Hello ‘boggle heads’ 
I’ve been waiting for what seems like an ages to move my pension on to freetrade but it has finally arrived and now I’m looking to put together my portfolio. I’m looking at building a diversified global portfolio that gives me more control and cheaper fees but will be benchmarked against VWRL.
I’ve been down the rabbit hole of factor / smart beta investing and while fascinating I don’t want to have to pay for stockopedia and have to rebalance much more than when dividends build or I see the need for a change.
Proposed portfolio
| Symbol | Region | Acc / Dist | Fee | Weighting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard FTSE North America | VNRG | North America | Accumulating | 0.10% | 45% |
| FTSE Developed Europe | VEUR | Europe | Distributing | 0.10% | 14% |
| Emerging Markets | VFEM | Emerging Markets | Distributing | 0.22% | 12% |
| FTSE Japan | VJPN | Japan | Distributing | 0.15% | 6% |
| MSCI India | IIND | India | Accumulating | 0.60% | 3% |
| MSCI China | IASH | China | Accumulating | 0.40% | 2% |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | SMT | Global | Distributing | 0.56% | 8% |
| Gold | SGLN | Global | N/A | 0.15% | 5% |
| Bonds | VAGP | Global | Distributing | 0.22% | 5% |
Comments -
I’m flexible on weightings and will gladly take some input.
India and China are included in the Emerging Markets but I wanted more exposure. Mainly India as I feel with young average age, good universities & English speaking they’ll fair well over the next 10 - 15 years once their brightest and best stay home to create companies.
Questions -
How does everyone feel about some of these ETF’s being very top heavy? £IIND for example, the top 5 holdings account for 34% of the fund even though it tracks 85% of the stock market.
Currency hedging is of concern given the GBP seem to be fairly low v USD and many other major currencies right now, what are your thoughts on it?
I would like to have exposure to South Korea £IKOR MSCI Korea could work but.74% seems a bit high. Shall I include 1% or 2%?
Gold and Bonds - I feel there in there because its part of a balanced diet, like sprouts on a Christmas dinner I can take of leave them. Sprout yes? or Sprout no?