Pensions Advice

spriteautn

Hi All,
Im currently looking at setting up a private pension to save for my retirement. With a huge selection of Companies and various fees.
Can anyone you recommend or tell me which providers you use ?
Im not huge on risk, and like most want to reduce as much as possible the fees around. Also like most the better returns I can get the better.

Thanks

barnstar2077

Firstly, if you work for a company then you would probably be better off using their pension as they should contribute to it as well.

Low risk with high returns is not really a thing, but you can have low costs and select your own risk / volatility level. 

Personally I use one of Vanguard's Lifestrategy funds on their own platform for my SIPP.  It is cheap and simple.  Two qualities which I like a lot.

spriteautn

Thanks barnstar.
This would be a private one , nothing to do with company.  Indeed low risk and high returns doesnt happen often.

Just want money safe and earning decent return .
Will look into vanguard 

Cheers 

Prism

I use Youinvest as a platform which is a nice compromise between features and cost.
For my main investments I use funds from  Fundsmith, and Montanaro, mostly for their lower risk qualities (for equities) but as you say there are many choices out there. I also like Baillie Gifford's approach to investment.

Albermarle

Can anyone you recommend or tell me which providers you use ?

Of course you should research a pension provider that suits your needs with competitive charges.

However do not lose sight of the fact that your money is not actually invested in the pension as such, but in the investment funds within it.  Even small movements in financial markets/fund values can have an effect way above any 0.1% saved in platform/admin charges.

Just want money safe and earning decent return .

The only safe place for your money ( apart from under the bed ) is a savings account with a bank or similar .

To get a ' decent ' return means you can not avoid risk to your capital, whether it is with Vanguard or someone else.

You can  adjust the risk level to your own comfort zone but investing is never guaranteed 'safe' . In return for that you hope ( quite sensibly ) that you improve long term returns above those of savings accounts. 

tacpot12

I use YouInvest and have a Self-Invested Personal Pension with them. The fact that it is "Self-Invested" means that I have to choose what the money in the pension is invested in. However, this is the same with EVERY private pension; unless you are prepared to pay an IFA to decide what to invest in for you. Even if you go to a Pension provider who has a range of pre-built portfolios you still have to pick one of these; I'm not aware of any Pension provider who only has one portfolio you can invest in, so any private pension will require you to choose where the money is invested.

Expect to pay an IFA about 1% per annum for this service, but be aware that this is 1% of the fund value, and that this will be about 20% of the fund's performance, so if you can reduce this to 0.9% of fund value you will be much better off in retirement as a result.

spriteautn

Thanks had an old work place with aegon where you set your risk comfort level and each setting had a bundle of company sectors they invest in . 

dunstonh

spriteautn said:

Thanks had an old work place with aegon where you set your risk comfort level and each setting had a bundle of company sectors they invest in . 

Cheap, cheerful and probably not the best option available.  Although it may have ticked all the right boxes given your lack of knowledge and experience with investing.  These sorts of things are designed to prevent you from doing too much wrong rather than being the best.

cfw1994

dunstonh said:

spriteautn said:

Thanks had an old work place with aegon where you set your risk comfort level and each setting had a bundle of company sectors they invest in . 

Cheap, cheerful and probably not the best option available.  Although it may have ticked all the right boxes given your lack of knowledge and experience with investing.  These sorts of things are designed to prevent you from doing too much wrong rather than being the best.

How does one decide “the best” option available?

Albermarle

spriteautn said:

Thanks had an old work place with aegon where you set your risk comfort level and each setting had a bundle of company sectors they invest in . 

Presume you still have this and it is still invested and you a re being charged for it ? Do you know what the charges are ?
If so it opens up two other [possible options .1) Start adding your new contributions to it ( should normally be possible , probably need a phone call with them first though) 2) If you start a new pension , transfer this old one into it .
Or as you first thought about, open a new one and leave it where it is .
All three are valid. 

dunstonh

cfw1994 said:

dunstonh said:

spriteautn said:

Thanks had an old work place with aegon where you set your risk comfort level and each setting had a bundle of company sectors they invest in . 

Cheap, cheerful and probably not the best option available.  Although it may have ticked all the right boxes given your lack of knowledge and experience with investing.  These sorts of things are designed to prevent you from doing too much wrong rather than being the best.

How does one decide “the best” option available?

There's more than one way to skin a cat.    So, many options and methods could be "best".   And what is best for one person doesn't make it the best for another.    Suitability is probably the best measure.  If you get that bit right, then the rest is fine tuning.  That fine tuning will often be opinion based.