Personal Finance Review following Reticence Years!!

[Deleted User]

For a variety of reasons (ignorance, naivety, caring for ill spouse) my father took out an offshore (income?) bond with Friends Provident International in 2013 - arranged by AFH Discretionary Wealth Management. Value of investment at start was £200k less (don't groan) 3% fees to AFH (we know better now).

The source of these funds was mainly Dad's cash ISAs and Premium Bonds as I recall.
As to how Dad (now 86) ended up with an offshore Bond, I dont know......his estate (half a bungalow and the rest of assets pre 2013 would have totalled £420k max.

Dad (thankfully) has excess pension income after outgoings, so why the bond was set up to give him £400 per month, I don't know. We stopped the £400 per month withdrawals in 2017 or rather we instructed Friends Provident & informed AFH that Dad wished to stop the £400 withdrawals but due to FP errors there was a delay in stopping the withdrawals. (is it worth complaining to FP - should we ask FP to detail what he may have lost in fund value following the withdrawals that continued in error?)

Sorry, my actual question for Dad is, can he move his investment management elsewhere ie away from AFH? (AFH has not contacted him in over 3 years for a risk/objectives review and when they do send a twice annual perf report of investment performance both the report & perf are poor (for a discretionary managed portfolio).

Apologies for being so ill informed but I am also checking whether this offshore bond is in anyway part of the Lifetime Settlement Trust that AFH Legal (part of AFH Wealth) set up for my father??? (He placed his 50% share of the bungalow within it - I own the other 50% having been left it by my darling mum, dad's wife). All of this was arranged whilst we were coping with Mum's dementia and battling (& winning NHS CHC care for mum) so it was an awful time.

In summary, I want to help Dad get the best out of his (hard earned) investments and I feel AFH do not deserve the fees they take. So:

1. we need to move the management of the funds within the Offshore Bond - is II or Iweb feasible and then choose a low risk balanced tracker fund (any thoughts)

2. if Offshore Bond is part of the Lifetime settlement Trust - what impact does that have on changing the management of the investment.

I am awaiting copies of Dad's AFH records via a Subject Access Request so he and I can try and track back through what actually has been done.

I have reams and reams of statements from AFH, but in the main they are Pershing holding statements - almost like a days trading statement - rather than any confirmation on what has been actioned.

All advice on how to tackle/approach the above would be gratefully received - the biggest worry for Dad & I is that we have not got a handle on what has been put in place.

We are porepared for you all to tell us that we have been shockingly bad at managing this but it was the hardest time in the world dealing with the fraudulent NHS over CHC whilst your most precious loved one is close to the end of their life.

Thank you again

dunstonh

Sorry, my actual question for Dad is, can he move his investment management elsewhere ie away from AFH? (AFH has not contacted him in over 3 years for a risk/objectives review and when they do send a twice annual perf report of investment performance both the report & perf are poor (for a discretionary managed portfolio).

Yes he can.

He can either tell FPI to remove the firm as servicing agent and end any servicing charges from the bond or he can appoint an IFA in their place.

1. we need to move the management of the funds within the Offshore Bond - is II or Iweb feasible and then choose a low risk balanced tracker fund (any thoughts)

I dont think II or Iweb have agency arrangements like that. They operate their own product range.

2. if Offshore Bond is part of the Lifetime settlement Trust - what impact does that have on changing the management of the investment.

It probably is in trust. It would just about be the only justifiable reason for arranging an offshore bond in that scenario. And yes, it will have consequences.

How is your dad's health? Bonds are excluded from the means test (unless deliberate deprivation of assets applies). So, if he qualifies for any means-tested benefits, then the bond doesn't exist for those. You could have £1mill in a bond and £500 in the bank and the means test would only show you have £500.

You need to be very careful if a) you bust the trust and b) you surrender the bond. It may be ok but bonds are a tax wrapper and not as simple as ISAs or unwrapped. Indeed, a high profile case saw someone made bankrupt by HMRC because they used the wrong withdrawal method. Had they used the other method and received the same amount, there would have been no tax to pay. So, it is important to get it right.

Albermarle

Looking at Dunston's comments above , I think the OP will have to get some professional advice from an IFA.
Even if only a one off job for a fixed fee.