Is H-L really the best choice for fund investing?

LongTermLurker

Jake'sGran wrote: »

I received a letter from them today offering to pay me £250 if I would switch investments I hold elsewhere into their Vantage account. Don't know how they know about these other funds etc but they obviously do. I only have three days to decide!

Do you use the portfolio feature to monitor external investments?

Reaper

Jake'sGran wrote: »

I received a letter from them today offering to pay me £250 if I would switch investments I hold elsewhere into their Vantage account. Don't know how they know about these other funds etc but they obviously do. I only have three days to decide!

You are doing better than me. All they ever seem to offer me is a free pen!

jamesd

Jake'sGran wrote: »

I received a letter from them today offering to pay me £250 if I would switch investments I hold elsewhere into their Vantage account. Don't know how they know about these other funds etc but they obviously do. I only have three days to decide!

It's up to £250, depending on the value transferred. Do remember to check that it's not more expensive to hold your investments with HL than wherever they are now.

They send those letters to everyone in the hope of persuading some to transfer. You can be sure that there will be another offer along in a few months as they rotate them between money, pens and whatever else they think may work.

Jake'sGran

LongTermLurker wrote: »

Do you use the portfolio feature to monitor external investments?

No, I don't use their portfolio service. There is just a list of funds I have bought through them.
Last year I invested via HL in three new funds with the proceeds from an Income fund I had held for a long time. I have a single company PEP (now ISA I believe) which has gained a lot over a long period but it is all shares so it won't be that they are after.

jamesd is right, it is "up to £250".

koru

dunstonh wrote: »

Is ATS explicitly charged (known as unbundled)?

If it is, then the 0.75% rebate could be the natural trail commission (0.5%) and the platform cut (typically around 0.25%). You tend to find the unbundled platforms would quote around 0.75%. However, they will have a platform charge (either an annual fee, transaction charge or add on an explicit annual percentage themselves).

Unbundled platforms also tend to offer the institutional version of the funds as well as the retail version. Institutional versions are usually cheaper.

Sorry for the delay in replying. ATS's only charge is the dealing charge. Charges table: https://www.alliancetrustsavings.co.uk/pdf/table-of-charges.pdf

Fees/rebates on individual funds: https://www.alliancetrustsavings.co.uk/pdf/list-of-funds.pdf

PatrickGrant

I would not choose Hargreaves Lansdown again, ever.

If you are investing in funds like that you need a balanced portfolio (and to sell while you are still ahead). I have found Best Invest quite good at helping me build a good balanced portfolio which has been growing at around 30% pa.

I also invested funds with HL hoping they would do as well. The reality was a 1.11% return over 4 years largely because HL recommends it own products (or I think ones where it gets a better trail back commission - aka a backhander.)

Although HL has a good reputation on this site, I do not believe it deserves it. HL was recently fined £300K by the FSA for misconduct. Do you really want to go with a company you may not be able to trust?

sunil1234

PatrickGrant wrote: »

I would not choose Hargreaves Lansdown again, ever.

If you are investing in funds like that you need a balanced portfolio (and to sell while you are still ahead). I have found Best Invest quite good at helping me build a good balanced portfolio which has been growing at around 30% pa.

I also invested funds with HL hoping they would do as well. The reality was a 1.11% return over 4 years largely because HL recommends it own products (or I think ones where it gets a better trail back commission - aka a backhander.)

Although HL has a good reputation on this site, I do not believe it deserves it. HL was recently fined £300K by the FSA for misconduct. Do you really want to go with a company you may not be able to trust?

Thanks for the feedback. Would you mind sharing your current portfolio allocation?

regards

Reaper

PatrickGrant wrote: »

The reality was a 1.11% return over 4 years largely because HL recommends it own products

I guess it depends how you use them. Most people here see them as a cheap way of investing in funds which we have chosen, in other words as an execution-only broker. All the main brokers allow you to use the research areas of their web site without being a customer, including Best Invest. So you can look at one broker's top picks and take them out with another.

Of course if you want to go further and pay a fee to get tailored advice from them to meet your objectives that is another matter. I couldn't comment on that side as I have never used it.

I think most here would agree HL are pushy marketing products which we suspect earn them a good return rather than really being the best product on the market, but I just chuck what they send me in the bin and choose my own investments.

LongTermLurker

PatrickGrant wrote: »

I would not choose Hargreaves Lansdown again, ever.

If you are investing in funds like that you need a balanced portfolio (and to sell while you are still ahead). I have found Best Invest quite good at helping me build a good balanced portfolio which has been growing at around 30% pa.

I also invested funds with HL hoping they would do as well. The reality was a 1.11% return over 4 years largely because HL recommends it own products (or I think ones where it gets a better trail back commission - aka a backhander.)

Although HL has a good reputation on this site, I do not believe it deserves it. HL was recently fined £300K by the FSA for misconduct. Do you really want to go with a company you may not be able to trust?

Reaper: Of course if you want to go further and pay a fee to get tailored advice from them to meet your objectives that is another matter. I couldn't comment on that side as I have never used it.

I'm not sure he is paying for the advice... I read it that he's picked the wrong funds (or at least the wrong funds in that moment in time) from the Wealth150 list - please say if I'm wrong Patrick?

(Edit #2 - sorry, I see from your other thread that you did invest through an advisor - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2784960 )

If that's the case, they're not recomendations (although I know some would argue the point and they certainly cut a fine line).

The truth is that they are significantly cheaper than the competition if you choose to do your own research and pick your own funds; they're also pretty flexible at bending the rules if, e.g.you already have a holding in your ISA and want to buy into the same fund in your S&S account, they may choose to reduce the normal £1000 initial investment. Service is great - one of the best companies I have to deal with (not just in investments). So all in all, it sounds like you just had the wrong investments with them. If you'd bought the same funds as youy did at Bestinvest, you'd have been happy cos they'd have been worth more due to the lower charges.

edit - incidentally, I've chosen a number of funds from Wealth150 and am quite happy with most of them - my return is far in excess of 1.11%

blinko

the wealth 150 does have some good funds in there dont dismiss it but as always DYOR
and to be honest its obvious that the wealth 150 may not contain the best funds eg

jupiter india
first state india
fidelity india

the difference is a few % or a fund manager here or there, but probably only ond of them will be int he wealth 150

I personally think its obvious regarding the wealth 150 that it may not contrain the best funds
as before you need to do your own research this is in my mind the ONLY way to ensure you have madea decision you are happy with, and in your best interests and if it goes right or wrong its you that made it plus its fre and always fun and itneresting finding out about new data etc