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From stakeholder to Vantage SIPP

I currently have a L&G UK Equity Index Fund stakeholder pension with a management charge of 1%. I've got 27 years until retirement and over £14K in my pension currently.

I'm thinking of transfering this pension over to the HL Vantage SIPP.With the majority of my pension in a similar tracker like the BlackRock UK Equity Tracker (still need to dig deeper on the comparison, just looked quickly recently). Charges for this appear to be 0.57% over my current 1%. I would then like to start cherry picky other funds in different sectors,adding to this over time.

Does this seem like a wise move?I realise that I'd need to check my existing provider doesn't charge me for transfering to HL. What other factors do I have to take into account?
I'm also a little weary of changing my pension to HL due to the changes with the clean funds next year, as to how their charges/trail commission will change.Saying that I'm currently investing in funds and shares with HL, but my pension's value is far higher than these,so need to be more careful.

Comments

  • under current HL charges, it would be cheaper to use SWIP FTSE All Share Index, costing 0.1% for the fund + £2 per month for HL - since on £14k, that is a total cost of 0.27%.

    however, this will almost certainly change when HL bring in new charges.

    personally, i'd look at getting a tracker or trackers covering the rest of the world, too, instead of keeping it all in the UK index.

    if you just want access to cheap trackers, you might look at personal pensions via cavendish online.
  • Lokolo
    Lokolo Posts: 20,861 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts
    HL are announcing new pricing structure at the end of the month, so it would be worthwhile waiting to see what comes out of that first.
  • Hi there,

    If you're just looking to invest in funds then a platform-based personal pension would probably work out cheaper than a SIPP. Unless you plan to start adding something more exotic to your portfolio (properties, directly held equities, etc) then you may as well stick with a personal pension.

    Have a look at Skandia's personal pension, or Standard Life's 'Active Money' personal pension, they're fairly low cost yet sophisticated products.

    Matt :)
  • Thanks for all your replies.Lokolo that's what I was worried of that I'd swap over to HL and then their charges would change.Probably best to sit on it a bit longer until there's a clearer picture.
  • Personally I would come at it more from a position of working out what 'flavour' of funds to be in, coupled with the charges for those funds.

    Funds of the type you want, currently in your stakeholder, can stay there, surely, rather than transfer to HL and pay more for similar funds. If you want additional fund types, then by all means open an HL (or Cavendish) SIPP but 'in addition'. You can have as many pensions as you like.
  • s.

    Funds of the type you want, currently in your stakeholder, can stay there, surely, rather than transfer to HL and pay more for similar funds. If you want additional fund types, then by all means open an HL (or Cavendish) SIPP but 'in addition'. You can have as many pensions as you like.

    I dont quite get your comment, as part of the idea was for me to move existing pension funds to pay lower charges.Can you clarify what you mean as I thought the HL vantage had lower charges than the 1% I'm currently paying?
  • hyposmurf wrote: »
    I dont quite get your comment, as part of the idea was for me to move existing pension funds to pay lower charges.Can you clarify what you mean as I thought the HL vantage had lower charges than the 1% I'm currently paying?

    HL fund charges are virtually all in the 1.5% to 1.75% range.

    The point I was making is that (for example) I have SSGA Asia Pacific ex Japan in a Stakeholder of my own at 0.7% charge. Why would I pay HL 1.5% or more for a similar one? Whereas my requirement for an emerging market bond fund is unavailable within the stakeholder.

    These days there are no 'annual policy charges' on pension plans. I see no reason to pay extra purely for the 'tidiness' of having all my investments in a single plan. It's exactly the same concept as cash savings. One bank for this year's ISA. Another for the previous years. Yet another for the long term bonds. Another still for the instant acces savings.....
  • Loughton Monkey I get where you're coming from, chasing the best rates even if it means having investments spread across different providers.The pension fund I was talking about moving you say to would be better to stay where it is, but the charges are higher if I do, rather then move it it a similar product with HL?
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