Pensionlite and Old Mutual Wealth

dunstonh

March 18 is not that long ago and they are clearly saying they are independent there. Yet their website now in 2019 indicates they restrict by refusing to give advice on state pensions and workplace pensions. How can you give independent retirement advice without considering workplace and state pension? And the guidelines on IFA status is that any form of restriction means you cannot refer to yourself as an IFA. This is important as pension switching should consider the provision offered b the current workplace pension.

There is no reference to them being IFAs on their website. And we know IFAs always make a point of highlighting their IFA status. Although IFAs planning to go restricted will often remove references to being independent before they actually change. They can then say they are restricted but it wont change anything as they can use the same investments etc etc blah blah.

Maybe the transition to restricted took longer. Maybe they are holding out as long as possible and are still technically independent. Reading the article below, it still seems to be a work in progress to keep the pressure up.

https://www.covermagazine.co.uk/cover/news/2460652/intrinsic-puts-pressure-on-ifas-following-independence-audit

I'm also with Pensionlite and OMW (collective retirement fund) and have same concerns

Are you using Wealth Select or Self select range of funds (look at your statement - it tells you there)?
Or are you using OMW owned funds Cirilium?

If they are referring to themselves as an IFA and using OMW platform and using Cirilium then you really do have a pretty good case for being disappointed with them. However, technically, that is not a rule breach and they are allowed to do it along as there is suitable disclosure.

bob_a_builder

My statement indicates its Self Select

I recently looked to move further money from an SL fund into my account with PL, and their new recommendation was to move that money and the exiting money they held into the Cirilium fund, which I declined since it would have virtually doubled the fees

My original charges were 1.13%, moving to Cirilium would have taken it to 1.87%

They were supposed to be coming back with a solution nearer to my 1% target - heard nothing yet - need to chase

But I do feel mislead that I was dealing with an Independent FA @ March 18, when it seems they were anything but behind the scenes

dunstonh

I recently looked to move further money from an SL fund into my account with PL, and their new recommendation was to move that money and the exiting money they held into the Cirilium fund, which I declined since it would have virtually doubled the fees

Cirilium suggests a restricted selection.
Self select would suggest an independent/whole of market style selection.

That may reflect the journey they are on

Browntoa

Company representative posting without forum permission , post removed.

You need to approach forum team

Former_MSE_Tine

Hi, the company has asked for a right of reply. MSE doesn't endorse anything a company says on the Forum:

"We are happy to discuss your concerns, please contact Pensionlite on support@pensionlite.co.uk"

NeilC1965

I too am with Pensionlite following their free pension review back in march 2018. I transferred two DC funds into one using the OMW Collective Retirement Account and self select funds. My funds have experienced a fall off , but have slowly come back to where they were over the past 9 months . But then again, so has the stock market generally. You shouldn't expect returns to be good over a very short time period, although it's always nice if they are. You're in this for the long term: - 5 years plus , probably 10 to give a realistic return on your investment before you can really judge the success or not of an investment strategy. If you're not happy with poor initial returns , then perhaps investing in the stock market is not the right thing for you to do and you should look for a safer haven , i.e bonds or cash.
As for an IFA , I'm always doubtful as to how truly independent they can be and truly know the whole market . Won't they generally narrow in to a few funds that they like (although they are not tied to them in any way) , and repeatedly use these rather than truly understanding the constantly changing investment landscape?

dunstonh

As for an IFA , I'm always doubtful as to how truly independent they can be and truly know the whole market .

Better to use an IFA than an FA.
You are right, an IFA cannot truly know the whole market. However, they have software with filters that bring the options down quite quickly from thousands to a much more manageable level.

Won't they generally narrow in to a few funds that they like (although they are not tied to them in any way) , and repeatedly use these rather than truly understanding the constantly changing investment landscape?

That wouldnt be very compliant. Maybe a valid thing to say about investing a decade ago but not today. IFAs have to have investment and product governance and full audit trails showing how they got there and what was filtered out and why.

Having doubts is fine. However, that is no reason to use an FA that only retails their own platform.

