Brooks Mcdonald

Kofi

I currently invest via HLansdown and have been advised that they have some sort of link with Brooks Mcdonald.  It has been suggested that I move to BM.Has anyone any thoughts or experience about this as I don’t seem able to find much out about it?
Thanks

moneysavinghero

https://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/news/hargreaves-to-refer-discretionary-clients-to-sandw-and-brooks/a775940

You must be a high net worth client. Are you happy with the service you get at HL or do you want to pay for managers at BM to advise you is basically what you need to decide.

dunstonh

Has anyone any thoughts or experience about this as I don’t seem able to find much out about it?

Advisers have the choice to go advisory or discretionary.   

Advisory, the most common, means the adviser firm makes the investment decisions and controls the research and due diligence (although nowadays most of that tends to be bought in rather than carried out in-house). 

Discretionary means that the adviser firm passes the investment management to a discretionary fund manager (like BM).  It is far less work for the adviser firm but usually involves extra cost to you as you pay the DFM charges.  Some adviser firms will discount their adviser charge to reflect the lower level of work they are carrying out.  Most do not.

I am not a fan of DFMs.   The extra layer of charges doesn't seem to add any value most of the time (there are exceptions).   We have only 3 clients passed to DFM but they are for specific reasons where it makes sense.  The rest are advisory.   However, other advice firms put everything with DFM and do nothing on advisory.  So, it is a matter of opinion.

From experience of posting in this section for a very long time, I think I can say with confidence that the majority of regular posters here would be negative towards a DFM service on the basis of costs.  What is it that potentially appeals to you?

Kofi

The potential appeal is that we have been told it will cost less! However that doesn’t appear to be your experience?We are also concerned re the performance of HL Multi managed Funds and on raising this withHL have been advised to move to BM!! SO confusing and as you can probably tell I have little knowledge of these matters( but am trying!) We have been advised that BM results have been better than HL recently so thought it was a no brainer.
Perhaps putting it under the mattress is a better idea!
Thanks for your response.

Eyeful

Maybe I an doing something wrong, but I am not able to find them on the FCA Financial Service Register or on the LSE. What contact details do you have for them and how did you find out about them?

eskbanker

Eyeful said:

Maybe I an doing something wrong, but I am not able to find them on the FCA Financial Service Register or on the LSE. What contact details do you have for them and how did you find out about them?

OP misspelt the second word, omitting the first 'a'....

https://register.fca.org.uk/s/search?type=Companies&q=brooks+macdonald

dunstonh

The potential appeal is that we have been told it will cost less! 

I suppose everything is relative.  If you are starting from an expensive position, it could cost less.  If you are starting from a lower-cost option, then it would cost more.

However that doesn’t appear to be your experience?

Someone has to pay for the DFM.   

We are also concerned re the performance of HL Multi managed Funds and on raising this withHL have been advised to move to BM!

HL MM funds puts you are the more expensive position to begin with.

We have been advised that BM results have been better than HL recently so thought it was a no brainer.

Maybe you should seek independent advice rather than restricted advice.

Perhaps putting it under the mattress is a better idea!

No.  There is no question of suitability being met.   However, retail distribution doesn't just revolve around one restricted advice provider.

Alexland

It's very hard to compare as what you are currently doing with HL looks very expensive and what you might do with Brookes MacDonald also looks very expensive. Your accounts must have a reasonably high valuation for HL to suggest this but with total fees around 2% you are paying around 10 times more that someone with a similar sized portfolio doing it themselves with low cost funds and platforms. Still even paying high charges might be better than putting cash under the mattress. If you don't fancy learning to manage it yourself have you considered finding a local independent financial advisor?

Eyeful

As you have little knowledge on these matters, if the sums are large then your best option I would have thought is to seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser ( IFA) instead of from a Financial Adviser (FA) or a wealth management company. If the sums are not large, then you need to educate yourself  on how best to invest(DIY).

Voyager2002

Rather than simply keeping it under the mattress, you could do what many people on this forum recommend and plonk it all in Vanguard! This is unlikely to be the best investment for your particular circumstances, but the saving in fees might go a long way towards compensating for this.

Kofi

Our advice is from a HL financial advisor.How do I find anIFA who I can trust!? And what qualifications should they have?
Thanks