Transact Portfolio

Jean_Raza

Hope I have put this in correct part.

Has anyone had any dealings with Transact Portfolio? Our IFA suggested we put our investments into this - ISA, Pension , UNit Trust investments etc. It seemed good as everything is under the one umbrella and you get twice yearly updates so not flooded with paperwork etc. However, the charges seem very high and they also take charges out to give to your IFA who we are already paying £50 per month.
I would be very grateful if anyone else is in same boat and your comments would help me decide if we are doing right thing or not.

Thanks

dunstonh

Has anyone had any dealings with Transact Portfolio?

yes

Our IFA suggested we put our investments into this - ISA, Pension , UNit Trust investments etc.

Seems fair enough.

However, the charges seem very high and they also take charges out to give to your IFA who we are already paying £50 per month.

Do note that Transact break down the charges so you know who is getting what out of the charge. They are geared to larger holdings from a price point of view. It is possible for large holdings to be cheaper due to discounts but small holdings to be more expensive..

Also, if you are paying your adviser a retainer, why are you also paying them commission. Its usually one or the other.

I would be very grateful if anyone else is in same boat and your comments would help me decide if we are doing right thing or not.

Personally, I dont use transact for myself but use a different platform. I have a few clients on transact but its not normally my first choice. However, some advisers only use transact. More a case of you fitting the adviser sometimes rather than the other way round. Not a problem if you get the discounts but expensive if you dont.

stoker48

Thanks for your comments, very helpful. Does anyone use Hargraves and Landsdown? I'm told they do a similar service but do not charge?
How can that be?

dunstonh

Does anyone use Hargraves and Landsdown?

yes they do

I'm told they do a similar service but do not charge?

They do not provide advice. So, you will have to build your own portfolio and do you own switches and rebalancing. They do discount on ISAs and unwarpped unit trusts which may make them a little cheaper than transact (depending on the size of the discount). However, they do not discount on pensions.

How can that be?

Because you are not paying for advice and you are getting a lower level of consumer protection (you cant blame anyone if you get it wrong).

Jean_Raza

I am so grateful for your input. Will investigate the various options. If I take my money out of Transact and put into another portfolio like Hargreaves Landsdown do I have to pay a fee to remove or are their any other penalties / hurdles?
Thanks again.

CBL1

dunstonh wrote: »

They are geared to larger holdings from a price point of view. It is possible for large holdings to be cheaper due to discounts but small holdings to be more expensive....

Dunstonh - am very new on here and have been reading some of you interesting and informative responses in historic threads on the Transact platform.

Can I clarify what generally a "larger holding" would be considered to be from the perspective of considering the Transact platform? I am current 36 yrs old so am looking out over the next 19-24 yrs realistically until retirement.

Reason for my asking is that I have engaged an IFA for the first time (up until now, I have monitored (not managed ) my pensions and investments actively and regularly) and they have recently mentioned the Transact platform as a way of consolidating the three UK pensions and one US pension I presently have. Keeping track of the charges and performance on these is challenging - although not impossible - but with the added disadvantage that most of them have very limited fund options. I therefore am keen to consider a way to provide me with a better immediate view and to track how the overall portfolio is doing in line with my own personal retirement and financial planning goals long term.

dunstonh

am very new on here and have been reading some of you interesting and informative responses in historic threads on the Transact platform.

It should be noted that Transact recently lowered their charges. They are still not near the cheapest but they are much closer. Their model is very much what the post 2012 model will be for platforms. I suspect that post 2012 they will be much better placed on pricing as the other platforms that have not unbundled their charges will be forced to increase their charges.

Typically, the costs get cheaper with portfolios (or linked portfolios where family members can use combined values to get better terms) around £600k or higher.

they have recently mentioned the Transact platform as a way of consolidating the three UK pensions and one US pension I presently have. Keeping track of the charges and performance on these is challenging - although not impossible - but with the added disadvantage that most of them have very limited fund options. I therefore am keen to consider a way to provide me with a better immediate view and to track how the overall portfolio is doing in line with my own personal retirement and financial planning goals long term.

Personally, i have mellowed a bit towards transact. Access to institutional funds as well as retail can reduce costs and as its a wrap, its not limited to what a fund supermarket can offer (Although 1000 or so funds on a fund supermarket is not really much of a limitation). It's online access for consumers and advisers is very good. it's up there with the best. However, if you are not going to use those features much then you are paying for something you are not going to really benefit from. Also, many IFA firms already have software that can do what transact does without adding that extra layer of cost to the consumer.

I still suspect that too many firms are using transact as their only choice and get their clients to fit what they want and not the other way round. What they should be doing is an analysis of the different platforms to see which fits your needs. Not theirs.

So, in summary, its good but you pay for it. In car terms, if you want a £5000 Daewoo then Transact is not for you. If you want a prestige model with extras then that is the market that Transact is focused on.