True Potential - good idea or not?

Seabee42

True Potential "Wealth" is very much akin to St James place. I am not saying you should or shouldn't transfer but why not use a proper independent advisor if you want that option.

Kit_Katt

Pension funds if invested wisely are sheltered from the daily ups n downs of the stock market bence with the carnage that went on last year with a circa 20% drop in the Dow and FTSE my funds fell 6% ish ... the funds that im in are a spread and have a cash element also that avoids that double didgit drop.

In my entire pension fund investment more than 35 years i have never seen that kind of fall. The upturn we all saw in 2016 had some large currency gains and at that point when most saw unprecedented 20% plus growth i moved into less volatile funds to lock in that growth .

Since beginning of 2017 my fund is circa 8%+ YTD despite a horrific year last year.

dunstonh

Pension funds if invested wisely are sheltered from the daily ups n downs of the stock market bence with the carnage that went on last year with a circa 20% drop in the Dow and FTSE my funds fell 6% ish ...

You mean, your particular pension was. If you invested in a pension fund linked to the FTSE or DOW then it would have returned similar to the FTSE or DOW. Being a pension fund does NOT shelter you from losses if the area invested in makes a loss.

Also, being too cautious can actually increase shortfall risk.

In my entire pension fund investment more than 35 years i have never seen that kind of fall.

Perhaps you were not looking?
Perhaps it passed you by between statement dates?
Perhaps you are invested too defensively?

MallyGirl

dunstonh wrote: »

You mean, your particular pension was. If you invested in a pension fund linked ot the FTSE or DOW then it would have returned similar to the FTSE or DOW. Being a pension fund does

NOT

dunstonh wrote: »

shelter you from losses if the area invested in makes a loss.

I think this is what you meant

bostonerimus

Albermarle wrote: »

Are you aware that DB pensions are treated much better in LTA terms than having a pot of money.
So if you took the £30Kpa , it would count as £600K towards the LTA + any lump sum paid .
Whereas if you did the transfer it would count for over £1million and more after it had grown for a few years .

With the OP's assets the 1M lump sum is attractive for it's flexibility and potential growth, but taxes are an important factor and should be included in the choice between 1M and the 30k DB pension. An equally important factor is the fees that will be associate with having 1M invested vs the low cost and simplicity of getting a DB check every month.

Given the OPs DB pensions and other assets I'm leaning towards taking the 1M, but only if the OP knows enough to either manage it themselves or get a good deal out of an IFA. I certainly wouldn't be happy to pay the 1.71% the OP has been quoted as that's 17k and around half of their annual sensible income drawdown.

Prism

Kit_Katt wrote: »

In my entire pension fund investment more than 35 years i have never seen that kind of fall. The upturn we all saw in 2016 had some large currency gains and at that point when most saw unprecedented 20% plus growth i moved into less volatile funds to lock in that growth .

Since beginning of 2017 my fund is circa 8%+ YTD despite a horrific year last year.

Its all down the the investor risk level. Last year for example I did see a 20% drop but ended the year only about 3% down. Nothing especially wrong with 20%+ falls as long as the investor can handle it. The end result is usually better in the long run.

The fact that you are only 8%+ since the start of 2017 tells me you are investing conservatively at the moment. I wonder how many others panic sold last year and have still not bought back in

bostonerimus

Prism wrote: »

Its all down the the investor risk level. Last year for example I did see a 20% drop but ended the year only about 3% down. Nothing especially wrong with 20%+ falls as long as the investor can handle it. The end result is usually better in the long run.

The fact that you are only 8%+ since the start of 2017 tells me you are investing conservatively at the moment. I wonder how many others panic sold last year and have still not bought back in

At the beginning of 2019 I was down around 10% from my peak value just a few months earlier. My simple 75%, 25% equity and bond index tracker portfolio has since gained everything and more back. My investments gains are 25% since Jan 1st 2017 and I have done absolutely nothing to my portfolio.

Madeinireland

Folks,

I thank you all for your comments which I have found very interesting. It does seem to certainly split opinion but one thing seems unanimous is that the costs seem too high from a True Potential.

I will be checking with another IFA (whole of market this time) next week. Unless he tells me otherwise I’m more inclined to stick with the DB pension option and work with the IFA to get my other assets (including the sizeable lump sum) into the best possible shape and have the £30k DB scheme as a solid floor.

Some may say I’m being a bit of a wuss in not taking the risk but I’m beginning to think that I’m lucky with my position already and perhaps I ought not to be too greedy.

Thanks again...

Pension_Geek

Madeinireland wrote: »

Folks,

I thank you all for your comments which I have found very interesting. It does seem to certainly split opinion but one thing seems unanimous is that the costs seem too high from a True Potential.

I will be checking with another IFA (whole of market this time) next week. Unless he tells me otherwise I’m more inclined to stick with the DB pension option and work with the IFA to get my other assets (including the sizeable lump sum) into the best possible shape and have the £30k DB scheme as a solid floor.

Some may say I’m being a bit of a wuss in not taking the risk but I’m beginning to think that I’m lucky with my position already and perhaps I ought not to be too greedy.

Thanks again...

The default position is that you would be better off staying where you are. The sums can be eye watering, but the risk is high for a transfer, which is reflected in the requirement for specialist advice. I wouldn't worry about being a 'wuss', you have to do whats right for you.

dunstonh

I will be checking with another IFA (whole of market this time) next week.

Have you already seen an IFA then? (you mention "another"). Or are you mistakenly referring to the TP rep as an IFA? TP are FAs not IFAs.

It is important to get this right and remember that FAs will often try and SPIN their status to make you think they are independent. Indeed, research many years ago found over half of people seeing an FA thought they were seeing an IFA. Independent is the only protected word. Restricted FAs can use words like whole of market or unbiased. Whole of market may sound similar but what that means is they have removed a range of areas or product types from the ability to advise but will consider the whole of market in the areas they do transact in. Often that means removing VCTs, EIS, ITs, ETFs etc. They then tend to get mission crawl where they start having centralised investment propositions (own brand funds like cirrilium or others)

Some may say I’m being a bit of a wuss in not taking the risk but I’m beginning to think that I’m lucky with my position already and perhaps I ought not to be too greedy.

If it makes you feel better, staying in the DB scheme is, historically, considered the best action in 9 out of 10 cases. It is a bit less than that at the moment due to the inflated transfer values. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be comfortable in retirement without worrying about things you have no real previous experience of.