Close Brothers SIPP - new fees

hazyfish

Hello all, 
I've had a SIPP with Close Brothers Asset Management for a few years now. Just got an email from them today saying that they are introducing a new annual admin fee of £150 a year plus VAT. 
'Currently, the only fees you pay for your Close SIPP are for specific transactions or income withdrawals, as we have previously included the cost of administering the SIPP within the custody and administration fees they pay for investments held on our platform. While we are aware that any increase in fees is always unwelcome, this is the first time we have increased fees for the SIPP since its introduction ten years ago and, in that time, the regulatory and administration costs of running the SIPP have increased substantially. '
I'm quite gutted about this, but wondered if I've been getting a good deal and it's caught up with me?? Does anyone know if other SIPP providers charge an admin fee in the same way ? I'm wondering if i can switch and save on this. Or am i better off staying where i am ? ( i have about 50,000 pounds in my pension at the moment)
Any advice gratefully received, thank you.

hazyfish

PS i also pay a platform fee of 0.25% 

Albermarle

The only sure way to know if you have a good deal is to compare the total cost pa with other providers .

Take a well known fund , like say HSBC global strategy balanced -OCF 0.18%

Then with HL 0.45% + 0.18% = 0.63% of £50K = £315 ( no buy/sell charges) 
HL are the most expensive of the well known platforms , so if you would be paying more than that to hold the HSBC fund with Close Brothers then.....

Thrugelmir

SIPP's require administration. Trading fees are hitting rock bottom. Thanks to no frill providers . Costs have to recouped somehow. 

EdSwippet

hazyfish said:

... Does anyone know if other SIPP providers charge an admin fee in the same way ? I'm wondering if i can switch and save on this. Or am i better off staying where i am ? ( i have about 50,000 pounds in my pension at the moment)

Probably worth a look at this comparison table:

Best trading platforms and stock brokers - Monevator

The absolute cheapest place for your SIPP depends on what you hold (ETFs, OEIC, stocks, a mix, ...), and how often you trade things, so you need to factor all of these in to your selection.

EdSwippet

Thrugelmir said:

SIPP's require administration. Trading fees are hitting rock bottom. Thanks to no frill providers . Costs have to recouped somehow. 

How does this answer the OP's question in any way?

michaels

I notice there is no sign of them increasing the interest rates on their notice account / fixed rate bonds sipps despite the two increases in the base rate - time to ditch and switch methinks.

Thrugelmir

EdSwippet said:

Thrugelmir said:

SIPP's require administration. Trading fees are hitting rock bottom. Thanks to no frill providers . Costs have to recouped somehow. 

How does this answer the OP's question in any way?

Going to impact across the board eventually. Market loss leaders can only be sustained for a given period of time. Normally when the customer base has reached a level when losing unprofitable ones is of no consequence. 

Thrugelmir

michaels said:

I notice there is no sign of them increasing the interest rates on their notice account / fixed rate bonds sipps despite the two increases in the base rate - time to ditch and switch methinks.

No requirement to raise money at the current time. Close is a relatively small banking operation.