Bestinvest offered to waive my exit fees

saveonarola

Just thought you might be interested to know that I wrote to Bestinvest to point out that as a result of the new charging structure (0.4% commission on funds) the cost of my 30K funds-only portfolio had doubled (and was going to keep rising if the value of the portfolio rose).

They phoned me (!) to check whether I'd thought of switching to ETFs, which only attract a custody charge of £50pa (not a good option for me, I think, since I'm investing modest amounts monthly, so dealing charges would really add up). They also said they'd waive exit fees if I decided to transfer out.

I've been with Bestinvest for a couple of years and I have to say their customer service has been really, really good. Shame they're just not competitive for this type of funds-only portfolio...

bumface

I'm baffled by these changes. I started a unit trust ISA years ago and have been paying small monthly payments ever since. I thought I was avoiding initial charges by appointing Bestinvest as my "adviser" but I really have no idea if this is happening. Now there's a new charge, but I have no idea what charges I was paying up till now. Should I just dump Bestinvest as adviser and stick with Fidelity?

How much have I misunderstood?

bumface

Ashamed of my ignorance, I've read some posts and other websites and come to the conclusion that Cavendish or Charles Stanley Direct are more appropriate for my needs. On the few occasions I called them, I found Bestinvest to have great customer service, so I hope I don't regret this.

TCA

saveonarola wrote: »

I've been with Bestinvest for a couple of years and I have to say their customer service has been really, really good.

I'd generally agree with that but I have consistent problems with their online trading, specifically limit orders that won't cancel properly. Several times I've cancelled limit orders and they just sit as pending cancellation without freeing up the cash to make other trades, and only a phone call sorts it out. Eventually.

Had it again last week and it took all afternoon and 2 calls for them to correct it. By which time I had missed my strike price on an alternative share purchase. Extremely annoying.

gadgetmind

BestInvest aren't advisers when using their Select service, just a platform. Their platform is also a little gummed up in places, with limit orders being fairly buggy and even some realtime trades not being possible online and needing a call (which is handled at online rates).

However, they do answer the 'phone quickly, and know what they are on about. They have also played very fair regards their new fees.

Are you sure fees will be doubled with the new structure? For just holding funds, it should be mostly neutral.

TCA

gadgetmind wrote: »

Are you sure fees will be doubled with the new structure? For just holding funds, it should be mostly neutral.

saveonarola wrote: »

... the new charging structure (0.4% commission on funds) the cost of my 30K funds-only portfolio had doubled (and was going to keep rising if the value of the portfolio rose).

A straight 0.4% on £30k is £120p.a. versus the old charging of £50p.a. So more than double I think.

saveonarola

TCA wrote: »

A straight 0.4% on £30k is £120p.a. versus the old charging of £50p.a. So more than double I think.

That's right, except the custody charge formerly payable on non-commission-paying funds included VAT, so it was £60pa. VAT is not payable on the custody charge in relation to ETFs.

gadgetmind may be correct insofar as investors holding active funds may be less inconvenienced by the new charging structure, with savings on platform commission potentially off-setting the 0.4% charge (I haven't looked into this, which is why I'm hedging!). I'm virtually all Vanguard, so Bestinvest were getting the custody charge but very little in the way of platform commission, just a drip from my small allocation to BlackRock's Property tracker fund, which does pay platform commission, I believe.