Need to seriously start thinking about saving for long term future.

dunstonh

I have an appt with Nationwide about stocks and shares next week, so that will give me a clearer idea about how much to put in to get back etc.

That means you are seeing a sales rep of a product provider who has targets to sell products on a more limited advice basis. Banks and building societies are the worst place to get advice.

Consumerist

dunstonh wrote: »

That means you are seeing a sales rep . . .

I agree with dunstonh. You should be very cautious when dealing with an advisor who is not an independent.

By all means listen to what they have to say but don't agree to anything until you've shopped around - and, more particularly, until you've done some research so that you understand the situation.

You can always post questions on this site to get any clarification you may need on most subjects and then confirm any advice to your own satisfaction.

MsDee

Hi again,

Yes I understand that they will have a vested (sp) interest in the 'best' products they are trying to sell me. My plan is to go to them and a couple of others to get as much info as possible, so the options become clearer.

I'll also try and see and IFA and am having a look on the Hargreaves Lansdowne site to see what SIPPS etc mean.

It's all a bit confusing when trying to select a private pension - I'm sure Martin quoted an IFA in one of his articles saying that he rated Avivia.

Will try and find it now and paste link.

MsDee

here is the article - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions

When choosing a provider fund choice, charges and institutional safety are the keys. MoneySaving's not investing, so to help with some pension ideas when this guide was originally written, we asked one of the leading IFAs to pick its top provider, though, as always the case with products where there's no right or wrong, they're just opinions, not answers. It always depends on your circumstances.

• Tom McPhail, Hargreaves Lansdown picks Aviva as it offers other companies fund managers within its stakeholder pension.

dunstonh

It's all a bit confusing when trying to select a private pension - I'm sure Martin quoted an IFA in one of his articles saying that he rated Avivia.

I raised this with Martin some time back when I told Martin that people seemed to think it was a recommendation. I also reported it to the board when the Aviva product in the article was withdrawn and was replaced with an inferior product (which is more expensive). The board took no action on it and it was two years ago now when I reported it. Also, in the example on the old product in the product, Aviva's new multi-charge contract comes in cheaper than their current product.

Since then you have had the release of post RDR compliant pensions which are cheaper than stakeholder (stakeholder pensions are not RDR compliant and are likely to be abolished in 2012).

I just did a quick and dirty check to see how the modern pensions compared with the old style stakeholders using the same examples in that article and the new ones with an IFA taking a £720 fee still came in cheaper than the nil commission stakeholders.

I'm not saying you should use an IFA on advice basis or one on execution only basis. However, you should realise that internet articles are often wrong or out of date. You just need to be aware that the limited products offered by these execution only IFAs are not as good as the advice based products which can be cheaper despite the IFA earning more.

I'll also try and see and IFA and am having a look on the Hargreaves Lansdowne site to see what SIPPS etc mean.

SIPPs are the experienced investor option. Designed to hold direct investments rather than funds. However, since 2006, over 90% of SIPPs have been used to buy funds. SIPPs are typically the most expensive way to buy funds. This is why the FSA has gone very anti-SIPP. Although their view is very simplistic but fair if the person using a SIPP doesnt understand investing (which many dont).