advice for starting a new pension

lanaby

I need to start a private pension but am loathe to pay 3% to an advisor that I might never use again and then pay the pension company's fees on top. can anyone tell me other ways to find out how to find a decent pension ie is there a table of consistently good performers? I don't know much about the stock market so probably couldn't choose for myself how the money is invested. If I paid a one off fee to an advisor can anyone give me an idea of a reasonable fee and would they give me the same advice knowing they wont get a percentage?
many thanks.

dunstonh

I need to start a private pension but am loathe to pay 3% to an advisor that I might never use again and then pay the pension company's fees on top.

What makes you think you pay 3% to an adviser?

can anyone tell me other ways to find out how to find a decent pension ie is there a table of consistently good performers?

There are fund performance tables but you need to understand that different sectors perform differently at different times and even funds within the same sector have different aims and objectives as well as risk levels so tables need to be read with an understanding of why that fund is likely to be top.

If I paid a one off fee to an advisor can anyone give me an idea of a reasonable fee and would they give me the same advice knowing they wont get a percentage?

Problem is that whilst what you want is quite limited, it carries a lifetime of liability and a heck of a lot of paperwork just to answer the simple question. (for example, it would still need a factfind completed and a report written and research documented and filed for the rest of your life).

So, I would estimate a couple of hundred pounds on fee basis.

Perhaps a better approach is not to assume what an adviser is paid and actually find out. In your case, a pension provider with the facility for the advice fee to come direct out of the pension is better or a stakeholder pension. The former means you get tax relief against the fee and its done and dusted over the first few years but you gain the long term benefit of a lower annual management charge as that doesnt cover the cost of advice. The latter is a budget pension scheme with no initial charges and a maximum annual management charge.

lanaby

I visited an advisor last year and he told me his fee was 3% which scared me off. I do have a Stakeholder with Virgin but thought you needed to earn under a certain amount to be eligible and my earnings have increased since I took it out. I also want something with higher risk as I have 29 years of working life ahead of me. Maybe I'll shop around for advisors... thanks for your help.

dunstonh

I visited an advisor last year and he told me his fee was 3% which scared me off.

So, if I tell you that you can buy a car costing £300k would that stop you buying a car ever again?

What was the fee in context to the charges? Was it really a fee or was it a commission? Perhaps if it was a fee, this was reflected by a reduction in annual management charges.

I do have a Stakeholder with Virgin

Which has to be the worst stakeholder pension available. I'm not just saying that now either. You can do a forum search and see that it has been called the worst stakeholder many times before.

An IFA could have earned upto 7.5% commission and still come in cheaper than Virgin.

but thought you needed to earn under a certain amount to be eligible and my earnings have increased since I took it out.

There is no difference on contribution rules with stakeholder, personal or SIPP.

I also want something with higher risk as I have 29 years of working life ahead of me.

Probably a good call. Especially with monthly contributions.

Maybe I'll shop around for advisors

If you do, remember to pick IFAs only. NEVER see a insurance company rep. Also remember that IFAs are not all equal. So never assume that the costs from one will be the same for all. Think of IFAs as retailers and that the same product could be cheaper with different ones.

lanaby

thanks for the advice... I'll do some shopping around.