Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund

listuk

Hi everyone,

I am considering investing in the above fund through a SIPP on the transact platform. I have two questions regarding this:

1) Fees

One of my main concerns is that the fees:
Fund AMC: 1.5%
Initial fee: 1.71%
Transact AMC: 0.5%
Transact buying fee: 0.2%
Sipp: 80/y

I have found an IFA which will set me up on the transact platform on a fee basis and won't charge an AMC.

Can anyone suggest a cheaper way to purchase this fund? I note Skandia offer this fund but can't decipher all the options - CRA, Sipp, Skandia Life etc and which of these includes the Brandeaux fund.

Are there any platforms which might rebate any trail commissions?

2) Risks

I see the following risks:
- Property market downturn
- Liquidity risk - I know there have been issues since 2009 with fund suspensions
- Higher Education risks - less students willing to go to uni
- Unregulated fund - no compensation from FSA if things go belly up

Can someone think of other risks which I may not have considered.


Notes:
- I plan to hold for over the longer term = 10+ years
- I will manage SIPP myself and don't want to pay an IFA for ongoing advice
- I am concerned the fees might make this unattractive despite the high returns (8-10%) in comparison to a fund that offers lower returns with lower fees (say 5% return with 0.5% AMC)


Thanks for any input/advice on this

listuk

any had a chance to look at this?

talexuser

Maybe read all of this thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1415153

listuk

Yes I did read through that. That's partly why I wanted to see if I had summed up the risks correctly. Also to see if anyone had any new information that might have been useful.

talexuser

Well if you've read it all and still considering to invest you're a braver man than me

listuk

I'm taking a longer term view and plan to hold it as a part of a pension. So don't expect to redeem immediately. I don't believe they will go bankrupt but appreciate the liquidity risk involved.