Transferring ISA's from L&G to HL

DonC

Hi guys,

Im considering moving my ISA's from Legal and General to Hargreaves Lansdowne, partly because HL provides a bit more info and partly down to the convenience of having all my ISA's in one place.

Are there any reasons as to why I should \ shouldnt do this?

Thanks.

ColinJS

If you are transferring 'in-specie' (i.e. simply re-registering the investment with HL rather than selling it first and transferring the cash) check that no additional charges will be added by HL when it is added to their platform (it is likely the L&G funds you have are trackers and so there is no commission or rebates).

DonC

ColinJS wrote: »

If you are transferring 'in-specie' (i.e. simply re-registering the investment with HL rather than selling it first and transferring the cash) check that no additional charges will be added by HL when it is added to their platform (it is likely the L&G funds you have are trackers and so there is no commission or rebates).

Thanks for the quick reply.

I do only have trackers in L&G and Im assuming that HL will transfer to the equivalent tracker.

The documentation I have from HL says that the transfer is free before 30th Sept and I'll get £25 for transfering.

ColinJS

DonC wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply.

I do only have trackers in L&G and Im assuming that HL will transfer to the equivalent tracker.

The documentation I have from HL says that the transfer is free before 30th Sept and I'll get £25 for transfering.

Well if they are simply going to re-register your L&G funds (without selling them) and are offering £25 then do it. But check there are no hidden nasties. Bear in mind if you have to sell this investment to transfer and then buy another you will have been out of the market for, say 3 or 4 days, which could cost you a lot more than £25 (although the converse is also true, you could avoid losses by being out of the market). Check the details before you do anything. Your L&G funds are cheap and there would be little point in suffering higher costs (unless of course you think the service you receive from HL is worth any additional costs).

Good luck

Rollinghome

DonC wrote: »

Hi guys,

Im considering moving my ISA's from Legal and General to Hargreaves Lansdowne, partly because HL provides a bit more info and partly down to the convenience of having all my ISA's in one place.

Are there any reasons as to why I should \ shouldnt do this?

Thanks.

The only disadvantage as far as I know is that buying and selling would be less speedy at H-L. With L&G you can, or could, phone them with an order minutes before the price is set at noon and so with a tracker fund you'd have a good idea of the price from the actual index. With H-L you need to place the order before the markets open and won't know the price in advance.

Be aware that with some tracker funds that don't pay IFAs annual trail commission H-L will charge an additional 0.5% p.a. That's currently not the case with the L&G trackers and the costs will be the same.

Reaper

The only thing to be careful of with the H-L ISA is they charge you 0.5% on products which earn them no trail commission. I believe the L&G ones should be ok but beware if you switch to cheaper EFT trackers.

Here is what they say on the subject of annual charges:

0% for cash and funds that pay renewal commission (more than 2,000 to choose from)
0.5% for all other investments, capped at £200 a year

DonC

Rollinghome wrote: »

The only disadvantage as far as I know is that buying and selling would be less speedy at H-L. With L&G you can, or could, phone them with an order minutes before the price is set at noon and so with a tracker fund you'd have a good idea of the price from the actual index. With H-L you need to place the order before the markets open and won't know the price in advance.

Are you sure about that?
I bought some shares from HL this morning which had the correct share price at the time.

Rollinghome wrote:

Be aware that with some tracker funds that don't pay IFAs annual trail commission H-L will charge an additional 0.5% p.a. That's currently not the case with the L&G trackers and the costs will be the same.

Thanks, wasnt aware of that.
Fairly applicable since I buy index trackers or stocks.

Rollinghome

DonC wrote: »

Are you sure about that?
I bought some shares from HL this morning which had the correct share price at the time.

Shares aren't bought in the same way as unit trusts/oeics. Shares will change price throughout the day but unit trusts/oeics will be forward priced, usually daily at noon. If you place an order for units with H-L before 8 am you'll pay the price set at noon. If you place your order after 8 am you'll pay the price set at noon, not that day, but the next day and you won't normally know what that price was until the day after that.

H-L are generally a good choice for buying UTs but relatively expensive for buying shares and ETFs and there are better options.

Loughton_Monkey

I use HL for my own (and wife's) ISA, and have done so for 4 years. I would not consider any other. Their range of funds is enormous, and in all but a few instances, not only is the full 'up front' charge rebated, but you get a very small slice of the annual charges too. I know others who "discount" UT/OEIC up-front charges, but not by the full amount.

This means you can "trade" your protfolio quite liberally. E.g. you think the whole market is a "bubble"? Then cash out the whole lot and leave it in cash for a while, while you decide best re-entry point. If you think Asia has run out of steam and Europe will start to grow again, then switch. The point is that every time you do this, you are getting everything at the correct price. Everywhere else (that I know of) would result in charges or restrictions on doing this.

I find their web site easy to use, and clear. Their telephone service has also always been good. My only "grouse" is being mailed to death with newsletters trying to sell me a SIPP! If I wanted one, I might even consider it!

Reaper

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

My only "grouse" is being mailed to death with newsletters trying to sell me a SIPP! If I wanted one, I might even consider it!

It doesn't even end when you do take out a SIPP. After that they mail you endlessly trying to get you to transfer any other pensions you might have into it, with the huge incentive of a free pen if you do.