St James Place Any Good

VWvandriver

Hi Im looking for some help, Ive got a financial advisor raging about St James Place and wanting to transfer my £50k pension from The Old Mutual to St James Place, Ive never heard of this company and when I google getting a few funny reports, are they any good, can anyone recommend a good company to use, Im going to be increasing my monthly contribution significantly for the next 15 yrs so its crucial I get this right

Thanks

AnotherJoe

They are very expensive and lock you in with high upfront charges that mean you can't get out without taking a big financial hit.

choccielover

I think if you do a search on this forum people have asked this before

I think they are considered expensive

dunstonh

St James Place Any Good

Restricted own-brand products. One of the most expensive options going.

Ive got a financial advisor raging about St James Place

Well he cant rave about anyone else as that is his effective employer.

can anyone recommend a good company to use,

The choice should either be DIY or use an IFA. All other options should be eliminated. If you dont want to DIY then most local IFAs will be fine. Just phone up several and compare costs and service.

Aegis

I may well be biased, but I can't fathom why anyone would use St James's Place instead of an independent adviser. They're generally much more expensive and wholly restricted to their own small range of investments. They're also still on a remuneration model that - to the rest of the industry - looks exactly like commission, the exact thing the regulator banned years ago due to potentially poor client outcomes.

VWvandriver

Thanks for the replies thats great, I will speak with a IFA

atush

IMHO they are not good. Go elsewhere.

Seabee42

This so called Financial Advisor is a salesperson for St James place. He gets no large fees from you if you don't give him your money, surprisingly enough that is what he wants.

MJH87

Hello all,

I have just come from a meeting with someone who works with St James' place. I was impressed with everything he said and am tempted to invest in one of their products. I am completely new to investment so the advice and management on offer is appealing, However, after Googling St James' Place I now find myself worried.

Here is what was advised; I contribute regularly to their "International Investment Plan". The fees would be between 2.2-2.7% per annum with no initial charges. He said that it would not be unreasonable to expect net returns of 6% on this investment. There is a sliding exit fee which starts at 5% (but this would be a long term investment anyway).

I have heard how expensive SJP are and was wondering how much cheaper would similar investments be using an IFA. Also are there any questions I should be asking to make sure I am making the right decision?

Thanks in advance

Triumph13

A reasonable expectation of long term returns from equities is probably something in the region of 4 and a bit % plus inflation - say about 7% gross. St James are kindly offering to take a third or more of that as their cut. I'd call that expensive.

dunstonh

I was impressed with everything he said

No-one can fault the marketing of SJP. They are trained to be as slick as possible and have material that looks top notch.

We had someone who has been a long term client of ours take a meeting with SJP recently and came back to us saying they would offer him this that and the other. I then pointed out that he already had those things and had for years and our charges were almost half SJP and the performance was better. But like most IFAs, we print things on laser printers in the office and dont spend a fortune on glossy publications than the investor would end up paying for in higher charges.

Here is what was advised; I contribute regularly to their "International Investment Plan". The fees would be between 2.2-2.7% per annum with no initial charges. He said that it would not be unreasonable to expect net returns of 6% on this investment. There is a sliding exit fee which starts at 5% (but this would be a long term investment anyway).

So, about a third to double the annual cost of what an IFA would do on a servicing cost and an IFA is not allowed to have any tie in (so none of that 6 year tie in rubbish).

Be way on their "no initial charge" comment. They normally charge 5% initial built into the investment price as a spread. They can discount this but they dont normally unless they know they are competing against another adviser.

Also are there any questions I should be asking to make sure I am making the right decision?

I have heard a number of IFAs saying that they have seen an increased level of recommendations of the SJP International Investment Plan because it prevents it from being taken away from SJP later on.

The International Investment Plan is on offshore bond. So, whilst a pension, ISA or unwrapped holdings leave their business vulnerable to moving to an alternative, the offshore bond cannot be cashed in easily without potentially significant tax issues and cannot be moved to another provider. It effectively ties you to SJP.

Offshore bonds are a niche option. I havent arranged one in nearly a decade and I can count the number I have done since 1995 on my fingers. They are not tax free. So, why isnt an ISA being recommended? Why aren't unwrapped holdings, which have a CGT and dividend allowance each year being recommended? What about future bed & ISA? What about pension?

Is it being recommended with some fake reason to justify a trust being set up?

Offshore bonds are a high-risk option. Indeed, I just completed our liability insurance renewal quotation form and it required us to list every offshore investment bond running on our books as the liability insurers consider offshore bonds a high risk advice area. So, I would be on guard as its an area that is open to abuse by sales people rather than proper advisers. In the right hands, it has a purpose. In the wrong hands it can be a costly mistake.