Interactive investor - going downhill?

economic

Hi

My dad is looking at opening a SIPP with interactive investor (current one is with hargreaves but the charges are just too high). He already has an ISA with them and never had a problem with service etc (had been with TD prior to the acquisition).

Looking at reviews online, it seems that service has gone downhill and i am worried about him transferring his pension to a SIPP with II, since SIPPs require more servicing i guess from the platform. Just trying to fill out the online form to open the SIPP account is difficult as many of the questions are ambiguous.

My question is for those who have SIPPs with them or had with them in the past, is my dad making a mistake going with II for a SIPP account?

Any suggestions for cheap but better alternatives?

goRt

Hard to believe, but yes it's getting significantly worse.
I'm waiting for my pension payment due late December, no response from iii!!!

Kayster

Have a read of the trustpilot reviews. Almost 100% 1 or 2 star since November. They were never good but are now in meltdown. Can take over an hour to answer phone and not responding to secure messages.
I moved my SIPP to them last year and it took 9 months and a formal complaint and compensation to get it completed. I currently have a tax query with it but am not wasting my time trying to chase it at the moment as my time is too valuable. It only looks reasonably priced if you place no value on your time and mental health.
Of course if you are lucky and have no problems you could be OK but given their level of competence a foul up is possible - just pray you do not need to contact them.

Alexland

economic wrote: »

Any suggestions for cheap but better alternatives?

It's very hard for us to comment without understanding the value, investments held, contributions and if drawdown costs are likely to be a consideration in the near future.

economic

Alexland wrote: »

It's very hard for us to comment without understanding the value, investments held, contributions and if drawdown costs are likely to be a consideration in the near future.

Apologies for not providing this in the first instance.

- Total value is around 200k
- Not in drawdown
- No more contributions to be added
- My dad has enough outside his pension for all expenses so will not draw on the pension
- Currently invested in funds which are unique to the platform he is currently with so it will need to be liquidated into cash before transfer is made. Plan is to invest into 3/4 trackers and managed funds/trusts.

economic

Given the poor record of service by II, is it possible they could be incompetent enough to commit some sort of fraud or serious error effecting me and my family's current investments with II?

TheTracker

Seems to me many of the complainers are in a drawdown phase or suffering transfer pain.

Personally, I am in the accumulation phase with a high 6 figure sum held at II. I’ve not had any problem with them in the 5 years or so I’ve been there.

Alexland

economic wrote: »

Apologies for not providing this in the first instance.

- Total value is around 200k
- Not in drawdown
- No more contributions to be added
- My dad has enough outside his pension for all expenses so will not draw on the pension
- Currently invested in funds which are unique to the platform he is currently with so it will need to be liquidated into cash before transfer is made. Plan is to invest into 3/4 trackers and managed funds/trusts.

In which case, for that value of funds, it's worth looking at Halifax SD / iWeb who would charge £180 per year but have trade costs. If your dad is making no further contributions this might not be an issue unless he is likely to be swapping out his investments frequently. Might be worth considering a multi asset fund such as VLS or HSBC GS to avoid rebalancing costs. I have a £12 per month direct debit which with £3 tax relief pays the platform costs and avoids me needing to ever sell units to pay fees.

Alternatively if he was willing to consider moving to ETFs then Jarvis XO is worth a look as they only charge trade costs (there is a refund of the SIPP costs).

For additional FSCS protection, and to spread risk as his investments grow, he could even split his investments across the two?

Alex

Drp8713

economic wrote: »

Apologies for not providing this in the first instance.

- Total value is around 200k
- Not in drawdown
- No more contributions to be added
- My dad has enough outside his pension for all expenses so will not draw on the pension
- Currently invested in funds which are unique to the platform he is currently with so it will need to be liquidated into cash before transfer is made. Plan is to invest into 3/4 trackers and managed funds/trusts.

If he just used Investment Trusts and ETFs his fees would be capped at £200 with HL which is 0.1% on £200k.

pip895

As above move to ITs and ETFs and stay put.

If you do move I would try transferring everything into a single multi asset fund that is common to both platforms rather than be uninvested for weeks or even months!

Also don't let the costs tail wag the investment dog - costs are not the be all and end all of smart investing. Even a relatively brief absence from the market could cost you far more than the accumulated extra costs at HL for many years.

le_loup

Drawdown or not, III are to avoided if he want's to remain sane. Obviously people who have been let down are more likely to complain here and elsewhere but III keep taking on more responsibilities even when they are in a mess already.

They obviously work with poor grade staff or do not employ enough staff, that's why they are competitive. A bit like government contracts going to the cheapest bids and then wondering why they have to take them back in-house.