Self employed pension options

InhaleMood

Hi,
I have a number of old workplace pensions (Scottish Widows, Legal and General and NEST). 
I am now self employed and am paying as much as I can afford (not very much at all) into the NEST Ethical fund (0.3% annual management charge). 
I saw a couple of posts (on Reddit I think), saying that NEST isn't going to be the best place for most people to put their money, unless that's the only place your employers uses.

I am in the growth phase in the fund, and looking at Trustnet, the cumulative performance is - 
1 year = -0.3% 
3 years = 19.3%
5 years = 42%

If I look at something like the Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity Fund, it is:
1 year = -4.46
3 years = 10.99%
5 years = 22%

Am I looking at the wrong figures to compare performance? I do ideally want an Ethical fund, so I'm limited by that.

Albermarle

The main issue with NEST is that each of your contributions is subject to a hefty 1.8% initial charge. The low ongoing charge of 0.3% will compensate though, as long as you are there for many years.

I saw a couple of posts (on Reddit I think)
If you search the internet long enough, you will always fund plenty of opinions about everything.
For SW and L& G are not the most modern providers and both have clunky old IT systems.

Marcon

tanyasharma said:

Hi,
I have a number of old workplace pensions (Scottish Widows, Legal and General and NEST). 
I am now self employed and am paying as much as I can afford (not very much at all) into the NEST Ethical fund (0.3% annual management charge). 
I saw a couple of posts (on Reddit I think), saying that NEST isn't going to be the best place for most people to put their money, unless that's the only place your employers uses.

What justification/explanation was given for this sweeping statement? Do the reasons 'they' put forward apply to your situation - in particular, how old are you? If you are close to drawing your benefits, NEST's contribution charge (1.8% on all 'new' contributions - doesn't apply to transfers in from other existing schemes) might make it unattractive, even with a low AMC of 0.3%.

Have a look at https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pensions-basics and go to the section headed 'Pension options for the self employed' which might make useful background reading.

Then google on 'best ethical funds to invest in pensions UK' and you'll get plenty of links - although hopefully someone here will be able to be a bit more specific in terms of answering your question!

InhaleMood

Thanks @albermarle. I think I had only taken notice of the 0.3% ongoing charge. 1.8% seems a lot!

@Marcon, it was quite a sweeping statement, which is why I'm trying to do my own research and ask more knowledgeable people than myself!
I've looked on the Moneyhelper website, as well as many others, but it's a complex area so I'm hoping someone might be able to help.

Thanks