St James Place Wealth Management

segovia

https://www.sjp.co.uk/charges/pensions-charges 

There is a lot of negative press about STJP, specifically in the Times, how true is it. A close friend is a bout to get her 1 Million £ DB scheme transferred to STJP. Should she be worried? Her husband already transferred his a few years ago, similar pot 

Stubod

..loads and loads of threads on SJP...just do a search.

Main "problem" seems to be mediocre performance and high charges .....could do better?

cloud_dog

Stubod said:

Main "problem" seems to be "so so" performance and very high charges.....could do better?

Yes but, have you seen the quality of their brochures 

Stubod

...and their advisors do seem to drive very nice cars...so it's reassuring to know your money is being looked after!

WYSPECIAL

A friend used them recently and recommended them. I got an email with loads of info, saw their fees, and nearly fell off my chair laughing!
I didn't take my query any further.

ex-pat_scot

Costs.
Restricted investment options (own brand funds)
High ongoing fees.
Huge exit penalties.

Great coffee though.

segovia

If my calculations and interpretation of their charges is correct, 1M investment £45,000 one off fee and £68,000.00 PA ongoing of which 1% is locked in for 6 years. Exit fees are 1% per year on a sliding scale. 

4.50%	£              45,000.00	Initial Advice
0.50%	£5,000.00	IFA Ongoing Fees
1.90%	£19,000.00	Portfolio Charges Median
1.90%	£19,000.00	Fund Charges Median
1.50%	£15,000.00	Initial Product Charge
1.00%	£10,000.00	Product Management Charge
	£68,000.00

segovia

PS - they said they would not charge a fee for the DB transfer, its all included  

MX5huggy

You shouldn’t be “worried” compared with say them saying they’ve moved their pension to a Spanish property bond fund guaranteeing  15% returns. 

Are they actually asking your advice/opinion? They are clearly fairly rich and will be just fine. I hope they like golf.  

segovia

MX5huggy said:

You shouldn’t be “worried” compared with say them saying they’ve moved their pension to a Spanish property bond fund guaranteeing  15% returns. 

Are they actually asking your advice/opinion? They are clearly fairly rich and will be just fine. I hope they like golf.  

No, we are staying out of the conversation its their choice. My wife is also talking to another IFA about her DB scheme and I am using STJPM as an example that not all of these organisations are completely transparent and fair with their charges.  At the end of the day these organisations and their advisors number one priority is to generate profit for the firms and put bread on the table of the advisors , or a Porche in the garage if you are STPPM IFA.    

ColdIron

Those Porsche Cayennes won't pay for themselves

In seriousness, the criticisms are well founded. There is nothing wrong with their advice but you will be restricted to their own in-house funds rather than whole of market. Nothing wrong with their funds but they tend to be mediocre, some often feature in 'dog funds' lists

The most frequently highlighted issue is their charges. Whereas most advisers are now required to make an explicit charge for advice, SJP (because of their business model) continue to 'bundle' them with their other charges which makes them less transparent

From memory (as I can only see a mostly blank page from your link), for unit trusts in an ISA they levy a circa 5% initial fee on fund purchases. This method of charging for advice is practically unheard of elsewhere. A friend of mine with SJP is continually worried about 'churn' when being advised on change of investments

Within a pension there is a tiered early exit fee, 6% if 6 years remaining, 5% for 5 etc. Again this is to pay for the advice but it can make leaving them expensive if you change your mind

Still, they do have many happy clients (my friend amongst them, although he has chosen to self select elsewhere for new money). A lot of it comes down to your relationship with your 'partner'