Financial Advisor meeting

jem16

berbatov10 wrote: »

Jem I was referring to the transfer of the ISA's to him.

if you're going down a fixed fee route then it won't matter how long it takes and he would be able to chase it up for you.

I have read a lot about VLS funds but is that spreading the risk as much as i would need? He spoke about unit trusts in ISA wrapper

You've been posting about that on several threads but seem to be no further forward. Perhaps this is the reason you need an IFA at least for the moment - please don't take offence at this as none intended.

jem16

berbatov10 wrote: »

I have just taken a photo of Transact charges page but am unable to post it ?

You would need to upload a photo to an image hosting website and then post the link here.

Is this the generic charges or the IFA's charges using Transact? If generic it's not really a lot of use as that may not be what the IFA is charging you.

tigerspill

I use an IFA last year and while she did a decent job, for me I think it was a mistake.
Unfortunately I read monevator and Tim Hale after I used her to infest a reasonable amount if money.
It wasn't that she did a bad job, and the investments have done reasonably OK. But I also invested a similar amount myself in the VLS plus a few other satellites. These are doing as well but without the fees.
TBH I could now pull most of that money out and invest my self in the same funds and proportions and do better because of the fees. Keeping some with the IFA allows me to monitor their changes and I doula match those if I wanted.
As others have advised - can your IFA do better than the guys at Vanguard? I think it is unlikely. That was the conclusion I reached.

berbatov10

jem no offence taken, I really appreciate the time and effort for peoples input. You are right I have been posting on it for a while and I went as far as lodging my £10K (higher rate tax portion of my years salary) with Fidelity pre new tax year. In between I have been reading lots of stuff hence I have come to a halt, I guess you could say I got 'halfway there'. I read a lot about diversification hence the VLS interest but then question is that diversified enough.

As for the charges its what is in the Transact key features document.

dunstonh

It wasn't that she did a bad job, and the investments have done reasonably OK. But I also invested a similar amount myself in the VLS plus a few other satellites. These are doing as well but without the fees.

Do they have the same volatility ratings? Less than 12 months with investments is not enough to compare.

TBH I could now pull most of that money out and invest my self in the same funds and proportions and do better because of the fees.

Can you guarantee that?

As others have advised - can your IFA do better than the guys at Vanguard? I think it is unlikely. That was the conclusion I reached.

On the basis of less than 12 months?

guymo

dunstonh wrote: »

Can you guarantee that?

Can an IFA guarantee anything at all?

dunstonh is absolutely right to point out that there is considerably more to evaluating the appropriateness of an investment than "how you did in 12 months" --- but asking for guarantees is taking it too far!

jem16

berbatov10 wrote: »

I read a lot about diversification hence the VLS interest but then question is that diversified enough.

I think that's a question that your research needs to answer. Depending on which VLS fund it is, some would say that it doesn't cover all the key sectors so perhaps not.

This is what you would be paying the IFA for - only you can decide whether or not it's worth paying for, just like anything you would choose to pay for as opposed to DIY.

As for the charges its what is in the Transact key features document.

Which may or may not apply to you. Might be best to wait until you get more specific info from the IFA.

berbatov10

Thanks Jem. Yes I wait with interest. One thing that just came to me which was said I thought odd. I mentioned the money I had in cash with Fidelity ready for a SIPP, the IFA felt ISA's were a better option for retirement funds. I could not understand that.

jem16

berbatov10 wrote: »

I mentioned the money I had in cash with Fidelity ready for a SIPP, the IFA felt ISA's were a better option for retirement funds. I could not understand that.

Did you not ask why?

Of course the answer all depends on individual circumstances. If you're getting 40% tax relief on the way in and likely to pay 20% tax on the way out, then a pension is superior.

berbatov10

No I didnt it was only because I was sitting reviewing the meeting and recalled it. I usually earn around £40 - £50 k so a percentage is at the higher rate. Regardless even at basic rate its boosted by 20%