Skandia Multifund ISA

Jett

Hi all,

Unfortunately i invested £2400 into an Multifund ISA this time last year, well i say unfortunately but thats only from a timing perspective as you could well imagine this has taken a bit of a kicking over the last few months..

Anyhow my point and question is should i now set up a regular monthly deposit into this account? is it a good time to invest with prices being a lot lower than they were?

And also I no longer use the FA who advised me in the first place as i've moved employement, Skandia have stated that he would still get 3% commission on the money i invest yet I've not used him to set this up can't i avoid the commission and just get the full amount invested?

No offence intended to you FA's i haven't got a problem paying for a service but paying them when they haven't been involved is a bit unfair...

thanks in advance

dunstonh

Skandia multi-funds is a fund supermarket. The investment selection runs from cash funds through to specialist high risk funds. So, the wrapper/product doesnt lose or make money. The investments within it do.

And also I no longer use the FA who advised me in the first place as i've moved employement, Skandia have stated that he would still get 3% commission on the money i invest yet I've not used him to set this up can't i avoid the commission and just get the full amount invested?

You can either appoint a new IFA or if you want to DIY then transfer it to a DIY provider.

ChloeRadshaw

dunstonh wrote: »

Skandia multi-funds is a fund supermarket. The investment selection runs from cash funds through to specialist high risk funds. So, the wrapper/product doesnt lose or make money. The investments within it do.



You can either appoint a new IFA or if you want to DIY then transfer it to a DIY provider.

We use skandiafund for our work pension - I actually wanted to do an AVC of 1k a month but apparently they charge 0.5% fee on top of the fund charges.

So I figure that 0.5%(Skandia)+ 1.5%(Investment fund)+ 0.4%(expenses) = 2.5% in fees alone before any returns.

Dunstoh - Do you know whether charging 0.5% is competitive?

I have thought of contributing to my pension outside of an AVC which apparently will cost me 1% in NI contributions.

dunstonh

We use skandiafund for our work pension - I actually wanted to do an AVC of 1k a month but apparently they charge 0.5% fee on top of the fund charges.

They dont charge an extra 0.5% on top of the fund on their current product range (which is the old Selestia product range). Their legacy products were more expensive. They were the first fund supermarket and the first to offer external funds and it was very popular and in high demand. However, they never reduced their charges as other companies started doing the same and they become uncompetitive.

However, Old Mutual (who owned Selestia) bought Skandia and decided to keep the Skandia name rather than Selestia name but moved new business on to the Selestia platform as the Selestia range was better.

The only initial charge is what the IFA takes (so ranges from 0 to 4.5%) and the annual management charge is the default retail amc for unit trusts (although IFAs can discount that if they want or factor in an additional charge if agreed).

AVCs are largely obsolete nowadays. Companies no longer have to offer them and the terms are often not as good as personal pensions or SIPPs. So, what has probably happened is that your AVC is stuck on legacy terms rather than modern terms.