Cheapest Sipp: build yourself a low cost DIY pension article

Filo25

wiggers wrote: »

Have you run your requirements through http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/ ?

Thanks, just run it.

Cheapest over the next 3 years came out as (cheapest first), Cavendish, Close Brothers, Fidelity, Telegraph Investor, Bestinvest, Charles Stanley Direct and Willis Owen, from there on the cost differences to HL weren't too significant.

The issue I have is not knowing the reputation of those platforms, for customer services software etc.

It's that old tradeoff, that its obviously a lot of money (from my point of view, if not the platform's!), so while that obviously increases costs and their importance I also need to be comfortable with the competence, stability and efficiency of the company managing them, and to be honest that is probably the most important factor for me.

EDIT on slightly different (and probably more realistic) options selected, the cheapest come out as: Telegraph Investor £324, Cavendish Online £400, iWeb £495, Close Brothers £500, AJBell £593, Bestinvest £600, Charles Stanley Direct £623, as opposed to £900 on HL

dunstonh

Cheapest over the next 3 years came out as (cheapest first), Cavendish, Close Brothers, Fidelity, Telegraph Investor, Bestinvest, Charles Stanley Direct and Willis Owen, from there on the cost differences to HL weren't too significant.

And a couple of those at the cheapest end have really poor platform software. May be cheaper but you would feel the cost difference..

clivep

wiggers wrote: »

Have you run your requirements through http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/ ?

Is that site supposed to be up to date?

It shows a platform charge of £114 inc. VAT for the X-O SIPP. Assuming this is the old X-O SIPP administered by Liberty then this charge (and the others shown in the pop-up) were those that applied in January 2015 when I took out my SIPP with them. The annual fee was increased and fees for other things introduced in April 2015!

I'm currently transferring to the X-O Jarvis SIPP which has no net annual charge as the £119 inc. VAT annual fee is refunded by Jarvis. Despite being available for 2 years now, X-O's current offering the Jarvis SIPP is not shown on comparefundplatforms.com.

Filo25

dunstonh wrote: »

And a couple of those at the cheapest end have really poor platform software. May be cheaper but you would feel the cost difference..

Actually sorry I amended the cost section, after amending the assumptions at the bottom, came up with Telegraph Investor £324, Cavendish Online £400, iWeb £495, Close Brothers £500, AJBell £593, Bestinvest £600, Charles Stanley Direct £623, as opposed to £900 on HL.

Dunston, do you have any thoughts on which platforms, you rate in terms of software, efficeincy, stability, service etc?

I know its no entirely in keeping with the money saving ethos, but I really do want to be comfortable with where my funds where held above all else, even if that did mean staying on HL with the rather hefty fees.

I know its not a massive risk in terms of likelihood of loss, but the lack of FSCS coverage does always make me lean towards the stronger more professional operators as well.

dunstonh

Dunston, do you have any thoughts on which platforms, you rate in terms of software, efficeincy, stability, service etc?

I dont know much about the DIY platforms but those based on the Fidelity platform are going to be at the lower quality end. Others will be best placed to answer your question as I only really know about the different intermediary platforms.

jsinc

Filo25 wrote: »

Any recommendations generally for platforms with good customer service and systems which are more reasonably priced for pots of £200k and up...

http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/
http://monevator.com/compare-the-brokers/

(I use AJ Bell but as % fee it's not the best for large pots)

Filo25

jsinc wrote: »

http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/
http://monevator.com/compare-the-brokers/

(I use AJ Bell but as % fee it's not the best for large pots)

Still cheaper than HL though!

Have you generally been happy with AJ Bell while using them?

jsinc

Filo25 wrote: »

Still cheaper than HL though!

Have you generally been happy with AJ Bell while using them?

I only started using them this year (SIPP & LISA) and so far so good, but for much less than your £200k+.

darren72

A friend of mine is wanting to get started with a personal pension - looking for a very low amount of contributions to start with (Only a couple of hundred). What would be the cheapest online platform for this - presumably one that charges a percentage with no minimum. Looked at Fidelity at first but they charge a minimum of £45 so no good initially (maybe OK once they have a higher amount).

dunstonh

darren72 wrote: »

A friend of mine is wanting to get started with a personal pension - looking for a very low amount of contributions to start with (Only a couple of hundred). What would be the cheapest online platform for this - presumably one that charges a percentage with no minimum. Looked at Fidelity at first but they charge a minimum of £45 so no good initially (maybe OK once they have a higher amount).

Possibly a stakeholder pension at this stage.