Very Basic Investment Query

Cotta

Hi All,

Apologies if this seems a very basic or indeed silly question, however it's just something I have been considering. I had a two year deployment with a company and at the end my pension was around £6500, two years later with no further input it stands at almost £10,000.

It's currently with a company called Aegon and I have just let the money sit in the default investment arrangement from day one. My investment query is this, I noticed that Aegon also do investments and I was wondering before I investigate further, is the setup similar to pensions? In this I mean could I enter into a default investment portfolio and track everything from there or is the setup for pensions including returns different?

Obviously I know fund values can go up as well as down but these sums have certainly got me interested.

dunstonh

I noticed that Aegon also do investments and I was wondering before I investigate further, is the setup similar to pensions?

The pension is likely to be with Aegon Scottish Equitable. Aegon is multi-national company that has many divisions. They also operate unit trust/OEICs but these are through a totally different company in the group.

s the setup similar to pensions? In this I mean could I enter into a default investment portfolio and track everything from there or is the setup for pensions including returns different?

No you can't. (and you wouldn't want to). However, there are plenty of companies that operate in the DIY market that have simple investment options for small investors.

Cotta

dunstonh wrote: »

No you can't. (and you wouldn't want to). However, there are plenty of companies that operate in the DIY market that have simple investment options for small investors.

What is the "Investment" option that is advertised on Aegon's homepage?

For me who is new to investing, what is the best type of platform to use?

Cotta

Just bumping this for more input.

Linton

Which one in particular? I cant see anything specific on https://www.aegon.co.uk/index.html. It all seems to be top down how rather than what.

When when we talk about "platforms" we usually mean an independently operated facility to buy, hold and sell from a vast range of investments from a large number of suppliers. The other option is to choose one supplier such as Aegon who offers access to their own in-house funds. The second way could well be cheaper and simpler but with a much more limited choice of investments.

dunstonh

What is the "Investment" option that is advertised on Aegon's homepage?

It is their platform that is made available to IFAs and other whole of market intermediaries.

They have a cut down version for DIY called retiready which is mainly used by people who have Aegon L&P policies already and for whatever reason (usually not knowing better) they want to keep it with Aegon. Its a product that benefits Aegon significantly. Aegon are actively trying to get people to move into that new product.

droopsnoot

Aegon also took over the operation of the old Nationwide Investor Portfolio Service earlier this year, though I can't recall if it's obvious from the IPS web site.

dunstonh

droopsnoot wrote: »

Aegon also took over the operation of the old Nationwide Investor Portfolio Service earlier this year, though I can't recall if it's obvious from the IPS web site.

Aegon bought Cofunds. The Nationwide IPS software was a cut down version of Cofunds software (more expensive fund share classes and limited selection). The layout on documentation was virtually the same. I dont know what they are doing with the Nationwide IPS but Cofunds is being integrated into a new platform under the Aegon brand soon.

Cotta

Linton wrote: »

Which one in particular? I cant see anything specific on https://www.aegon.co.uk/index.html. It all seems to be top down how rather than what.

When when we talk about "platforms" we usually mean an independently operated facility to buy, hold and sell from a vast range of investments from a large number of suppliers. The other option is to choose one supplier such as Aegon who offers access to their own in-house funds. The second way could well be cheaper and simpler but with a much more limited choice of investments.

It's the investment section at the bottom right of your link.