Stick it all in Fundsmith SIPP???

beeza650

@OldScientist thanks, yup my non-pension stocks are all in Vanguard Lifestyle or HSBC. 80% stocks.
I need to look at that too and inject a bit more risk/upside/downside possibilities too.
My non-pension savings are earmarked for a house upgrade though so I'll need that all in the next 5 to 10 years - my goal there is to keep up with house price increases (it hasn't).

aldershot

beeza650 said:

NedS said:

Fundsmith has just 27 holdings according to their latest fact sheet, but I guess you know that. That's a huge concentration risk throwing all your eggs in one relatively small basket. There is no guarantee that the companies (or funds) that have performed well during the last 10 years will perform well during the next 10 years. Being so concentrated allows Fundsmith to outperform when they get things right, but equally they will under perform when they get things wrong.

I guess that's what I'm trying to figure out - how to pick a pension portfolio that's got a mix of "risky" stuff like Fundsmith but also some less risky investments. I contacted a few IFAs and their fees add up to a lot. More than enough for me to want to spend the time to try to sort it out myself - I'm just now trying to work out the best way to go about it.

DIsclosure. I worked with Terry Smith at Greenwell 30+ years ago. We have a big chunk of equity assets invested in the main fund and have done so for many years. This is opinion, not advice. 

Watch the last (or even previous) annual shareholders meeting on the website. Either you believe in the fund philosophy or not. If not, a low cost world index fund may be a better choice. I don't believe there's a better managed active fund out there. 
As pointed out, you could manage your own SIPP through HL for 45bp. Fundsmith charges are 1% so your total annual costs are under 1.5%. There are cheaper platforms than HL depending on the size of your pot, but I have always been happy with their service and efficiency, which does matter. 

I guess it's easier to stick with something that has been a success and allowed me to retire but I don't see that their portfolio is any more likely to fail than any other (random?) choice. They may under perform benchmarks at certain times, indeed they did last year (no commodities), but owning quality companies for the long haul with compounded growth suits me. 

Albermarle

beeza650 said:

I have this illustration of the performance of all the different pensions I have. 
No idea what the top L&G line is though as I don't think my IBM pension has done anywhere near that well.
What I'm seeing though is Scottish Widows, where the bulk of the money is, is not a great performer.
Does anyone know typically strong performing pension funds I should maybe be moving across to?
I intend to retire in 10 years.

Thanks

You might find the investing balance easier to manage if you had them spread over less pensions. Also admin/customer service wise/website functionality , companies like SW/Aegon/L&G are still a bit behind the times.

beeza650

Albermarle said:
You might find the investing balance easier to manage if you had them spread over less pensions. Also admin/customer service wise/website functionality , companies like SW/Aegon/L&G are still a bit behind the times.

Yes, that's what catalysed this, having 8 pensions is a bit nuts so I started to look into what the charges were with each (with varying degrees of success) and also what their performance was so I could decide what to consolidate on.
I'm coming round to thinking maybe the big Scottish Widows chunk to Aviva My Future Focus Growth S6 - and the rest to Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP where it will go in Fundsmith.

Does that sound fair?