Money with St James Place

murph2001

Hi I have funds invested with St JP wealth and have been with them since my old financial advisor joined them and took our investments with him.Upon reflection I think this was better for him than us but I can't change that now. At 1st investments made some money so I didn't really notice the fees. I have become increasingly fedup with them as a company through various reasons and  now the biggest reason my fund is losing money is their fees.Also have Nest pension pot and saw on there that I can transfer in funds from other schemes. Although there is a fee to do it their yearly fees are a lot lower then SJP. Tried to do it and have been told that because I took a tax free lump my funds are now what they call crystalised and that means I can't move them to nest.Have only about 4 to 5 years to retirement and I feel it wasn't explained properly that taking a tax free sum has locked my money in with SJP. So  is there any other way of combining my investment into nest without incurring huge fees . Thanks 

dunstonh

and  now the biggest reason my fund is losing money is their fees

No it is not.  SJP are one of the most expensive distribution channels but their charges are not that high.

 Although there is a fee to do it their yearly fees are a lot lower then SJP.

There is no initial fee to transfer into Nest.

Tried to do it and have been told that because I took a tax free lump my funds are now what they call crystalised and that means I can't move them to nest.

Many basic schemes do not offer drawdown functionality.  

Have only about 4 to 5 years to retirement and I feel it wasn't explained properly that taking a tax free sum has locked my money in with SJP.

It hasn't locked you in with SJP.  So, you wouldn't be told that.

. So  is there any other way of combining my investment into nest without incurring huge fees .

No.  Nest is not designed for that purpose.

Mothman

I expect it is because Nest do not offer drawdown and so won't accept crystallised funds, but you should be able to transfer to another provider who offers drawdown. Also check if SJP will apply any penalty for transferring out.

murph2001

Thanks for the info will check out other providers a get some more advice .

MX5huggy

You’ve probably dodged a bullet, nests contribution charge is a ridiculous 1.8% off set by their low annual charge which works well for people investing for decades but no good for you.

Most fully featured platforms can take crystallised funds. 

Albermarle

MX5huggy said:

You’ve probably dodged a bullet, nests contribution charge is a ridiculous 1.8% off set by their low annual charge which works well for people investing for decades but no good for you.

Most fully featured platforms can take crystallised funds. 

Transfers into Nest do not incur the 1.8% fee that is levied on new contributions.

gm0

Re: SJP and exit.  

It will be stay and pay (current fees) or leave and pay some of those fees twice (to the new (cheaper) and to the old provider SJP).  This will likely be for a subset of contributions that are less than a few years old. 

This is an exit charge dressed up as something else.

Older SJP contracts for the pension product (I can't speak to new customer terms now) have a clause which levies the "ongoing charge" for a fixed period on each fresh contribution added to the plan - regardless of whether you stay with the plan or not - it's "due" and will be paid as run cost in year x,y,z.  Or will be paid on exit (netted off).  Paid either way. 

The deferred charge on new money is ramped down (paid) over a period of years. 
It appears in their annual correspondence - once you are in the product. It's not hidden away but it is not highlighted in the sales process.  Ultimately the encashment value of the investments sold to cash for transfer out and the amount you actually get to transfer converge.

If you *have* been adding to it - deferred contingent charges for the new money keep being added - laying more "lock in" track in front of you

In the end it's just contractual terms and design of fees - in/run/out - i.e.  it is what people sign up to - even if most here would regard it as a poor practice found in only a subset of the tied FA market.

handful

There is a 7 year sliding charge for exiting SJP. That runs from the date of each contribution that you've made. I have an investment with them as well which I am biding my time with to transfer into my SIPP when the charges expire.

jesone

I sense that the general consensus is to avoid SJP. Is that correct?

handful

jesone said:

I sense that the general consensus is to avoid SJP. Is that correct?

They do very well for some of their clients who are happy with their choice of investments. The main issue is they are not independent so can only recommend their own products which may not perform as well as others (or could perform better!). On the other hand they normally appear very professional and use very nice stationery! I will be moving my investments when the charges are expired and probably wouldn't have chosen to go there if I knew then what I know now. Just my personal opinion of course.

Albermarle

handful said:

jesone said:

I sense that the general consensus is to avoid SJP. Is that correct?

They do very well for some of their clients who are happy with their choice of investments. The main issue is they are not independent so can only recommend their own products which may not perform as well as others (or could perform better!). On the other hand they normally appear very professional and use very nice stationery! I will be moving my investments when the charges are expired and probably wouldn't have chosen to go there if I knew then what I know now. Just my personal opinion of course.

They are good at keeping clients happy, with personal contacts etc
The charges are on the high side, but the worst part is that you are locked in with them for a long time.