Why does PensionBee keep time-weighted return a secret?

KC12345

I have been largely content with PensionBee but am disappointed to learn that unlike most financial institutions it does not reveal time-weighted returns. This makes it impossible to compare it with Nutmeg, Moneyfarm, WealthSimple, Wealthify or just about anyone else. PensionBee says 'Research showed that for most consumers, a simple return was easier to understand and that reflects our value of Simplicity'. That sounds like blah to me. Why does PensionBee want to avoid comparison in this way?

Malchester

I am with PensionBee and in the main they are very good. I did transfer to Penfold but they were terrible so went back to PensionBee. What you need to remember is that PensionBee will only do what the majority of people want. Before I transferred to them I asked about making regular withdrawals without applying each month. They clearly said they were going to do it but hey have since said they will not do it as not many customer wants the facility. 

Thrugelmir

Majority of retail investors will be more interested in how much their portfolio is worth. Comparison to benchmarks adds little value. A large number of multi asset funds (eg Vanguard) don't benchmark at all. As there's no comparables available. 

KC12345

Malchester said:

I am with PensionBee and in the main they are very good. I did transfer to Penfold but they were terrible so went back to PensionBee. What you need to remember is that PensionBee will only do what the majority of people want. Before I transferred to them I asked about making regular withdrawals without applying each month. They clearly said they were going to do it but hey have since said they will not do it as not many customer wants the facility. 

Thanks for that. Where did Penfold go wrong for you?

KC12345

Interestingly, I just asked Penfold whether they display time-weighted returns and they didn't understand the question!

Thrugelmir

KC12345 said:

Interestingly, I just asked Penfold whether they display time-weighted returns and they didn't understand the question!

Unlikely a front line customer service operator would. Not something they actually need to know. 

KC12345

I find this extraordinary. How is anyone supposed to compare different firms' performance if time-weighted returns are not made immediately apparent? It should surely be an absolutely basic question for anyone involved in a financial institution, at any level. 

Malthusian

If you are trying to compare time-weighted returns the likes of PensionBee are not aimed at you.

PensionBee is aimed at people who just want to be able to press a few buttons and open a pension, while knowing that the investment will be sensibly diversified and by pressing those buttons they won't have put all their money in unicorn farms or cash. They don't have the time or interest to compare the performance of funds; if they did they would be opening an account with a platform where they would have a much wider choice of them.

It is largely meaningless anyway as past performance is not a guide to the future. There is no evidence that anyone can consistently beat the market by comparing bare-bones pension providers and predicting which of them will deliver higher returns.

Malchester

KC12345 said:

Malchester said:

I am with PensionBee and in the main they are very good. I did transfer to Penfold but they were terrible so went back to PensionBee. What you need to remember is that PensionBee will only do what the majority of people want. Before I transferred to them I asked about making regular withdrawals without applying each month. They clearly said they were going to do it but hey have since said they will not do it as not many customer wants the facility. 

Thanks for that. Where did Penfold go wrong for you?

KC12345 - 

I should never have transferred. I spoke to then on their web chat to ask a few simple questions but it took 45 minutes of chatting and the agent going away to check answers and I got nowwhere. However, after contacting them to complain one member of staff was great and answered all my questions. The transfer went OK. Then when I tried to make my first withdrawal they really didn't seem to know what to do and it took ages for them to sort it out. Then I was surprised that Penfold deducted tax from the taxable part of the payment as they used BR as the tax code. PensionBee always used the basic tax allowance code for my withdrawals. This meant I had tax taken off but - the payslip showed tax taken off but I received the full amount into my bank account. Penfold said they were correct and PensionBee were wrong. I decided then to go back to PensionBee as I was not going to be taxed every month (I am a non taxpayer at the moment) and, if they couldn't get simple things right what else might go wrong. Hope this helps