Prudential SHP Fees

benrk

My work SHP is with Prudential - Fees for core holdings are listed as 0.40%.

There is no other mention of fees in the documentation - I've tried calling up to ask but was told 0.40% is the only fee...I'm skeptical.

Is anyone able to advise if there are other fees such as:

- Platform fee
- Dealing fees
- Fund initial charges/bid offer spreads

I like to rebalance etc. but am wary of racking up charges which aren't advertised, particularly dealing fees.

Thanks

dunstonh

There is no other mention of fees in the documentation

There wont be. Its a stakeholder pension. So, it will be mono-charged (single charge)

- Platform fee

no. its not a platform.

- Dealing fees

No. stakeholders dont invest in direct assets.

- Fund initial charges/bid offer spreads

No, they are mono charged.

bowlhead99

For all the talk of stakeholder pensions being outmoded and poor value (certainly the ones at 1% p.a. are), it does sort of illustrate how everyone jumping on the bandwagon to buy a SIPP is quite possibly engaging in overkill.

Granted, the stakeholder range for funds will be limited but will give you some sort of investment exposure and it will not cost the earth. Of course, this doesn't guarantee better net returns and many people with larger pots would benefit from a traditional 'normal' personal pension with an even better charging structure and access to a broader set funds.

But lots of people fixate on buying a specialist product (SIPP platform) at perhaps 0.2 to 0.4% a year or more, sometimes with an annual admin fee on the side, so they can hold their single-market tracker at another 0.2% or a managed fund at 0.8% ; or a convoluted set of fund choices from 3000 options in some hilarious combination.

They're then a little incredulous when they realise they could have just paid 0.4% or less, all in, for a default balanced fund or a mix of some very basic sector funds and be done with it. The default funds are probably not going to give dedicated allocations to all sectors and some providers have better defaults than others - and we all have our preferences once you start tinkering with the underlying holdings - but I think simple stakeholders or PPs are often overlooked.

Loads of people with a defined contribution scheme at work will have a group personal pension available to them, but with extra money they have, they hear the buzzword 'SIPP' and then start running round comparing all the products to find a cheap way to hold a specific fashionable fund or maybe pay extra for a provider which has 'a really good website and friendly customer service'. I don't think I have ever needed any customer service from my work personal pension, money just goes into it and gets allocated on the percentages I set, and I reallocate the holdings every so often with a button to make a switch.

Of course, I'm a hypocrite because I do have a SIPP as well as my current employer's personal pension, but I like the research into indivdual companies and ITs and so on. I just think if you're not going to be a hobbyist or a slave to a specific style or strategy, it can be overkill to buy a really flexible platform, and it certainly leads people to think 'hey, where are all the charges??' when they eventually find a simple investment product like the OP has.

Not a recommendation for the Pru stakeholder as I have no idea how good it is, just a general musing.