At a Loss

RetSol

If you have not yet seen it, this thread may be of interest - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6182717/wealth-management#latest. 

bigadaj

Thrugelmir said:

Jackson00 said:

Marcon said:

Jackson00 said:

He is of the opinion that the performance of his pension is not matching other people’s who transferred at the same time and used different advisors, 

Is this 'opinion' based on hard fact or simply vague conversations? People aren't known for admitting to former colleagues that their pension transfer probably wasn't a good idea and tend to present their poor choice to proceed in the rosiest light possible, if only to reassure themselves.

Jackson00 said:

I’m at a loss of what to say apart from telling my friend to dump these bunch of muppets and find himself a reliable IFA to look after his interests, I believe you need to have confidence that your affairs are being taken care of in the best way, any thoughts people, how easy is it to switch advisors? 

You are very dismissive about 'this bunch of muppets', who may actually be doing a very good job and following your friend's expressed preferences (possibly against their advice). It's easy enough to switch advisers, but doesn't guarantee better results, so undermining a firm when you know so little about the situation probably isn't the most helpful thing you can do.

My friend is simply comparing his investment performance with other people who used different advisors and has come to the conclusion that he’s worst off.         

With hindsight majority of investors would have invested elsewhere. Advisors don't possess crystal balls so cannot predict the future. Likewise people have different appetites for risk. 

I'm sure many advisors thnik they have golden balls though....

jamesd

Jackson00 said:

for instance what so called risk profile would you need to have ASI UK Unconstrained Equity in your portfolio?    

Any that permits some capital loss would suffice but the percentage held would increase with the risk level.

Performance is related to risk so it would be useful to have some idea of the equity:bond:property:other percentage split and actual performance. That could well have changed over time.

The UK percentage seems commonplace and not unusual for a mixture that might be effectively emulating
 a balanced managed fun. There's an entirely respectable line of thought that to reduce exchange rate risk prospective UK retirees should  have a substantial UK position.

sandsy

There's also a red flag in my mind about a 30yo being advised to do a DB to DC transfer. Most advisers who do pension transfers these days will generally not do them that far from retirement. Feels a bit like this was a money spinner for the adviser rather than your friend.