Help with a investment.

shauniebabe

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could give me a little advice. We are currently going through my grandfather in laws finances as we have been granted a lpa all with his blessing.

In his paperwork weve found 2 investments which have both lost money over the last year. One is a with profits fund with wesleyan which just over a year ago £25000 was invested in, his most recent statement was April and that shows 15000 and odd a loss of just over 9 thousand pounds which personally i think is excessive. The second one is a investment with Allianz plus some shares. The investment is 1500 which has dropped to 1200 in april.

Now the problem weve got is that he was under the impression that he would not lose any money and we are positive that if he thought there was any risk he would have put it into a savings account with one of his banks or with his other savings in the Bradford and Bingley.

Now to complicate matters he has no isa but has got approx 30,000 in his 2 current accounts plus a further 4-6 grand which he wants to keep in a current account for "spending money" or for emergencys.

Now the reason for my long winded posting is:

1. How would we find out if a risk assesment was done and what he was told. We cant help but feel that he was conned a bit and that hes lost money that hes worked hard for.

2. The other money he wants to split but his daughter and son have decided theyd rather him keep the money for now and save it somewere rather than blow it. So is there any recomendations for this money from people. He doesnt need any money as his daughter (my mother in law) lives with him and pays for everything, plus she owns the house. The money has accumulated from pensions etc over the last 3 years since he has been housebound.

Thanks in advance!

dunstonh

shows 15000 and odd a loss of just over 9 thousand pounds which personally i think is excessive

Thats a loss of 36% and at the worst point in the recent financial crisis.

It invests in the stockmarket which lost 50%. Fixed interest investments that at that point had lost between 30-50% and property which lost 50% in recent times.

So, a loss of 36% doesnt seem excessive. However, I suspect the bulk of the loss has come in the removal of the final bonus. As a drop in value of that size is not possible with With Profits funds on the main chunk of money. it is possible on the final bonus. However, the final bonus would have to accrued that first before it could have lost it. So, chances are the value is still higher than what he paid into it. Therefore creating no actual loss.

1. How would we find out if a risk assesment was done and what he was told. We cant help but feel that he was conned a bit and that hes lost money that hes worked hard for.

You look at the original recommendation report.

You should also look at when the investment was taken out and how much was invested (and how much taken out if withdrawals have occurred). I suspect there is no loss given the size of the drop you mention and you are jumping the gun a bit without knowing the facts (a bit like I am doing here as well as there is only limited info to go on). The facts need to be known.

2. The other money he wants to split but his daughter and son have decided theyd rather him keep the money for now and save it somewere rather than blow it. So is there any recomendations for this money from people. He doesnt need any money as his daughter (my mother in law) lives with him and pays for everything, plus she owns the house. The money has accumulated from pensions etc over the last 3 years since he has been housebound.

If he gives money away now and is in receipt of benefits or will be in the future then he could be accused of deprivation of assets and have his benefits reduced/removed. So, you need to be careful here.

whiteflag_3

dunstonh wrote: »

Thats a loss of 36% and at the worst point in the recent financial crisis.

It invests in the stockmarket which lost 50%. Fixed interest investments that at that point had lost between 30-50% and property which lost 50% in recent times.

So, a loss of 36% doesnt seem excessive. However, I suspect the bulk of the loss has come in the removal of the final bonus. As a drop in value of that size is not possible with With Profits funds on the main chunk of money. it is possible on the final bonus. However, the final bonus would have to accrued that first before it could have lost it. So, chances are the value is still higher than what he paid into it. Therefore creating no actual loss.

Sorry can you clarify the above given the OP says this:


" One is a with profits fund with wesleyan which just over a year ago £25000 was invested in"

shauniebabe

Thanks.

Ive phoned up and asked for all his statements and anything else regarding this account to be sent out. However he says it was August 2008ish that he signed up, however id take this with a pinch of salt as he was in hospital at this time and it was therefor either before June or the year earlier. The only thing we can find regarding this investment is one statement from April this year and seeing as he normally keeps everything ( the opposite to my own grandad that we are also sorting out ) i would of expected to find something else.

Theres no withdrawals and the statement says initial investment 25000, this time last year 25000 currently worth £15628 or around that value i think. Its at home but im in work currently.

Whats the final bonus that theyve removed?

Id like to see the reccomendation but theres no sign of it here. Hes a thrifty saver however he doesnt have a isa and from what hes saying he thinks it was in a bond of some sort. Well wel see when i get more information.

As for the other money he isnt on any benifits and i dont think he ever will be hes just got his state pension and private pensions. He doesnt own his own home as it was in his wifes name which was then left to his daughter and she pays for all the bills from her wages aswell as everything else since hes been housebound. He does always say though that whats in one of the current accounts is her money and that accounts got both their names on it.

The savings they want to keep in his name and then split after hes gone as per the will.

oramgepekoe

shauniebabe wrote: »

Thanks.

Ive phoned up and asked for all his statements and anything else regarding this account to be sent out. However he says it was August 2008ish that he signed up, however id take this with a pinch of salt as he was in hospital at this time and it was therefor either before June or the year earlier. The only thing we can find regarding this investment is one statement from April this year and seeing as he normally keeps everything ( the opposite to my own grandad that we are also sorting out ) i would of expected to find something else.

Theres no withdrawals and the statement says initial investment 25000, this time last year 25000 currently worth £15628 or around that value i think. Its at home but im in work currently.

Can you look through his bank statements to see when he gave Wesleyan £25000.

shauniebabe

Thats a good idea thanks. Ive also got a box full of chequebooks from the last ten years at least so il check them aswell!

Its mad sometimes the simplist ideas you overlook.

dunstonh

Theres no withdrawals and the statement says initial investment 25000, this time last year 25000 currently worth £15628 or around that value i think. Its at home but im in work currently.

That does not make sense for a with profits fund. A surrender value maybe but not current value. If it was a unit linked fund(s) then you could well have seen that figure depending on the level of risk taken with those funds.

Whats the final bonus that theyve removed?

With profits have a daily/annual bonus which once added cannot be taken away. This tends to be fairly low. They also have a final bonus which can fluctuate. In the good years of 2002-2007 these went up quite a lot. However, many got hit badly or even wiped out with the events of the last 18 months. They cannot fall below zero though. So, that cannot be the reason for the loss unless it was an earlier start date than the paperwork suggests.

You shouldnt rely on April statements either. That was just after the worst point for pricing in the three main asset classes that he is likely to be invested in. Chances are the values are higher now.

Lokolo

Just to add to the messiahs points,

around April my investments were -20%, I am now +26%.

A lot can change in 6 months!

shauniebabe

Thanks everyone. Im waiting for some up to date stuff to come through so il take a look at it then.

whiteflag_3

dunstonh wrote: »

That does not make sense for a with profits fund. A surrender value maybe but not current value. If it was a unit linked fund(s) then you could well have seen that figure depending on the level of risk taken with those funds.

With profits have a daily/annual bonus which once added cannot be taken away. This tends to be fairly low. They also have a final bonus which can fluctuate. In the good years of 2002-2007 these went up quite a lot. However, many got hit badly or even wiped out with the events of the last 18 months. They cannot fall below zero though. So, that cannot be the reason for the loss.

The same 36% loss that you said earlier wasnt excessive?

You shouldnt rely on April statements either. That was just after the worst point for pricing in the three main asset classes that he is likely to be invested in. Chances are the values are higher now

You dont know where its invested or for how long so why keep speculating?

Lokolo

whiteflag wrote: »

blah blah blah

Instead of blahing on about dunstonh being wrong, could you not offer some information instead? Doing something with your seemingly miserable life.