LEBC - anyone used them?

funkey_monkey

HI,

I'm thinking of using LEBC to manage an investment portfolio for myself.

Does anyone on here know anything about them, their performance, or their reputation?


Thanks.

REPLY ON BEHALF OF LEBC GROUP

LEBC Group are on the FCA register. You can go to https://register.fca.org.uk/ and type our FCA number (191818) into the search box which will show you the details of the firm and will show you that all the IFAs we employ are FCA registered. Like a large proportion of IFAs we are authorised through a network structure (in our case TenetConnect, lookup 149826 in the above link). This means that we have all the necessary permissions to give independent financial advice in full compliance with the FCA rules. As you would expect, the products on which we advise are protected Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the Financial Ombudsman Service in the same way as it is for any other type of financial advice firm.

We have been operating for 15 years now and have 15 offices through-out the UK and over 180 staff so all our customers (of which we have thousands) can take assurance from the fact that we are a well-established and professionally run business (you can search for “LEBC” in Google News to see articles on us in the financial press or look us up on unbiased.co.uk). We deal with private clients as well as employers including FTSE 100 and multi-national companies.

The 0.75% charge refers to our model portfolio offering. Our model portfolios are managed on an advised basis and are tailored to meet the needs of clients whether they are investing for income or growth for a range of risk profiles and are available on both an active managed or passive basis. All the portfolios are supported by a quarterly review process undertaken by our investment committee and supported by independent research. Each client receives a quarterly update and also an annual rebalance of their funds plus an annual ISA top up reminder. The portfolios have been available for 5 years. They are available within ISA, pension and investment fund wrappers and we can facilitate, bed and ISA, capital gains and tax reporting tools and access to collective funds at discounted rates. 0.75% is the annual fee for this service there are no bid /offer spreads or other hidden charges.

jimjames

Never heard of them. How much are they charging you? Do you really need a company to manage a portfolio?

funkey_monkey

They are charging 0.75%.

I have no experience of investing and would rather just dump it in somewhere. In future I might decide to take a more active role.

At present it is earning for me 0.64% in a savings account. Anything would be better than that.

I intend to invest for ten years with these guys. I appreciate that over time the compounded effect of their fee will be detrimental but it would still significantly outperform the savings account.

In the intervening time I intend to start investing personally with smaller amounts and then take control of the lot if I feel comfortable to do so.

Eco_Miser

You don't say how much you've got in the savings account, but you can get 3% or better on over £50,000 in bank accounts.

LEBC's_website wrote:

Please note the people shown in the images throughout the website are models and do not relate to the quotes assigned to them.

Registered Office: LEBC Group Ltd, 1285 Century Way, Thorpe Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS15 8ZB. Registered in England No. 03995199

LEBC Group Ltd is an appointed representative of TenetConnect Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. TenetConnect Ltd is entered on the Financial Services Register under reference 149826.

Which means that LEBC are NOT authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and they use deceptive advertising.


If you want someone to invest for you, find a properly regulated Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). Alternatively you can DIY. see monevator.com and other sites, including this board, for further information.

funkey_monkey

I've got £48k in the account.

What is the difference between being a representative. Does this mean they are not FCA regulated? What is their status? How can they operate without approval.

Are there any alternatives to this company?

This is a minefield and exactly why I don't want alk the responsibility myself to invest it.

jimjames

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I've got £48k in the account.

What is the difference between being a representative. Does this mean they are not FCA regulated? What is their status? How can they operate without approval.

Are there any alternatives to this company?

This is a minefield and exactly why I don't want alk the responsibility myself to invest it.

Plenty of companies operate without approval, it's called unregulated investments. Things like airport car parking, storage pods, student lets. All are available and with no guarantee that you won't lose 100% of your money.

Far better to just go basic and use a balanced fund like Vanguard LS80 so you cut out the middleman and are fully protected.

I think you can say if an investment is allowed inside a S&S ISA then it's regulated and FSCS covered. I don't think the same applies to SIPPs.

funkey_monkey

jimjames wrote: »

Far better to just go basic and use a balanced fund like Vanguard LS80 so you cut out the middleman and are fully protected.

I think you can say if an investment is allowed inside a S&S ISA then it's regulated and FSCS covered. I don't think the same applies to SIPPs.

I didn't realise this. However when speaking to their rep (who told me they work with rolls Royce and national grid amongst others).
What the person offered would have been allowed inside an S&S ISA as ISA wrappers were mentioned in the call.

Getting a bit fed up with all this now. This is why it is currently sitting in a savings account.

masonic

Consider this a lucky escape. Investing through various layers of middlemen is unlikely get you the best results.

funkey_monkey

Are there any recommended managed funds?

Eco_Miser

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I've got £48k in the account.

You could just spread it round high interest bank accounts. <LINK>

funkey_monkey wrote: »

What is the difference between being a representative. Does this mean they are not FCA regulated? What is their status? How can they operate without approval.

I don't know.
If they were regulated they would say so.
They appear to be representatives of a regulated firm.
It's not illegal unless they do regulated activities.

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Are there any alternatives to this company?

Lots. see unbiased.co.uk for IFAs

funkey_monkey wrote: »

This is a minefield and exactly why I don't want alk the responsibility myself to invest it.

Ultimately it's your responsibility.

Opening an account on a platform and investing in say Vanguard LifeStrategy 60 is not difficult. The difficulty is deciding whether to use Vanguard or Blackrock Consensus or L&G or something else.

However, there are lots of people on the Internet quite happy to give you their opinions on the matter completely free.
I posted the link to monevator earlier.

badger09

LEBC Group

You need MSE's permission to post in the capacity of a representative of an organisation.