ReAssure Pension...

Matt002

Evening, I have to admit I have been rather lax at keeping on top of seeing how my pension has been doing compared to what it could be doing.

It originally started with HSBC and has recently moved over to ReAssure.

I pay in around £620 a month via salary sacrifice and currently this is in to the following fund:

"ReAssure UK All Company Tracker Pension Accumulator Series 01 (UKAllCT1) (GB0005900286)"

I currently have about 25000 units which seems to be worth somewhere around £80k give or take.

From my limited understanding this is isn't a brilliant fund? Would I be better off seeking the assistance of an IFA or putting in the leg work to figure things out myself? I would prefer the latter but I would understand if this is seen as pure stupidity.. :rotfl:

I'm 37, have 60k left on my mortgage and 75k of savings, not sure if that has any bearing on how I proceed...

Linton

The fund is doing exactly what it says on the label - tracking the FTSE AllShare Index. The UK market has been underperforming the Global market for some time. Having all your money in the UK could be considered poor investing. One of the better things you could do without involving an IFA is simply to transfer it all to a Global equity index tracker. Another possibly better option is to use a multi-asset fund instead. However I dont know whether something suitable is available to you.

Matt002

Thanks Linton, indeed I should should have said it wasn't a brilliant investment rather a poor fund.

If I were to consider one of the changes you mention what would be the best way ahead? Ask ReAssure what is available to me from them or look to move away from them to another provider?

Linton

I see no reason at the moment to look for another provider. Nothing you have said suggests they have done anything wrong. The only other reason to move would be if they cant provide the investment you want or if charges were higher than elsewhere.

dunstonh

Thanks Linton, indeed I should should have said it wasn't a brilliant investment rather a poor fund.

It is neither brilliant or poor. Or anything in between. It is tracking fund. It just does what it says it does. Single fund investing into a single sector is poor quality investing. However, if you had a portfolio of funds, you may well utilise a fund like that for the UK equity content. By itself though, its not ideal.

I see no reason at the moment to look for another provider.

It may be worth it. I have yet to come across an old HSBC pension that could not be improved upon. ex HSBC pensions are typically expensive. This does not mean this one is as there is the potential for exceptions. However, given it is currently poorly invested and likely to be poor value, it may well benefit from a review.

Matt002

dunstonh so would you say my best plan is to seek out an IFA or is it possible for a bit of self navigation to pick out where I should go? By expensive I assume you mean fees etc?

dunstonh

zzr-matt wrote: »

dunstonh so would you say my best plan is to seek out an IFA or is it possible for a bit of self navigation to pick out where I should go? By expensive I assume you mean fees etc?

Using an IFA or going DIY is like any job. If you know what you are doing then you can save money by going DIY. If you get it wrong, then it could end up a costly mistake. Using an IFA will cost you (although in the long run its likely cheaper than leaving it where it is as modern contracts are likely to save you money compared to that old HSBC one). However, it is very much a personal decision.

The last HSBC pension I saw had charges that equated to an annual charge of 1.5%p.. The replacement recommended had 0.4% pa. There was an advice charge but it broke even in under 4 years. If the person had gone DIY, they would have avoided the advice charge but they would need to research the pension and funds to use. They would also have needed to know how to work out charges. If its a mono charged pension (annual management charge only) then its easy. If its a multi-charge pension (which some HSBC ones are) then it needs software for a reliable comparison.