Portfolio+ service from Hargreaves Lansdown

dunstonh

So to invest in the VLS funds on the HL platform you will be paying costs of .67% on a pot of up to £250,000.

Technically, the costs are 0.78%. (0.45% for HL, 0.22% OCF and 0.11% transaction costs). Charges post MiFIDII should be total costs. If you only go by the OCF, you will see the more transparent firms being penalised by the less transparent firms.

Indeed, I tried about 18 months ago. At the time there was quite a few people on forums saying they got a discount from HL. I guess a lot of people then asked for the same thing, including me. The response was a flat "no". It was accompanied by a very patronising standard format letter telling me what wonderful value they were etc... As a result,

The FCA has been taking a dim view on mass discounting for no valid reason. Their position is that if you can offer the charges at that lower level when people ask for it and do so on a regular basis, then you are discriminating against others who are paying the higher charge. They have no issues with justifiable reasons (such as family links etc)

zagfles

dunstonh wrote: »

The FCA has been taking a dim view on mass discounting for no valid reason. Their position is that if you can offer the charges at that lower level when people ask for it and do so on a regular basis, then you are discriminating against others who are paying the higher charge. They have no issues with justifiable reasons (such as family links etc)

Maybe they are Corbyn supporters. Giving discounts to those who ask for them but not to those who don't is standard practice across most retail businesses. Broadband, phone contracts, boiler cover, even some shops (particularly clothing shops).

Set a standard price, and those who bother to negotiate get a discount. Pretty standard capitalism. Anyone who has a problem with that probably has a problem with the free market.

Maybe they should look at IFAs who boast of being able to haggle discounts on products or better rates on annuities

dunstonh

Maybe they should look at IFAs who boast of being able to haggle discounts on products or better rates on annuities

As that is a fact, there is nothing to look at. However, perhaps they should look at the providers that do it.

Yanling

Hi, can not say thank you folks enough with words . I would like to find two platforms in different providers to reduce risk, with read-made investing, managing and rebalancing by the provider, reasonable charge and less drawdown charge, for sipp and Isa.
what is your thoughts?

Joey_Soap

Yanling wrote: »

Hi, can not say thank you folks enough with words . I would like to find two platforms in different providers to reduce risk, with read-made investing, managing and rebalancing by the provider, reasonable charge and less drawdown charge, for sipp and Isa.
what is your thoughts?

If you mean two platforms to reduce risk? I wouldn't bother. The platform is just a wrapper. The underlying investments will be held in a separately fenced way for you, so that on the failure of a platform the underlying investments are still there. Of course, there is always the risk of outright fraud or theft, but that a different type of risk. I'd go with the cheapest platform that suits your needs. That way, you minimse your costs.

Audaxer

zagfles wrote: »

Not if you compare like with like, VLS are trackers, if you use their Tracker Portfolio the charges are generally lower than VLS funds.

Yes, the trackers suggested on the HL site are cheaper because they are individual indexes. VLS funds however contain a professionally selected portfolio of many index funds, so are more diversified that the 4 or 5 suggested indexes from HL for a few risk levels from Cautious to Adventurous.

I think VLS funds are probably worth the extra cost compared to individual indexes, but before multi asset funds like VLS came along, passive investors only had the option of choosing individual indexes and would have most likely had good long term returns. It would be interesting to see over the long term, and particularly in bear markets, how returns of 4 or 5 individual indexes covering 60% equity and 40% bonds and rebalanced annually, compared to returns of the VLS60.

Yanling

Hi, I contacted the vanguard life strategy, they do not offer SIPP. Does anyone know providers who offer ready made portfolios and managed and rebalanced they the providers. Thanks!