Funds isa - other providers

tali

All my funds stock ISAs are with HLansdowne- should i also try other fund supermarkets like BestInvest , The Share centre etc ?
I'm not to familiar with all the hidden charges/costs but my strategy is no trading at all and minimum 10 yr investment.I'm not in it to actively monitor my investments but simply to put money away for a long time - i would consider myself an amateur bullish invester.
So which provider would be best?

westy22

It depends what type of funds you want to use. Passive trackers will have different costs on different platforms as will active funds. You also need to consider whether you wish to use 'clean' classes of funds i.e. with no commission attached.

Which platform is best will vary from person to person and the types of funds used.

Personally, I would leave your funds where they are until such time as the RDR2 report is published as many platforms will need to change their charging structure thereafter.

tali

Tbh - all i've done strategy wise is try to pick from as many sectors of HL 150 - with decisions based solely on that and fund manager performance
Active/passive/R2D2 - all new to me

westy22

If you have selected funds from HL's Wealth 150 then they will almost certainly all be actively-managed funds which means that you are paying between 1.5% and 2.5% ongoing annual charges, less a small rebate from HL. Even after giving you a rebate, HL will still be earning about 0.5% to 0.75% commission on these funds.

The Retail Distribution Report on platforms (RDR2) is likely to ban platforms from retaining such commissions so HL will have to find another way of earning income from their platform. This means that they may have to introduce either a monthly fee or a % charge on the funds held on the platform. Many other providers have already made these changes in anticipation of the ban but HL still hasn't shown its hand with regards to how it will charge from the beginning of 2014.

It's all very complicated and messy at the moment and no-one really knows what will happen, which is why I suggested that now is not the best time to make changes - wait a few more months and it should all become much clearer. Then you will be able to decide which platform will be the best value for you going forward.

tali

Thanks
Are HL the only ones to have these "recommended" Top 150 funds?
Is this Top 150 genuine or a an exercise of mutual benefit to fund provider and fund managers?
So in theory i could have picked a 150 fund - but from another provider without incurring charges?
I suppose HL might either drop loyalty bonus or cut their Initial Charge

westy22

tali wrote: »

Thanks
Are HL the only ones to have these "recommended" Top 150 funds?
Is this Top 150 genuine or a an exercise of mutual benefit to fund provider and fund managers?
So in theory i could have picked a 150 fund - but from another provider without incurring charges?
I suppose HL might either drop loyalty bonus or cut their Initial Charge

Most platforms maintain some sort of recommended shortlist of funds.

Many people believe that the HL Wealth 150 is just a marketing exercise, pushing funds that pay HL the most commission. However, there are some very good funds on the list and most people who disregard the list would still find that they hold several of the funds that appear on the list.

The majority of funds are available on all platforms - rarely is there an exclusive provider. On different platforms you will incur different charges - some will be more expensive than HL and some cheaper. Some will be cheaper for small amounts and others cheaper for larger investments.

have a play on this site http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/. Its not perfect but will give you an idea of current charge structures. Unfortunately, HL didn't want to play in this comparison exercise so they don't feature in the results.

AlwaysLearnin

There are so many variables with platforms, which is best will depend on individual circumstances and what you long term plan is. Dare I say, it sounds like you've jumped in somewhat, with little clarity around what you want and/or how you'll get there. I'm guessing you're just looking for better returns than cash.

I may have misjudged, but if that sounds familiar then you're going to have to decide on these things to put a plan in place. You can either pay an IFA to help you with this, or read up yourself. If the latter, a good place to start would be monevator.com (which also has a platform comparison table), plus there are a number of books recommended on these forums (here's a link to another post where I've given some ideas).

As westy has said, things are a bit up in the air with platforms at the moment, so you may be best to stay where you are for a bit and use that time to read up. You should then be in a good position to make an informed decision in line with your longer term plans when things settle down.

jimjames

Unless you are looking for specific funds not offered on a platform there is little point in my view from running accounts with more than 1 as it could increase costs once changes come in place.

If each platform charges a flat fee of say £50 then it will be cheaper to hold investments via one platform than several. I do have 2 different platforms for my ISAs (including HL) but once the RDR review is complete I will probably consolidate onto the one that works out best.