T_251

I am a former employee of Pensionlite and I think there are a few points to make as you evidently dont understand how the IFA world operates as a whole and more specifically how Pensionlite market, advise and sell their products.

Since I had been with the company, they have always used what used to be Skandia (Now OMW) as a platform for their recommendations. The fact that 95-98% of business is/was conducted through OMW/Skandia is by the by, what you are getting access to is a platform of funds or to dumb it down in another way - a fund supermarket.

The analogy we would use would be usually imagine you have a corner shop (your old style pension product) and you wanted to diversify your weekly shop to include a range of different products you are going to find it:

A) Very expensive
and
Very restrictive

If you then compared your corner shop with a Supermarket (OMW/Elevate etc) where you had a plethora of products/funds to choose from, you will find that this sheer buying power or presence in the context of the platform, means that you get access to funds that are owned and managed by OMW (own brand supermarket products) as well as ones that arent (Kellogs, Mcvities etc) zt cheaper prices. The fact that you have so much potential to diversify your portfolio means that you can almost 'fine tune' the attitude to risk to suit, where as in Halifax's stakeholder pension plan for instance it has 2 funds - a cash fund and an equity fund so by definition you can only ever be risk averse, balanced or adventurous.

The fact that your investments seem to have not grown is not uncommon in new investments where a firm have taken an adviser fee and are now implementing a 0.25-0.75% annual management charge. You must give the investment time to embed and you should see the initial costs recouped in the first few years.

I now work for a much larger Wealth Management firm but I cut my teeth at Pensionlite and I really couldnt speak higher of the staff and the relationships we built up with the customers.

The Intrinsic acquisition was mooted back in 2015 and didnt officially complete until mid 2018 by which time the company were going through some massive changes, which I wont go in to.

It is inconceivable to expect an IFA to 'compare the whole market' as there is too much data to crunch on charges, performance, charge rebates, early withdrawal charges etc etc. What Pensionlite provide is access to a platform where you can diversify the investment and that is the key to it, not the firm but the investment opportunity.

I went to work for network after leaving and they recommended products that were cheapest without considering the investment approach, the funds, the fact that they might be better where they were. Suffice to say, I left swiftly.

If anybody wants to ask anything off the record about Pensionlite, I would be more than happy to discuss.

Believe me, you could do a lot lot worse than Pensionlite. They are extremely adept and have bags of experience. Most 'IFAs' work in a similar way, Pensionlite just put so much business on the OMW platform that it made sense to acquire them, as most IFAs' will go - part of a larger network that governs all their compliance etc.

dunstonh

Since I had been with the company, they have always used what used to be Skandia (Now OMW) as a platform for their recommendations. The fact that 95-98% of business is/was conducted through OMW/Skandia is by the by, what you are getting access to is a platform of funds or to dumb it down in another way - a fund supermarket.

Pensionlife are members of intrinisic. The same group as the OMW platform. Cirilium funds are also part of the same group.

So, you have the advisory firm, the investment platform and the investment funds are part of the same group.

95-98% of business going on the in-house platform and using in-house funds is not a good demonstration of being independent.

It is inconceivable to expect an IFA to 'compare the whole market' as there is too much data to crunch on charges,

Not correct. Plenty of IFA software available does just that.

. Most 'IFAs' work in a similar way,

If you mean placing a pension and selecting investments then yes that is correct. However, there is a big difference between a firm using its in-house product/platform and in-house investment funds vs an IFA selecting from the whole of market.

Indeed, this year we are removing as much from OMW platform as we can as it is a) no longer price competitive and b) its administration is dated. OMW is still using the old Selestia platform software from 2003. It was cutting edge back then. It is out-of-date now. I know OMW are moving to FNZ soon. That should improve processing but then you have plenty of FNZ based platforms with much lower costs.

Intrinsic are one of the last networks standing. They are heading towards vertical integration in the style of SJP. It is really the only way the network model can continue to be viable when the FCA has made it clear that the network carries the liability for everything.

archie17

When are Pensionlite going to comment on this thread?

Strange that a former employee can take the time to comment!