Bundling our pensions and giving the lot to Schroders Personal Wealth - yes or no?

Albermarle

zagfles said:

Pensionnewbie1969 said:

This is super interesting and helpful. Thanks esteemed forum members! Being a newbie… I'm assuming DIY is 'do it yourself' - not sure if I'm up to wisely moving investments around various funds etc… And - by the sound of things - my next step should be to get an Independent Financial Advisor on the job (and pay for their time and effort) rather than let a Salesman give me his time for 'free'… Fair assessment? Thanks, folks!

DIY is IMO (in my opinion) a misleading term that implies you have to actively manage your investments and get involved in share dealing etc. You don't. You can use robo advice, or you can use ready made pensions, target retirement funds etc. 

See Best SIPP: Build a low cost DIY pension - MoneySavingExpert 

You are right, I am sure some people think DIY investing almost means sitting in front of a bank of screens, yelling 'Buy' 'Sell' down the phone.
In fact it is rather boring with nothing happening/changing for long periods ( years sometimes), once it is set up.

Bostonerimus1

Albermarle said:

In short we’d be paying a bit… Which looks odd/scary… But earning more than that back by virtue of someone actually working with our money to earn their cut.

No legitimate FA or IFA will ever promise/guarantee that they will generate better returns, or any returns. ( if they do it is usually a scam) . 
In any case if you do pay for one, the value is more in that investments are picked that are appropriate for you, your objectives and situation/age. Many people are happy to sacrifice high growth if their investments are not that scarily volatile. Others are happy with a wilder ride.
Also the advisor can make sure everything is done in a tax efficient way and in line with changing legislation. It is not just about the investments themselves. 
Plus of course it takes pressure off the client who may be uninterested or lack confidence in this area. 
However of course it all comes at a cost that can be lower if you DIY. That cost adds up over the years.
As said already DIY means putting in some reading ( this forum is a good resource), but it is not rocket science if you are reasonably numerate and level headed.

Anyone who tries to sell to you a financial product using the words in bold above really don't know what they are talking about and I would turn on my heels and walk away.

Bottomline is you'd be paying a lot and not getting any better fund management than you can get doing DIY or from the third party an IFA will probably employ.

LHW99

And often better not to look too often - the one benefit of "the old days" - you only got a once or twice yearly statement!

Bostonerimus1

zagfles said:

Pensionnewbie1969 said:

This is super interesting and helpful. Thanks esteemed forum members! Being a newbie… I'm assuming DIY is 'do it yourself' - not sure if I'm up to wisely moving investments around various funds etc… And - by the sound of things - my next step should be to get an Independent Financial Advisor on the job (and pay for their time and effort) rather than let a Salesman give me his time for 'free'… Fair assessment? Thanks, folks!

DIY is IMO (in my opinion) a misleading term that implies you have to actively manage your investments and get involved in share dealing etc. You don't. You can use robo advice, or you can use ready made pensions, target retirement funds etc. 

See Best SIPP: Build a low cost DIY pension - MoneySavingExpert 

An IFA can help people navigate the financial world and come up with strategies to meet their financial and life goals. They can also provide a useful psychological crutch, but they are not investment managers. What they do is useful to some people, but it's definitely not "rocket science" and most people with some basic literacy and maths skills should be able to DIY. Investing is a long term project, actually a lifetime project. Trading funds and things like crypto are closer to gambling.

michaels

Pensionnewbie1969 said:

My husband has reached 55 and I’m a couple of years behind. We both have a couple of pensions from previous jobs totalling around £550k. 

Our bank (Lloyds), MAGICALLY sensing that 55 was looming, offered us a free chat/consultant meeting with one of their experts at Schroders Personal Wealth.

Having at least heard of Schroders and having no real idea as to what to do next we agreed and had the meet.

And a very nice Schroders chap spelt it all out. The short version being that if we sign the contents of our four pensions over to him, Schroders will charge us a transfer fee and then an annual fee for managing our funds…

And for that fee our cash will be expertly and aggressively managed rather than sit in the quiet, safe, no-one-cares doldrums that they’ve been in for years.

In short we’d be paying a bit… Which looks odd/scary… But earning more than that back by virtue of someone actually working with our money to earn their cut.

Intention is to draw down from this (hopefully swelling) pot from time to time rather than buy an annuity.

We’re mulling over signing on the line, but just wanted to get topline thoughts from folks here on the forum. 

Has anyone done similar? With Schroders or other? Any experiences or comments? Is it worth bundling them up and giving to someone who takes a cut in order to invest ‘properly’?

Or is this all robbery/hogwash and we should leave well alone? Thanks!

If anyone had a way to invest money that would be certain to beat the markets they would not be wasting their time looking after other people's money, they would be living on their own island with more money than they would ever be able to count.  I'm amazed it is legal for anyone to make this sort of claim.  Might as well simply claim to be a Nigerian prince.

Bostonerimus1

Albermarle said:

zagfles said:

Pensionnewbie1969 said:

This is super interesting and helpful. Thanks esteemed forum members! Being a newbie… I'm assuming DIY is 'do it yourself' - not sure if I'm up to wisely moving investments around various funds etc… And - by the sound of things - my next step should be to get an Independent Financial Advisor on the job (and pay for their time and effort) rather than let a Salesman give me his time for 'free'… Fair assessment? Thanks, folks!

DIY is IMO (in my opinion) a misleading term that implies you have to actively manage your investments and get involved in share dealing etc. You don't. You can use robo advice, or you can use ready made pensions, target retirement funds etc. 

See Best SIPP: Build a low cost DIY pension - MoneySavingExpert 

You are right, I am sure some people think DIY investing almost means sitting in front of a bank of screens, yelling 'Buy' 'Sell' down the phone.
In fact it is rather boring with nothing happening/changing for long periods ( years sometimes), once it is set up.

Indeed. I DIY and haven't touched my portfolio since 2014.

Stubod

...no...either Ifa or DIY...save yourself a boat load....

xylophone

We both have a couple of pensions from previous jobs totalling around £550k. 

Do you mean that each of you has pensions worth around £550,000?

Or that one of you has eg £350,000 while the other has £200,000? 

Either way, if you take professional advice that's going to be advice for each of you individually and charged accordingly?

You could try here for an adviser

https://adviserbook.co.uk/

Tick "confirmed independent" and other options required when the menu comes up.



Otherwise you can consider DIY - you have a wide choice of providers.

https://www.which.co.uk/money/pensions-and-retirement/personal-pensions/what-is-a-sipp-aBlOf9l200cM

https://monevator.com/low-cost-index-trackers/

https://monevator.com/best-global-tracker-funds/

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/what-are-target-retirement-funds

https://www.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/fidelity-fund-portfolios/freedom-funds

Pensionnewbie1969

Just checking in to say THANKS for all your advice, folks. We've politely declined the nice Schroders man and are on the hunt for an IFA (with an ongoing side-project of studying DIY)… Cheers!

AlanP_2

And for that fee our cash will be expertly and aggressively managed rather than sit in the quiet, safe, no-one-cares doldrums that they’ve been in for years.

Before you do anything, apart from research / leaning, I would start with "what do we have now?"

What providers?
What investments are being held on your behalf?
How have they performed?
Do they meet your needs?

What are your needs? For some it might be £50k a year, each, after tax. For others it might be £20k pre-tax for a couple.

Look at it holistically and together. Factor in State Pension at some stage. Think about likely "spend" post retirement, informed by what you spend now but adjusted for "work related costs" and any "retirement planned costs" e.g. holidays, hobbies etc.


The "who" is managing your investments is irrelevant almost until you know what you want to achieve from that management.