Where to start

jamesd

If you only want funds then all you need is a personal pension that offers the funds you want. If you want them and also shares, exchange traded funds, investment trusts, directly owned commercial buildings or a range of other things not allowed in an ordinary personal pension you'll need a self-invested personal pension. The extra options are what distinguishes a SIPP from an ordinary PP and an IFA can sell you either or both and you can yourself open either or both. The self-investing bit comes from holding individual shares that you select yourself.

A stakeholder pension is an ordinary personal pension with some price caps and friendly terms plus a low minimum monthly contribution; the general free market is now often comparable or cheaper.

You already have one personal pension, The People’s Pension. It has minimal options, less than most personal pensions.

An IFA is handy if you need ongoing help picking investments and don't want to learn. It's not that hard to start learning and just one fund, a global equity tracker, is an excellent starting point.

norsefox

jamesd wrote: »

If you only want funds then all you need is a personal pension that offers the funds you want. If you want them and also shares, exchange traded funds, investment trusts, directly owned commercial buildings or a range of other things not allowed in an ordinary personal pension you'll need a self-invested personal pension. The extra options are what distinguishes a SIPP from an ordinary PP and an IFA can sell you either or both and you can yourself open either or both. The self-investing bit comes from holding individual shares that you select yourself.

A stakeholder pension is an ordinary personal pension with some price caps and friendly terms plus a low minimum monthly contribution; the general free market is now often comparable or cheaper.

You already have on personal pension, The People’s Pension. It has minimal options, less than most personal pensions.

An IFA is handy if you need ongoing help picking investments and don't want to learn. It's not that hard to start learning and just one fund, a global equity tracker, is an excellent starting point.

Thanks. This is a helpful response.

I have no intention of buying specific shares. I would prefer to use funds and perhaps commercial property as part of a diversified portfolio. The value would start low but accelerate quickly (even with 0% growth) so I do have some time on my side to research as the benefits of changing allocations become more apparent.

‘My’ IFA owes me one more meeting so I will give him the chance to ‘sell’ me the options and we’ll take it from there.