A good cheap investment manager ?

Cliddy

I've currently got a small to medium isa portfolio with fidelity. Because I'm fed up with them I want to look elsewhere for a manager. But have a couple of questions.

I have no issue changing banks, utilities, insurance etc etc. but am a bit reluctant to risk the ISAs with a dodgy changeover.

It would need to be reletively low cost fees.

Also what happens if the new provider doesn't offer a particular scheme I've got , let's say for instance Fidelity China?

Any advice appreciated.

eskbanker

Cliddy wrote: »

A good cheap investment manager ?

Do you want a good one or a cheap one? I think from your post that you're looking for platforms rather than investment managers, in which case you can review options and costs at sites like:

http://monevator.com/find-the-best-online-broker/
http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5583030

Cliddy wrote: »

Also what happens if the new provider doesn't offer a particular scheme I've got , let's say for instance Fidelity China?

You could try to persuade them to offer it, or leave it where it currently is (assuming you wouldn't be splitting current year ISA money, which is a no-no), or sell it and buy into something they do offer. At the risk of stating the obvious, the best thing to do is to research which platforms support your chosen investments in advance....

dunstonh

A good cheap investment manager ?

Cheap or good?

What do you mean by investment manager? Are you referring to someone that makes the investment selection for you or acts just as an administrator for your own decisions?

Also what happens if the new provider doesn't offer a particular scheme I've got , let's say for instance Fidelity China?

You wouldn't use an investment platform that doesn't offer the investments you want. It would be like buying a pedal bike and then moaning afterwards that there is no space to put the 3 other people that travel with you.

The focus should be on what you need first. Then cost. Not the other way around.

Cliddy

Yes, sorry I wasn't clear. I was referring to a different platform not individual investment advice.

I have about 25 ish different funds out of what is probably a choice of thousands.
I was under the impression that not all platforms necessarily dealt with all the same number/types of funds.
So when my ISA portfolio is transferred over from fidelity to company X, what happens when there is a mismatch, surely I can't just ask them to deal with a fund they have previously not dealt with ?

dunstonh

I was under the impression that not all platforms necessarily dealt with all the same number/types of funds.

Whole of market wrap platforms have virtually the lot. 30,000 odd investment options.

A small number still remain as just fund supermarkets but they are becoming fewer in number as time goes on. Most of them have converted or are converting to whole of market wrap platforms.

So when my ISA portfolio is transferred over from fidelity to company X, what happens when there is a mismatch, surely I can't just ask them to deal with a fund they have previously not dealt with ?

It wouldnt get to that stage.

if you did a cash transfer, then you have to tell them the fund you want to purchase before you transfer. if it was not available, you would know before the transfer is started.

if you did an in-specie transfer (or re-registration as it is sometimes known) then a fund supermarket would check it first. A whole of market wrap platform would just accept it.

Nowadays, I would likely eliminate fund supermarket only from my research unless you are sticking to really basic investments. If you are someone that builds their own portfolio of funds (which it sounds like) then make sure its a whole of market wrap platform.

lpgm

Cliddy wrote: »

I have about 25 ish different funds

That's a lot. You could take this opportunity to trim your portfolio down.

Cliddy

dunstonh wrote: »

Whole of market wrap platforms have virtually the lot. 30,000 odd investment options.

A small number still remain as just fund supermarkets but they are becoming fewer in number as time goes on. Most of them have converted or are converting to whole of market wrap platforms.


It wouldnt get to that stage.

if you did a cash transfer, then you have to tell them the fund you want to purchase before you transfer. if it was not available, you would know before the transfer is started.

if you did an in-specie transfer (or re-registration as it is sometimes known) then a fund supermarket would check it first. A whole of market wrap platform would just accept it.

Nowadays, I would likely eliminate fund supermarket only from my research unless you are sticking to really basic investments. If you are someone that builds their own portfolio of funds (which it sounds like) then make sure its a whole of market wrap platform.

Many thanks some good advice. Particularly how the funds could be transferred.
I realise that I could cash in the ISAs (ensuring they stayed within an ISA envelope) then repurchase within the new platform. That to me sounds like the easiest (laziest) way! And perhaps manipulate/tune my holdings at the time

Cliddy

lpgm wrote: »

That's a lot. You could take this opportunity to trim your portfolio down.

That's an interesting comment. I'm more than willing to learn. By the way, a certain tone can come over in these forums, so rest assured my following points are not intended to be critical.

Why do you feel it's a lot? Surely the number is determined by the amount you have to invest, your risks levels etc etc.
If I had £10 it's likely to be 1 fund if I had £1mill then it would be more than 25 ??
My funds are scattered around the world (probably wildly), surely just a limited number of global funds is eggs in 1 basket.

eskbanker

Cliddy wrote: »

Why do you feel it's a lot? Surely the number is determined by the amount you have to invest, your risks levels etc etc.
If I had £10 it's likely to be 1 fund if I had £1mill then it would be more than 25 ??

You said you had a small to medium portfolio, whereas 25 would be an unusually large number for a pot that's below six figures, given the difficulties of keeping it balanced and the costs of buying and maintaining a portfolio of 25 funds, as well as the fundamental issue of identifying the right mix to cover all the relevant bases in that way.

Cliddy wrote: »

My funds are scattered around the world (probably wildly), surely just a limited number of global funds is eggs in 1 basket.

The whole point of a global multi-asset fund is to spread the eggs across many baskets!

Alexland

Cliddy wrote: »

Why do you feel it's a lot? Surely the number is determined by the amount you have to invest, your risks levels etc etc. If I had £10 it's likely to be 1 fund if I had £1mill then it would be more than 25 ??

With multi asset funds it is possible to cover all reasonable risk levels with a single fund solution. The only reason I spit my accounts and fund managers is for a greater proportion of FSCS protection but I have a couple of six-figure accounts holding a single fund each.

Alex

OldMusicGuy

Cliddy wrote: »

Why do you feel it's a lot? Surely the number is determined by the amount you have to invest, your risks levels etc etc.
If I had £10 it's likely to be 1 fund if I had £1mill then it would be more than 25 ??
My funds are scattered around the world (probably wildly), surely just a limited number of global funds is eggs in 1 basket.

The number of funds should be determined by your long term investment objectives and your approach to investing. There's no magic "rule of thumb". If you are using single sector funds, you will need to diversify more than if you are using funds of funds.

For example, I have over 500K invested in three passive funds of funds. I am using the cheapest possible investment manager (me). That suits my investment strategy and objectives but my strategy is probably very different to yours, as I have just retired while I assume you still have some way to go.

You seem to be suffering from the mistakes that many inexperienced investors make of randomly picking funds on a scattergun approach without thinking about your long term objectives and also understanding what all the different fund types and investment options are on a modern pension platform. I did the same btw. It's taken me about 5 years of learning, reading and participating in this forum to get to a point where I am comfortable with my strategy.

You might want to take a look at my response on this thread (post 3): https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5879644