't look at past performance. I look at the fund strategy/objectives and what they charge.

 

[ClubMan]

Also - don't forget index trackers where the choice of manager is (or should be) largely irrelevant since returns will be dictated by the index and not buy/sell decisions of the active manager.