Pension fund advice needed please

Carinae

Hello All,
Trying to get a grip on my finances and my pension situation in particular!
My largest comp pension pot was moved to L&G in Dec by my old employer but I am a bit worried in case it is not in a good fund.

Legal & General : SL Global Absolute Return Strategies Pn £27K (GB00B5PHKN30) (charges 0.77%)
This only gets a “one crown” rating on Trustnet and a “Neutral” on Morningstar and I have no idea what it is invested in….it says Mixed assets which could be anything. Is this one any good or should I move it?

The two other small comp pensions are with Standard Life and The Peoples Pension and they look ok (I think).
Standard Life: SL 70:30 Global Equity Tracker (Vanguard) Pension fund (charges 0.284%)
70% in Vanguard FTSE All Share Index £22.4K (MS rate as Silver)
30% in SL Overseas Tracker Pn £9.6K (MS no rating but in line with the sector)

Peoples Pension B&CE Global Investments (up to 85% shares) £5K (85% Global equities/15% ? )
Peoples Pension B&CE Pre Retirement 0.5% Pn £5K (50% uk shares, 50% global)
(charges 0.5%)

I am planning to put £20K cash into an ISA with Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity Fund A Acc (MS Gold star) through IWeb or Halifax Sharedealing (thanks to Snowman for his wonderful Platform Charge Comparison Spreadsheet.)

I also have an old cash ISA at Nationwide £82K which I need to invest somewhere but I was thinking I would wait until after Brexit.... just in case.
Other info in case its relevant- I am 52, divorced and earn £32K pa.

Should I swap to a different L&G fund? Should I just merge the lot into a SIPP and pick one balanced fund? (there are no benefits to lose)
Have I got too much in equity and not enough in other things?

I would be so grateful for any thoughts or suggestions !

Thank you

dunstonh

This only gets a “one crown” rating on Trustnet and a “Neutral” on Morningstar and I have no idea what it is invested in….it says Mixed assets which could be anything. Is this one any good or should I move it?

Forget star ratings etc. They are not an important measure.

This is a very low risk fund. Defensive in nature. It is also a pretty awful fund. It is not a default fund. So, you must have picked it.

Overall, your fund selections are all over the place. You ask what mixed asset is but the you say you are investing in VLS60, which is a mixed asset fund.

Should I swap to a different L&G fund? Should I just merge the lot into a SIPP and pick one balanced fund? (there are no benefits to lose)

A SIPP is a product, not a fund. So asking whether you should swap out of the a fund into a product is not what you would so. Its a bit like asking if you should swap your drink and have a mug.

Have I got too much in equity and not enough in other things?

If you are unable to tell for yourself, why would you consider as SIPP? Why are you investing in the ISA in VLS60 if you are not yet able to tell?

You need to improve your understanding of where it currently is. There are certainly issues that need fixing but until you can understand the solutions/alternatives, the risk of doing something wrong is too high.

Carinae

Hi DunstonH,

Thanks for your quick reply. In answer to your points:

Forget star ratings etc. They are not an important measure.
…… Thanks that is useful to know.

This is a very low risk fund. Defensive in nature. It is also a pretty awful fund. It is not a default fund. So, you must have picked it.
……..OK! No I did not pick it. The L&G letter said they would invest in a like for like fund to my current investment….perhaps I was already in a terrible fund. OK I will aim to move it then.

Overall, your fund selections are all over the place.
……Yes, that is what I am trying to understand and perhaps one good reason to move all my pensions into one SIPP to balance the funds better?

You ask what mixed asset is but the you say you are investing in VLS60, which is a mixed asset fund.
………Yes but I can see the assets that are in the VLS60 fund on the fact sheet whereas I cannot find anywhere that tells me what assets are in the L&G fund.

A SIPP is a product, not a fund.
…….Yes I totally understand that. Apologies if that was not clear.

If you are unable to tell for yourself, why would you consider as SIPP?
……..Because if you have all your pension money in one place then it is easier to balance the mix of assets I would have thought.

You need to improve your understanding of where it currently is. There are certainly issues that need fixing but until you can understand the solutions/alternatives, the risk of doing something wrong is too high.
……….Yes I agree. I am trying to do that myself by listening to many podcasts, reading books, researching online and asking a question here. I am not going to do anything until I understand better. So for now I will group my current pensions by the different asset classes and assess whether the split of assets is reasonable for someone of my age and risk tolerance. I will then see if there is a multi-asset fund within a low cost SIPP that would be a better investment for me (bearing in mind the possible charges vs the current low fees on the pensions I have at the moment).

But useful to know that the L&G fund is not great!

Thanks for your help.

xylophone

DIY Pensions: A Simple Guide to Pensions, SIPPs & Retirement Planning by John Edwards might be worth a read.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5583030/coolly-comparing-investment-platform-charges-snowmans-spreadsheet

https://monevator.com/low-cost-index-trackers/

Carinae

Thank you Xylophone I will check those out. The book looks like it will be ideal and the Monevator article looks really useful....as do many of the other articles on that site in fact! Another great resource to get ideas from. Much appreciated.