Fidelity SIPP experiences

BettySpofkins

Hi -

I'm about to select a SIPP provider, and wonder if people had any experiences, good or bad, with Fidelity.

What appeals to me is their absolute cheapness. I just need execution-only, and will not buy individual shares or anything exotic, just cheap tracker funds. It looks like in that case, they're effectively free, and just make their money from the trail commission.

So any feedback is welcome. I'm particularly interested in what their online platform is like, and how their customer service has been.

Thanks all.

xylophone

http://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/pensions/self-investing-personal-pensions/

Have you seen this?

mania112

BettySpofkins wrote: »

It looks like in that case, they're effectively free, and just make their money from the trail commission.

So not free then.

dunstonh

What appeals to me is their absolute cheapness.

Its not that cheap though.

It looks like in that case, they're effectively free, and just make their money from the trail commission.

As said above, that doesnt make them free as the trail commission is factored into the annual management charge.

jamesd

BettySpofkins wrote: »

What appeals to me is their absolute cheapness. I just need execution-only, and will not buy individual shares or anything exotic, just cheap tracker funds. It looks like in that case, they're effectively free, and just make their money from the trail commission.

Free and trail commission are mutually contradictory things.

How cheap are the trackers you're thinking of? Which ones? That'll help people to see whether there are better options available to you. Knowing roughly the amount of money involved would also be useful because some things are cheaper only for quite large amounts.

To give some context, a FTSE tracker can be had for around 0.1% annual charge at some of the cheapest possible deals. Closer to 0.3% is more readily available.

BettySpofkins

Thanks, chaps.

I'm aware of what trail commission is and apart from that, in my circumstances there appear to be no fees at all, either to open the account or trade funds. I consider that to be exceptionally cheap, but if you know a cheaper provider, please share.

Either way, I wasn't really asking about their fees, I can figure that out myself.

The question was has anybody actually used them?

dunstonh

The question was has anybody actually used them?

Yes. However, they lack the benefit of a true wrap platform and have too much reliance on standard life. The FSA have said they want to include SIPP only contracts in the platform review so you know a commission based SIPP only has a short time left before it has to change its charges. When you look at online functionality, they are miles behind a number of other platforms despite once upon a time being quite good.

Platform/SIPPs are like any retail product. You will find some that love them. Perhaps it is because they are used to them and its a case of better the devil you know or perhaps they know no different. Every platform will have its pros and cons. That is why you choose what is right for you.

taking_stock

BettySpofkins wrote: »

Hi -

I'm about to select a SIPP provider, and wonder if people had any experiences, good or bad, with Fidelity.

What appeals to me is their absolute cheapness. I just need execution-only, and will not buy individual shares or anything exotic, just cheap tracker funds. It looks like in that case, they're effectively free, and just make their money from the trail commission.

So any feedback is welcome. I'm particularly interested in what their online platform is like, and how their customer service has been.

Thanks all.

to balance up the argument, i've used the fidelity sipp. been very happy. no buy or switch fees, no annual fee and no trail commission. only fee is the the standard management fees of the underlying investment OEICs. i tend to use fairly specialised funds by big providers, so typically have a TER of 1.7%. personally, i'm fine with that, as have so far exceeded the benchmarks.

i suppose the only criticism is that it's a limited SIPP - no shares or anything else allowed in it, just OEICs.

mania112

taking_stock wrote: »

to balance up the argument, i've used the fidelity sipp. been very happy. no buy or switch fees, no annual fee and no trail commission. only fee is the the standard management fees of the underlying investment OEICs. i tend to use fairly specialised funds by big providers, so typically have a TER of 1.7%. personally, i'm fine with that, as have so far exceeded the benchmarks.

i suppose the only criticism is that it's a limited SIPP - no shares or anything else allowed in it, just OEICs.

Do you not wonder how Fidelity make money out of this deal?

taking_stock

mania112 wrote: »

Do you not wonder how Fidelity make money out of this deal?

presumably out of the commission on the funds people buy....

but the facts remain exactly as i've stated them. so, with this information, can we have a sensible discussion as to whether other providers are cheaper (given fidelity's investment constraints etc)?

mania112

taking_stock wrote: »

presumably out of the commission on the funds people buy....

but the facts remain exactly as i've stated them. so, with this information, can we have a sensible discussion as to whether other providers are cheaper (given fidelity's investment constraints etc)?

Well the facts you state show that nothing is cheaper, as something which is free can't be beaten.

AMC's are charges to the company making the investment, not the product provider.