Brooks Macdonald/Radcliffe & Co

hotncold47

In a recent conversation with a good friend discussing approaching retirement he mentioned that both he and his wife have Sipps with BM, MPS Low to Medium-Income through FA/IFA Radcliffe & Co. Both have approx £70 invested.

Having recently started to take an interest in my own finances, much to late, i would be grateful for any input/opinions about a few questions I/we have. My friend says he last spoke to the IFA/FA approx 9 years ago with regard to accessing 25% from his SIPP and only receives a quarterly statement from BM most of which he doesn't fully understand. He is now 63 and contributing £100 a month.

Total Costs are 1.79% including an OnGoingAdvisor charge of 0.64%

Last year the return was 5.59% gross (£3841), net (£2614) diff (£1226) 1.79%

My/our questions are :-

         Would it have been normal to advise this risk level to someone approx 10 years ago without explaining the implications of low risk/poor returns, he has non recollection of this happening.

         If there is an OnGoing Ad fee shouldn't he/they have been having a yearly review? What did he pay the £442 for last year?

         Are these charges excessive?

         Would he be better served looking something with similar risk but lower charges as he is now 63?

I am a complete amateur investing wise but have been trying to improve that situation and would like to steer my friends into a better understanding if it was necessary. I know what I think but would appreciate some of the wisdom from this forum. TIA.

dunstonh

   Would it have been normal to advise this risk level to someone approx 10 years ago without explaining the implications of low risk/poor returns, he has non recollection of this happening.

Low/medium is actually what the FOS consider most consumers to be.        
Risk is not just about the upside but also the downside as well as capacity for loss.     

         If there is an OnGoing Ad fee shouldn't he/they have been having a yearly review? What did he pay the £442 for last year?

Depends on when it started.  set up Pre 1st Jan 2013, then no.   set up Post 2013, then there should have been something in return for the fee but annually only applied from 2018.

    Are these charges excessive?

No. They are in the ballpark for fully managed funds.    Yes, you can get cheaper but they are not excessive in relation to what they are.  Modern plans and investments are cheaper in general.

  Would he be better served looking something with similar risk but lower charges as he is now 63?

yes.

Eyeful

In case you are not aware of the correct website for Radcliffe & Co Ltd, below is what is shown on the fca,org register about the.                       https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000000MfF8kAAF