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Secretive pension providers
Comments
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No, read the small print :-) being ironic
The questions I asked of potential SIPP providers were...
Could you send me details of your charges please?
Could you send me details of your SIPP?
Could you tell me how Cofunds works?
If these are asking for an opinion then I can only sigh
In that case DunstonH, could you give me the names and contact details of say... 4 SIPP providers who will give me this sort of information?
I am happy to provide you with the IFA company name offline, not in public. He offered some free advice to start with which was very kind. - Make a will. Fantastic, I would never have thought of doing that.
A man goes into an estate agents and asks to see details of houses around £500000. “Certainly Sir, I’ll just get our independent property advisor to speak to you about your needs. He charges £5000 initially then you pay him 1% annually of the price for the house for as long as you live in it ” “But I don’t want an advisor” replied the man, “I just want to see the details of houses you have in that price region in this locality”
“I’m sorry sir, we would be irresponsible if we did that. £500K is a lot of money, what if the house was unsuitable for you a few years down the line? The value of houses can fall as well as increases, Sir”
The man leaves the shop. He tries another 4 estate agents with the same outcome. Their argument is that £500K is a lot of money for someone to be making such a decision without advice. Property values can and do flux, therefor people cant be allowed to make their own decisions.
At last he finds an estate agent who provides the details of 10 houses, without the need of a property advisor. Some with 2 bathrooms, others with a shower room. Some with South facing gardens, one with a triple garage, one close to the school and another backing onto fields ( which could be built on, perhaps one day who knows)
He chooses the house0 -
Could you send me details of your charges please?
Could you send me details of your SIPP?
Could you tell me how Cofunds works?
You mention Cofunds. Well Cofunds is a platform that requires it to be set up via an intermediary or distributor. The charges they have will depend on the intermediary or distributor. The functions and features available will depend on the intermediary or distributor. The version of the SIPP you are talking about will also impact.
You need to ask these questions to an intermediary or distributor if you want to use a provider that only retails their product that way.
These are all retail questions and Cofunds do not retail.In that case DunstonH, could you give me the names and contact details of say... 4 SIPP providers who will give me this sort of information?
All the ones that retail direct to public or where you already hold the product.I am happy to provide you with the IFA company name offline, not in public. He offered some free advice to start with which was very kind. - Make a will. Fantastic, I would never have thought of doing that.
You get what you pay for. You will be surprised at how many people havent done a Will.A man goes into an estate agents and asks to see details of houses around £500000. “Certainly Sir, I’ll just get our independent property advisor to speak to you about your needs. He charges £5000 initially then you pay him 1% annually of the price for the house for as long as you live in it ” “But I don’t want an advisor” replied the man, “I just want to see the details of houses you have in that price region in this locality”
The estate agent is effectively the retailer. So, asking them the questions regarding what they retail is quite right.“I’m sorry sir, we would be irresponsible if we did that. £500K is a lot of money, what if the house was unsuitable for you a few years down the line? The value of houses can fall as well as increases, Sir”
The estate agent doesnt have to apply for permissions and put in place compliance requirements to retail the products.
You are asking the wrong people to answer questions that they cannot answer.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Can anyone tell me why most pension providers collude in a closed shop whereby they will not give you the plain facts about products to allow you to make an informed decision, rather, they insist you go through an independent financial advisor? I am mainly referring to SIPPs through personal experience.
If you want to DIY then you need to use companies and platforms that cater for DIY investors.
I have used Cavendish Online, Hargreaves Lansdown and BestInvest. Which is best depends on what you want to hold in your SIPP and how large the pot will be. I use BestInvest for my SIPP and HL for my wife's.
There are loads of other platforms out there, but as I suspect that you might be confusing yield and total return with your funds, you're going to have to do some reading before you'll be able to invest sensibly.I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
It is clear that Abeltwo has given a very accurate and amusing summary of the pensions minefield that has been carefully contructed by the financial institutions. When pressed the financial advisors are simply unable or unwilling to provide a straight answer to a straight question.0
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It is clear that Abeltwo has given a very accurate and amusing summary of the pensions minefield that has been carefully contructed by the financial institutions.
Yes, but it's nearly a decade out of date. Things are now far more open, but you do need to ask the right questions, in the right way, and of the right person.I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
It is clear that Abeltwo has given a very accurate and amusing summary of the pensions minefield that has been carefully contructed by the financial institutions.
Where? I must be missing that post.When pressed the financial advisors are simply unable or unwilling to provide a straight answer to a straight question.
He isn't on about financial advisers. He is on about providers that retail via third party distribution channel and expects them to give retail information despite them not being the ones that set the retail charges, features or restrictions.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Dear Gatgetmind
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I shall contact these companies you mention to see if they can provide me with the information that will allow me to make an, informed decision, which is all I ask.
Dunstonh, why have you assumed I am male? I am actually a petite blonde female, they do allow us to have degrees and careers now. Some of us know about things other than embroidery and kittens0 -
I shall contact these companies you mention to see if they can provide me with the information that will allow me to make an, informed decision, which is all I ask.
There are many more, and as they are aimed at private investors, they all have very informative web sites. However, unless you pay for it, they won't provide any advice. So you'll have a platform that you can use to make investments in a SIPP wrapper, but it will be down to you to decide what investments to hold.
The latter is the hard part, and a key thing that you'd pay an IFA for. Unless you're prepared to do a lot of reading on the subject, you'll be better off using either all-in-one portfolio type funds, or perhaps look at some of BestInvest's recommended portfolios.
Note that Cavendish Online will let you start a pension with a number of the larger providers with pretty low fees. This is a simpler option that a SIPP.
BTW, why do you think you want a SIPP? Perhaps if you start from the beginning and explain your position and goals, people can make better suggestions for what you should be considering?I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
Estate Agents and Financial Advisors fit in the same bracket as far as I am concerned.
They are both out to get as much money as possible in there greasy little palms for the least amount of work as possible.
I wish I could spend 24/7 on a chat board like this and still have time to do research and recommend the best financial products for my clients and make a good living out of it.
As Jim Royle would say "research my !!!!"
Who ever pays the most sales commision is the best product to be recommended.
The only winners are IFAS and Fund managers.0 -
Estate Agents and Financial Advisors fit in the same bracket as far as I am concerned.
IKWYM, but at least the IFA needs more than half an hour's training and a MINI to go into business!I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0
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