S&S ISA transfer

bodorange

I recently set up an S&S ISA with Nationwide which uses Legal & General. I wanted one or two funds that I could pay into and forget about. So I opted for the Jupiter Merlin Growth Portfolio. It has high charges but, as it is a managed fund of funds, it seemed a good choice for someone only investing in a limited number of funds and prepared to gamble higher charges in the hope of a better return than a tracker.

I have now decided I would like to be more active and to target specific sectors rather than relying on this single fund of funds approach.

I have since bought
First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders
First State Global Resources
M&G Strategic Corporate Bond

I will then likely reduce contributions to the Jupiter fund. I know my next two choices are high risk but my initial investment is small and I aim to feed some of any gains in these to lower risk funds over time. I then chose the M&G fund as it invests in bonds and so is less likely to fluctuate in tandem with the First State ones.

I have since read about H&L and they seem popular with investors here.
Can I transfer my current setup intact to H&L? Am I likely to incur any charges for doing so?

The charge for the above funds with Nationwide is between 3%-5% initial charge and 1%-1.5% ongoing. I am not sure how to reconcile these charges with H&L's offerings. How will the total cost to me of investing in these funds over a year compare to Nationwide given I will likely make one lump sum payment plus an average of £50 pcm to each fund? Bearing in mind I will likely switch funds between them as well as invest new money.

Any insight on comparing the cost of the two providers is gratefully received.

Lokolo

Well without wanting to sound rude, you can see the charges on HL, so you can work it out yourself.

http://www.hl.co.uk/funds/fund-discounts,-prices--and--factsheets/search-results/f/first-state-global-emerging-mkt-leaders-accumulation

So you can see there is no initial charge (as you are charged 4% but then save 4%) and the annual charge is 1.35% (as you are charged 1.5% but then save 0.15%). The 0.15% is only given when you hold over £1k.

But yes you can transfer your holdings to HL, you should find out whether your current provider has any transfer out charges though.

jem16

bodorange wrote: »

Can I transfer my current setup intact to H&L? Am I likely to incur any charges for doing so?

It is unlikely you will be able to transfer your current setup intact as it is doubtful if Nationwide will allow an in-specie transfer.

What is likely to happen is that your current funds will be sold by Nationwide and then transferred as cash to HL where you will purchase the funds you want.

As Lokolo says you should check if Nationwide charges for a transfer out but the main thing is that you will be out of the market for around a week or so. This may be good or bad depending on movements during that time.

bodorange

Lokolo wrote: »

So you can see there is no initial charge (as you are charged 4% but then save 4%) and the annual charge is 1.35% (as you are charged 1.5% but then save 0.15%). The 0.15% is only given when you hold over £1k.

Thanks Lokolo. I had looked at the H&L charges and had convinced myself I must be missing something. No initial charge and a lower annual charge than I'm currently paying - I felt there had to be something else in their charging model to compensate.

savingforoz

They are popular because their customer service is good and their website easy to use - it is very simple to buy and sell funds/add cash/whatever.

Lokolo

bodorange wrote: »

Thanks Lokolo. I had looked at the H&L charges and had convinced myself I must be missing something. No initial charge and a lower annual charge than I'm currently paying - I felt there had to be something else in their charging model to compensate.

Nope, Nationwide are just greedy.

bodorange

Thank you jem16. Then I guess it is better to suffer that risk and (hopefully small) opt out charge now before I invest further.

jem16

bodorange wrote: »

Thank you jem16. Then I guess it is better to suffer that risk and (hopefully small) opt out charge now before I invest further.

Do remember that the amc discount only applies to those funds where you have £1000 or more invested.