Hedged vs Unhedged ETFs

[Turbojuice]

Bit of background: Started my investing journey at the end of September. Wanted to start a long-term and simple "set and forget" portfolio, opted for an S&P500 ETF and an FTSE250 ETF which I drop money into every month, with the S&P making up 80% and FTSE250 the remaining 20%.

When I started my portfolio the pound was at its weakest, so I opted for a hedged S&P500 ETF as it didn't seem like a wise decision to effectively invest lump sums into overseas companies with such a weak home currency. I did quite a bit of research on this at the time but I do still second guess myself and wonder if unhedged would've been the better option for a long-term investment.

Interested to hear what everyone elses approach and thoughts are to hedged vs unhedged funds alongside the weak pound situation.

[anonymous-user]

It may not make a difference to your situation but I think it's wrong to describe sterling as weak, it is more that the US dollar is strong, sterling is pretty much it's in normal range with most other currencies.

[bitchstewie]

I'm generalising but I believe that it's more common not to hedge equities but to hedge bonds.

How currency movements affect your returns

I'm sure Derek or someone who knows this stuff can comment.

[LeoSayer]

bhstewie said:

I'm generalising but I believe that it's more common not to hedge equities but to hedge bonds.

That's what I do.

Good video here:

[Turbojuice]

LeoSayer said:

That's what I do.

Good video here:

Great video, and that line towards the end is spot on and pretty much where i'm at. "Understand there will be times where you wish you'd done something different."