Dunstonh - Fidelity

Jegersmart

Hi Dunstonh

I posted in the "Fidelity 50% off" thread a question for you regarding Fidelity and their services but you may not have seen it and in any case I suggested I may start a separate thread on it. Hopefully you will see this and feel willing to comment?

I was interested to hear about Axa Elevate and other platforms/services that are available, so this prompted me to re-evaluate my Fidelity Wealth offering in case I am missing anything.

My own experience with Fidelity Wealth is that the people I talk to from time to time (Account Manager, dealers etc) are all switched on and knowledgeable and are based in UK and give good service. In addition, they have a profit and loss calculator which tbh has some limitations - for example if you held a fund some time ago which was completely sold out, if you reinvest say a year later - the P&L position on the fund seems to continue from back then. So lets say I held JPM Nat Res and sold out at a 4% loss, if I re-enter it still shows 4% loss at the start....but they have a calculator nontheless! They also have a portfolio analysis tool which creates a PDF document of your exposures, geographically, asset class etc. which is good, and a recent enhancement to their webasite means your welcome screen shows a pie chart of your asset exposures overall, and you can drill down into ISA, Investments, SIPP etc etc to get a quick overview of holdings.

As part of Fidelity Wealth I do get discounts off the AMCX's etc. - so far they are showing me a "saving" of around £xxxx for the year - not that I have checked it in detail as my holdings are numerous...

So my question is really whether I should be considering other platforms / brokers etc - and if so which ones? I did take a look at the Axa Elevate, but the information is quite generic....and there are probably many others...?

TIA

J

jem16

Jegersmart wrote: »

So my question is really whether I should be considering other platforms / brokers etc - and if so which ones? I did take a look at the Axa Elevate, but the information is quite generic....and there are probably many others...?

Axa Elevate is an IFA platform and as far as I know only takes its custom from IFAs.

You would really need to look at DIY platforms, not all of which have currently moved over to unbundled charging. As to which one it depends on what you are investing in. This site might help.

http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/

dunstonh

I believe that Fidelity Wealth is a discretionary investment management service. That is quite a different service to a DIY platform and also quite different from an IFA using a platform.

DIY platforms are for people that make their own decisions. IFA platforms are for IFAs to set up investment they recommend. IFAs cannot make changes to investments without permission. Discretionary investment management has a portfolio manager who will actively buy and sell investments without the need to check first that you agree to them.

Jegersmart

Hi

I choose all my own investments, I think Fidelity Wealth is just a label for a service that is accessible if you have in excess of some amount invested - with some discounts and other minor perks thrown in.

I was more interested in the comparison between Fidelity and other DIY platforms in terms of what is out there and so on.

TIA

J

dunstonh

Possibly, one of the most compliant platforms in respect of current rules and forthcoming changes is iii. Yet, look at the flack they got when they moved to unbundled.

It may be worth sitting tight if you DIY and wait until they have all gone unbundled before comparing. In the run up, you still have some that are bundled and using hidden commissions to fund them.