St James Place

Ace1979

Hi

So I recently contacted a financial advisor as I have £30k to invest. Turns out she was from st James place. We went through all the options and decided a stocks & shares ISA is the best place to put it (split between mine and my husband's allowance).

I was just about to sign up, and noticed the fees were 5%. This seemed a bit high, especially when their illustrations of growth weren't showing a 5% return until year 3 (ok, only illustrations, but even so!).

I googled a bit, and found several much cheaper options for self-serve investment. Many of the same funds listed.

I emailed my advisor, saying I felt her fees were a little high, and I wasn't happy to go ahead. She just responded saying she'd decrease to 3% as a good will gesture.

I now feel that they are on the con, and that if they can reduce to 3%, why isn't it 3% in the first place. I'm likely to have additional funds to invest each year now, so would be paying the 5% each time I do that.

I'm now looking at Charles Stanley and Fidelity etc.

Am I being sensible, or stingey?

Thanks!

Anna

BLB53

I'm now looking at Charles Stanley and Fidelity etc.

Am I being sensible, or stingey?

You will save a lot of money if you can do your own investing via a low cost broker so avoid SJP.

Check out some of the free sites such as Monevator http://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/ (good for low cost index investing) and DIY Investor http://diyinvestoruk.blogspot.co.uk/p/basics.html

As you say, you could not trust a firm which reduces the fee when you query the initial one and in any event 3% is still robbery!

Stubod

..run a mile..... we had been with SJP for 3 years or so, and to be fair over a 3 yr. period we ended up (after all charges) with an overall return of about 5% on "low risk" investments. (It took 12 months to "break even"). At the time we new no better and went with the first FA that was recommended to us by a "friend", but since reading about all their high charges we have now changed FA and all our charges have dropped considerably. You will find a lower cost provider, just have a good look and make sure they are "approved".

TBC15

Drop it like it was hot. Sounds like the start of my education 28yrs ago.

Open an account with III ( no they won’t hold your hand or be particularly prompt) and put your money into a global tracker.

Read as much as you can (This forum has done a lot for me personally), if you can be bothered you can form your own opinions and branch out.

Don’t let people in suites put their hand in your pocket just because you are ignorant.In this particular field.

wjr4

Avoid st James place at all costs! a local ifa will be than them!

bostonerimus

You are being a good consumer. With 30k to invest split between 2 ISAs allowances you might consider Vanguard. They have a simple and easy to understand website and you will be able to invest in their low cost trackers or their active funds. I'd stick to the low cost trackers myself. Read up on investing and asset allocation before you buy.....you could do a lot worse than a Vanguard Life Strategy fund.........and then get into the habit of making regular contributions.

TBC15

bostonerimus wrote: »

You are being a good consumer. With 30k to invest split between 2 ISAs allowances you might consider Vanguard. They have a simple and easy to understand website and you will be able to invest in their low cost trackers or their active funds. I'd stick to the low cost trackers myself. Read up on investing and asset allocation before you buy.....you could do a lot worse than a Vanguard Life Strategy fund.........and then get into the habit of making regular contributions.

Sound advice I’d go for the life strategy 100, once you get the hang of investing you might want to consider platform fees.

In the short term you can’t go far wrong.

jimjames

TBC15 wrote: »

Sound advice I’d go for the life strategy 100, once you get the hang of investing you might want to consider platform fees.

In the short term you can’t go far wrong.

Problem is you're suggesting a fund and have no idea of the OP's risk profile. That fund might be far more risk than they are prepared to take.

Ace1979 wrote: »

I googled a bit, and found several much cheaper options for self-serve investment. Many of the same funds listed.

Anna

SJP are very expensive but there are cheaper advised options out there although you might be on the lower end of the value that some will deal with.

However you're not comparing like for like saying you found self serve options that were cheaper - you'd certainly expect that are you're the one doing the work and taking the risk of it going wrong! It's like repairing a car, I can buy a part for £20 and fit it myself but a garage would charge me £150 for the job. It doesn't automatically mean they're ripping you off - you're paying for their labour and costs.

bostonerimus

Given your simple situation and relatively small amount to invest I don't think you'll get much value from a financial adviser and you certainly shouldn't employ one on an ongoing basis. Taking the opportunity to educate yourself about finances so you can DIY rather than paying an adviser to do it for you will be the biggest gain you get out of this.

Johndonuts

Sorry for resurrecting an older thread, just searched for more about St. James Place, after putting my own query on here.
Ace1979 Did you ever use this company? I know the % fee is usually over 5%. I was offered 4% because that is what my parents accepted many years ago. So if they will go from over 5% down to 3%, that makes me feel they are conning everyone a bit surely!
I think reading this thread has helped me make up my mind quite swiftly, get rid once the fixed term is up.
I hope you found something better than this company after your initial queries. I'm appalled they charge what they like when they like, doesn't sound like good business, except for them.

capital0ne

Maybe Dunsty could offer a view here on SJP.

I see he already has here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5847458