Halifax ISA Investor for Growth

lau1349

Hello

I'm new to this board and have been reading the posts with interest - have to say i'm still quite confused by stocks and shares ISAs! I thought i'd post a few questions I have - any advice/comments you can offer would be most welcome

Basically I signed up for a stocks and shares ISA with Halifax in December of last year after attending a Financial Review session with one of their 'advisors'. I was keen to put my money into something long term, but don't consider myself to be a very risky investor so he recommended I invest my regular monthly payments in the 'Cautious Managed Fund'.

Now, i'm very new to the concept of investing, but the more I think (and read) about it, the more convinced I am that Halifax is not the smartest place for my money to be... I just wondered if anyone had any opinions/experience of using this ISA, i.e. do you find it to be as good as any other offering from a high street bank, or would you steer clear? I've read some pretty negative things about Halifax on this board and i'm considering consulting an IFA, but am not sure whether or not it would be worthwhile given that i've not got a massive amount to invest (probably no more than £100 per month).

So far i've paid £1183.33 into my ISA (a few lump sum payments, plus regular payments of £50 a month), and my plan is currently worth £1101.97 (i.e. it has made a loss of around £80). Is this the kind of loss you might expect to see in the current economic climate? (probably not an easy question to answer, sorry) I know it's not a lot of money, and I have only had it open for 8 months, but i'm keen to be as wise as I can with my money from the outset. Part of me thinks it's better to just sit tight and wait, but i'm going to be pretty annoyed if it gets to five years down the line and my investment has performed poorly thanks to bad fund management by Halifax...

I hope i've not rambled too much - guess I was just looking to gauge people's opinions about this product, and see if you think it is worth me taking my business elsewhere? Again, any comments gratefully received.

Many thanks
Laura

ps I already have a cash ISA with Alliance and Leicester which i'm happy with, and have nearly reached my allowance for this year. Part of my distrust in Halifax comes from the fact I attended the afforementioned Financial Review session and was advised to cash in my regular saver (9 months in) and put all the money into my (then Halifax) cash ISA as it would earn me tax free interest. I did this, then realised my cash ISA was paying me a measley 3.51%! Needless to say I opted to transfer my money into a higher paying account as soon as I could.

dunstonh

Basically I signed up for a stocks and shares ISA with Halifax in December of last year after attending a Financial Review session with one of their 'advisors'

Not a great start. What you mean is that you were sold a fairly poor quality product by a sales rep that is currently allowed to use the term adviser but wont be allowed to from next year (current FSA proposals to stop sales reps from being classed as advisers).

I was keen to put my money into something long term, but don't consider myself to be a very risky investor so he recommended I invest my regular monthly payments in the 'Cautious Managed Fund'.

They put most people in that fund. Its a truely awful fund.,

the more I think (and read) about it, the more convinced I am that Halifax is not the smartest place for my money to be..

Correct.

I just wondered if anyone had any opinions/experience of using this ISA, i.e. do you find it to be as good as any other offering from a high street bank, or would you steer clear?

Lots of experience with clients. Never any justification for staying put and always transferred out. Its a no brainer.

i'm considering consulting an IFA, but am not sure whether or not it would be worthwhile given that i've not got a massive amount to invest (probably no more than £100 per month).

A lot of IFAs wont be interested if that is all you have. However, where there are family relationships or if there is likely to be other business in future then some may be interested.

So far i've paid £1183.33 into my ISA (a few lump sum payments, plus regular payments of £50 a month), and my plan is currently worth £1101.97 (i.e. it has made a loss of around £80). Is this the kind of loss you might expect to see in the current economic climate?

Losses are to be expected but not feared on a regular contract. You are now buying units 20% cheaper than they were. In the long term it is these cheaper units that make the most.

Part of me thinks it's better to just sit tight and wait, but i'm going to be pretty annoyed if it gets to five years down the line and my investment has performed poorly thanks to bad fund management by Halifax...

Its not so much bad management but a lack of resources and quality. A good manager and team isnt going to want to work for a bank. Bank funds are often managed by computers, new recruits and those working their way up.

lau1349

Hmm, well that pretty much confirms my fears! Thanks for the reply. I'm currently reading up on things, trying to get a better understanding of investments and how to manage my savings, and am looking into transferring to another ISA provider.

No doubt i'll be back with more questions in future!

Many thanks
Laura

jimmyss1

I too am in the exact same position, and am looking to transfer out. Opened a Halifax Cautious Fund (through S&S ISA) in January this year, putting in one lump sum at the start and monthly deposits since. I have now invested a total of 9000 in the fund, and have now stopped the monthly deposits. The actual value of the fund at the moment is about 8500, so has droped 500 pounds in 6 months.

Given the current situation in the markets, I wasn't too bothered about this drop, as I plan to leave the money in there for at least 5 years. However, like the original poster, on doing a bit more reading (on these forums and elsewhere), I'm not getting a very good impression of these high street bank ISA investments. It seems that these type of funds are some of the worst to go for. Is this Halifax Cautious Managed Fund really that bad?

Either way, I looking to transfer out to another Cautious type fund soon. So, I'm wondering whether it's worth contacting an IFA? I'm not planning in investing any more than max 10000 (so 1000 left). Would an IFA be interested in that amount?

I just wondered if anyone had any opinions/experience of using this ISA, i.e. do you find it to be as good as any other offering from a high street bank, or would you steer clear?

Lots of experience with clients. Never any justification for staying put and always transferred out. Its a no brainer.

If I didn't go through with an IFA (say because costs were too high), and if my current fund is as bad as pointed out above, then just transferring to any non-bank cautious managed fund would be better, than staying put? Is my thinking right here??

turbobob

It doesn't look like a fantastic fund. It looks like it is a below average performer in cautious managed sector. The green line below being the Halifax fund, blue being the average in the sector, and red being an example of one of the better past performers in the sector (Cazenove MM Diversity). Remember past performance is not a guide to future performance yada yada yada..



If you are not going to an IFA then you might want to transfer your ISA to Hargreaves Lansdown. The advantage of this is that you can combine funds from different managers rather than stick it all in one. The charges will also be less than if you go through a bank as initial commission and some renewal commission is rebated.

Some of the more cautious funds I've put money into have been:

Blackrock UK Absolute Alpha
CF Arch Cru Investment Portfolio
Cazenove MM Diversity

Not recommendations but I think they've all done far better than the Halifax fund. You might want to look up more information about funds on sites like https://www.trustnet.com

dunstonh

Either way, I looking to transfer out to another Cautious type fund soon. So, I'm wondering whether it's worth contacting an IFA? I'm not planning in investing any more than max 10000 (so 1000 left). Would an IFA be interested in that amount?

It starts getting quiet this time of the year so its a good time to contact IFAs with smaller transactions. They busy period is March-May (with June-July being catchup typically). For many it would be too small to be cost effective but if they are quiet they may put it through. Also, they may run it as a loss leader to build a longer term relationship with you.

If I didn't go through with an IFA (say because costs were too high),

Costs shouldnt be any more than the bank and its a simple transaction for an IFA so you may be ok. You arent likely to get a discount at the level a 100k investment would have but it wont be worse the Halifax. However, DIY would be cheaper if you used HL. It really depends on whether you want to spend the time researching the investments (and not just picking funds at random or going by some "whats in fashion/wealth list")