Struggling with Hargreaves Lansdown - should I try PensionBee?

simonp

So I've had a 'traditional' pension with Standard Life for 20 years that I felt I was paying too much for so I moved to Hargreaves Lansdown but happy to admit I haven't got a clue what I'm doing If I look at their manage funds they're even more expensive than my old pension so I'm wondering whether PensionBee is worth trying?

I just need to choose a medium risk option and let the service do the rest. This seems to be much more PensionBee's thing - does that seem right?

I'd love to use an IFA or similar but refuse to pay them 1-2% of my pension pot for advice!

El_Torro

I don’t have any experience with PensionBee but from a quick look at their website they don’t seem to be any cheaper than HL.

The bundled fund options that HL offer are expensive and not recommended. If you invest in a global multi asset tracker fund (Vanguard Life Strategy, HSBC Global Strategy, etc...) this is OK though, and should be similar cost or even cheaper than PensionBee.

xylophone

https://moneytothemasses.com/saving-for-your-future/pensions/the-best-cheapest-sipps-low-cost-diy-pensions

https://monevator.com/low-cost-index-trackers/

https://monevator.com/using-vanguard-lifestrategy-funds-life/

JonathanBFS

But you are happy to sit out of the market and lose out on growth. In addition go to higher charging lower performing funds, rather than pay 1 or 2%! 😑

gm0

Bit of a piece of string length question I am afraid

What your pension money should be invested in depends on many things - how old you are, how and when you plan to take the benefits (tax free cash, drawdown, annuity), risk appetite (emotional and financial (to deal with temporary losses during volatility while saving, approaching, in retirement.  All different.  And your income needs, and your dependents. etc. etc.  We know nothing about you beyond ~40s.

Even on Pension Bee there is a choice of about 8 options and some of them have age related changes built into them "lifestyling" (selling equities as you approach retirement which may or may not be what you want them to do). So some self-education on what you want to hold and when now and later and why still seems prudent.
 
I went and had a quick look at the 8.  It doesn't look terrible.  They have "one" of most things people would likely need.  Friendly web site. But if there is *any* aspect of the "one" item offered in each category that doesn't suit you then they are likely not for you and someone like HL where you already are is probably is a better fit with its larger choice of investments.

PensionBee is a "simple" wrapper product packaged to appeal to people finding pensions and investment a complex topic they would rather not engage with. That it presents as "modern and digital and a challenger" and trying to position as "the people to go to to sweep up multiple pensions tidily". The we have chosen for you option.  Most DIY folk on here will not fancy it.  From cost (too high +  lack of choice (too simplified). I don't particularly care for it.  I haven't heard anything that horrible about them. 

Do they do anything that radically new.  Not really. It's regulated.  Most of what is going on underneath is with the usual suspects.  It's a pension. It's a wrapper to hold investments.  It costs X bundled varying with fund and fund size.

Can you do what you likely need to do at HL to build a portfolio.  Very definitely.  It will involve some self education. Forum. Monevator blog.  Lars Kroijer videos, PensionCraft youtube channel.   Is HL over complex/flexible for what you currently want - it very well could be.  It could be cheaper or more expensive than PensionBee based on what you pick and why and your fund size

Compare the costs (for similar assets - equities and bonds passive, active - ignore shrapnel) and see if the package of product and support from each and the degree of helping hand suits you at the price on offer.  Perhaps as an exercise look at the pension bee "tracker" option (the cheapest) and go and find a similar range of multi-asset product on HL (Vanguard Lifestrategy and HSBC will have options along with others).  Then look at "tailored" alternatives in the same way i.e. based on what is held in it - if that's more your preferred approach.

Handily Pension bee have a slider to show fund charges vs fund size as the moderately scary headline prices do drop for larger funds and the extra little "sip" they are taking gets smaller

dunstonh

So I've had a 'traditional' pension with Standard Life for 20 years that I felt I was paying too much for so I moved to Hargreaves Lansdown but happy to admit I haven't got a clue what I'm doing  If I look at their manage funds they're even more expensive than my old pension so I'm wondering whether PensionBee is worth trying?

Pensionbee is great for small pots but that is possibly more than your SL pension anyway (unless you had a rare particularly expensive one - most SL pensions fall within the 0.3% to 1.0% range for internal funds - more for external funds).

I'd love to use an IFA or similar but refuse to pay them 1-2% of my pension pot for advice!

Figures of 1-2% initial are a very common charging model.  So, you wouldn't have to pay more.   You have probably lost out on more than that by dithering and IFA platforms are cheaper than HL.

simonp

Thanks everyone (particularly gm0 for your thorough response). I'll try and get to grips with HL again and go from there!

Albermarle

simonp said:

Thanks everyone (particularly gm0 for your thorough response). I'll try and get to grips with HL again and go from there!

As said ignore their own funds /solutions which are expensive and just use them as a platform to buy and hold other peoples lower cost funds.