Resources

Asset allocation

Your asset allocation is driven by your risk profile. The following online risk tolerance questionnaires will have a stab at guessing yours based on your responses to a few questions. But don’t take their output as gospel though – there’s more to determining your asset allocation than a simple box-ticking exercise.

Vanguard

Fill out 11 questions, and the questionnaire spits out a recommended asset allocation.

Standard Life

Doesn’t produce an asset allocation for you, but at least gives you an idea of your risk profile, which you can then translate into an equity/bond split.

FinaMetrica

FinaMetrica, along with Oxford Risk, are the two main players the UK risk profiling space. You can access FinaMetrica’s questionnaire, but it’ll cost you £30. Despite its price, it’s probably the best chance you’ll get at having a scientific risk profiling performed outside of visiting a financial adviser.

Expected returns

My return expectations

Now that you’ve figured out your asset allocation, how much can you expect your portfolio to make? This post, updated annually, provides some 10 year return forecasts, along with all the underlying source data.

Fund selection

justETF’s ETF screening tool

A great tool for comparing your ETF options. More filters and screens than you could possibly need – and not just for equities/bonds either (but it obviously doesn’t include any index funds – the clue’s in the name).

Portfolio Visualizer

I’m still amazed how much of this site is free. It’s an incredibly useful resource for backtesting. You can backtest funds or asset classes over different time periods, and adjust weights, rebalancing frequency, withdrawals/deposits, and see all sorts of interesting stats.

Finding a broker

BrokerLibrary’s UK broker cost calculator and comparison site

Plug in your portfolio value, number of trades per month, and tax wrapper and this site will figure out which is the cheapest broker for your needs. It includes regular investing plans, discounts for frequent trading, and any FX fees you might incur. And it includes user reviews, too.

It’s a great site, which I’m surprised more people don’t know about.

Monevator’s broker comparison table

For those who prefer to do the maths themselves, this is the stalwart broker comparison tool. It’s a fantastic comparison table for of all the major UK brokers. It gets recommended everywhere for a reason.

Useful calculators

The FT’s fund costs calculator

This little interactive graphic from the FT calculates the impact of fund fees on a portfolio.

My compound interest calculator (UK)

Stick your portfolio size, contributions, expected return, and time horizon in here to see the power of compound interest in action.

Retirement

Vanguard’s retirement nest egg calculator

How long will your portfolio last? This great interactive graphic lets you input your current portfolio size and annual spending, and calculates the percentage chance of your portfolio lasting over your retirement. It uses the S&P for its return assumptions though, so take with a pinch of salt.

Personal finance

My finances tracker

A downloadable spreadsheet which contains an investments tracker, spending tracker, net worth tracker, and income tax calculator.

Education

The best investing books for beginners

My top 5 recommended investing books for those just starting out with investing, plus some recommendations for more advanced investors.

The best investing blogs

A list of my favourite investing blogs. There’s a mix of UK-specific blogs and US-focussed blogs – but I’ve made sure the US blogs in the list are equally worth reading for UK investors.