First of all, thank you to all the contributors of the various threads/stickies about personal finance! I have done (what I hope!) is a fair bit of research and have read some of the recommended books, and now feel I am in a position to begin "properly" investing (thus far, my investment strategy has been a lump sum I put in Zopa - a UK P2P lending platform - some 5 years ago, classic cars (specifically our two, restored, original Minis) and overpayments on our mortgage whilst we were living in the UK).
Anyway, bit on circumstances... mid thirties married couple with two kids (7 and 4), both employed fulltime in HK. No 'borrowing' in HK apart from a credit card (paid in full each month), and in the UK our mortgage on our house (currently 45% L2V with 20yrs left @ 2.13% APR) which we currently rent out (rent ~175% of mortgage payment). No plans to return to the UK in the immediate future, but we will do a some point in the future (I reckon at least next 5-10 years in HK).
Looking at investing a lump sum (~HK$100k / GBP 10k). In addition, I currently save GBP100 per child into two UK regular saver accounts (4.5% gross p.a.) which after 12 months accrual transfers to a savings account (paying 1.98% up to GBP 5000). I am looking at transferring the excess in these savings accounts (i.e. that above GBP5000) into the same portfolio as our lump sum. We will also likely add to the lump sum around twice a year (when we receive bonuses). We have an emergency fund which should cover 'repatriation' to the UK and outgoings for at least 3 months, in addition to the 2x5000GBP in the kids saving accounts.
I understand that, as the funds will be saving for our future when we return to the UK (e.g. kids schooling/university and eventually our retirement), that it makes sense for our holdings to be LSE listed (Ireland-domiciled for tax purposes for US stocks), and I have setup a trading account with DeGiro (as I have a UK bank account).
Considering we have a substantial cash reserve, I am looking at (what I believe) a relatively more risky portfolio, comprising something along the lines of the following:
~20% Bonds - most likely comprising a mix of some/all of IGLT / ISXF / AGGG / JPEM
~15% Real Estate - most likely comprising a mix of some/all of IUKP / EURL / ICRP / IWDP
~65% Stocks - comprising a mix of IWDA / EIMI / CSP1 / CUKX
I will probably look to adjust the balance of the portfolio every 5 years or so (i.e. buy and forget).
Does the above look like a suitable plan? Does anyone have any suggestions for other ETFs to consider? Alternatively, have I overcomplicated/over-diversified, and stick to maybe one or two funds for each segment.... criticisms are more than welcome!
PS - In addition, I note that DeGiro have a list of "Free" ETFs whereby the first trade per month per fund is comission free, although these are all denominated in Euro, so I am thinking that potential currency exchange losses are likely to negate any benefit from comission free trading (particularly as I will likely be making trades only a couple of times a year)?