Which other fund/tracker should i add?

jimjames

Meeper wrote: »

I find myself intrigued to know that if your money is with HL, why you're not getting the advice from them about your investments? What exactly are they doing to earn their doubtlessly high trail commissions from your funds?

In comparison to other fund platforms I consider HL to be pretty good value for money. Where can you get cheaper funds than HL? I'm not aware of any cheaper across the board that you can access directly as a private investor not via IFA.

With HL you are not paying upfront commission (initial charge) as you are not getting advice. I question why fund houses can still charge this to anyone that goes direct to them when they are not providing advice. At least HL only charge the annual commission and any trail covers the cost of running their platform - seems a reasonable deal to me.

crittertog

jimjames wrote: »

With HL you are not paying upfront commission (initial charge) as you are not getting advice. I question why fund houses can still charge this to anyone that goes direct to them when they are not providing advice.

I'm sure they'd say that it's to cover their admin expenses of setting your account up, and costs related to actually investing your money. How well that holds up, however ...

webnibbler

dunstonh wrote: »

So, they can get away with it until they are forced to change (which the banning of bundled platforms will do).

@dunstonh What ban is this? I remember reading that legislation may be coming that places restrictions on the charges for DIY platforms. Is there any more reading somewhere?

dunstonh

webnibbler wrote: »

@dunstonh What ban is this? I remember reading that legislation may be coming that places restrictions on the charges for DIY platforms. Is there any more reading somewhere?

Last month the FSA announced it was banning the platform rebates. However, it has not set a date on it as it is going to leave it open to further debate and consultation as to the practicalities of how it should be done.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/04262254-bc48-11e0-80e0-00144feabdc0.html

Whilst the FT say online platforms it should really say ALL platforms.

I'm sure they'd say that it's to cover their admin expenses of setting your account up, and costs related to actually investing your money. How well that holds up, however ...

They dont have the economies of scale that platforms have. So, their cost of distribution today would probably be quite expensive.

Totton

Ark_Welder wrote: »

Personal Assets and I&G have different mandates so the one is not a direct alternative to the other.

Come on Ark Welder, you can do better than that :-) I did write that they had different aims, the point is that you are buying into the management team which I consider a key part of choosing a fund.

Regards,
Mickey

Totton

moneylover wrote: »

When you say a flat premium do you mean no discount and no premium? If so, isnt - .2 as good as it gets?

In Troy's case it probably is, usually IT buyers look for a better discount but you are unlikely to get a decent one from Troy.


Regards,
Mickey

Ark_Welder

Totton wrote: »

Come on Ark Welder, you can do better than that :-) I did write that they had different aims, the point is that you are buying into the management team which I consider a key part of choosing a fund.

Regards,
Mickey

...but not into a 'cheaper' IT, though. PNL might currently be £330 a throw but that doesn't make it more a expensive share than TIGT. Well, it is if you buy through PNL's direct schemes and have £329 sitting on deposit for 3 months..!

koru

jimjames wrote: »

In comparison to other fund platforms I consider HL to be pretty good value for money. Where can you get cheaper funds than HL?

Alliance Trust Savings is cheaper, depending on your specific circumstances. It usually gives a rebate of the initial charge at least as high as HL and in some cases higher. It passes on all trail commission, so for instance on Aberdeen unit trusts it passes on 0.75% trail commission, whereas I think HL only passes on 0.25%.

However, ATS does charge a dealing fee, so if you want to buy and sell frequently and/or in small amounts, this might exceed the commission savings. ATS also charges a small fee for an ISA, so if your portfolio is small again you might be better off with HL.

ATS sells the O shares for Troy Trojan, so you pay no initial charge and the annual management fee is only 1%, compared with 1.5% through HL.