ii transfer from Aegon

ElBogster

Have done some research around transferring from Aegon to ii 

Although they both use origo interative investor can’t do in-specie transfer and it has to be cash only

I’m just a little worried that Aegon sell my current funds at a time suitable to them and it’s sitting in cash funds for weeks especially with US election looming.  The majority of my Aegon fund is in Aegon Ethical Equity (which is about the best performing fund they have).  I’m just wondering if I should maybe transfer now to the Aegon BlackRock STGPP Cash Fund so at least I can be in control of my own destiny OR am I just overthinking this.

dunstonh

I’m just a little worried that Aegon sell my current funds at a time suitable to them and it’s sitting in cash funds for weeks especially with US election looming. 

How does Aegon know what future prices will be?
How does Aegon benefit if the fund has been sold to cash?

 The majority of my Aegon fund is in Aegon Ethical Equity (which is about the best performing fund they have). 

Both of the Aegon platforms are near whole of market.   So, I suspect its not the best performing fund they have.  Unless you are on a legacy or restricted Aegon contract that uses in-house pension funds.  But that doesn't tie in with your earlier point as there is no cash facility on legacy contracts/life & pension contracts.    Cash facility only exists on the platform side and both of their platforms are near whole of market (closer to the fund supermarket model).

am I just overthinking this.

Very much so.

ElBogster

Thanks @dunstonh my choice of wording ‘suitable to them’ is incorrect - I meant at a time when the market is down and out of my control.

The Ethical fund has performed ok but on whole it is poor and the Aegon platform terrible.

Aegon do have a cash fund but it is probably legacy as it was Blackrock and was sold to Aegon.  The cash fund object is as follows

Fund objective

Aims to produce a return in excess of its benchmark principally from a portfolio of Sterling

denominated cash, deposits and money-market instruments.

Fund performance

The following graph and tables show the performance of the fund over various time periods

compared to the fund’s benchmark (if there is one). All performance information is as at 30

Jun 2024 unless otherwise stated.

In the graph, performance is shown since launch if the fund is less than five years old.

LHW99

Possibly Aegon use funds that are not available on II or similar platform, so would have to be converted to cash before transfer.

You would repurchase the funds you want (or not) once the cash arrives in II. In reality if there is a significant drop after Aegon converts to cash, the funds you may buy at II will also have gone down, so no major effect.

You would probably only be out of the market during transfer for a few days to a week, and there are always ups and downs in the market.

dunstonh

Thanks @dunstonh my choice of wording ‘suitable to them’ is incorrect - I meant at a time when the market is down and out of my control.

If it is pension funds, then they don't sell the funds in the same way you would in a SIPP.   You get the price at the point of transfer.  They will not look at the price at any point in the process.  The only thing controlling the transaction is their workflow or a transaction going through that causes a delay.

The Ethical fund has performed ok but on whole it is poor and the Aegon platform terrible.

I don't like either of the Aegon platforms.   Their legacy ex Scottish Equitable system is consistent with other legacy systems and their workplace mastertrust pension has similar functionality to other basic workplace schemes.   So, no matter which one you are on, the tech leaves a lot to be desired.

Aegon do have a cash fund but it is probably legacy as it was Blackrock and was sold to Aegon.  The cash fund object is as follows

That is a pension fund and not a cash facility.   They would not sell the existing fund to that fund.  You can, but if you decide to make a fund switch, Aegon will have to delay the transfer.   It won't aid the transfer in any way.

If you are on one of the Aegon platforms (ARC or Aegon Cofunds) then they have a cash facility where you can sell the fund to cash and that would speed up the transfer.  If you are not on either the Aegon platforms then that is not possible.  From what you have said, it doesnt appear you are on either of the Aegon platforms but one of their legacy or workplace plans.

ElBogster

Thanks @lhw99 - I think I’m just over thinking.  The fund went down overnight by 5% the other month (think it was down to a few tech stocks including Nvidia) it slowly picked back up and hopefully it will only be a few days and no massive market fluctuations 

ElBogster

@dunstonh

My concern was it might impact any transfer so I’m glad you picked this point up

squirrelpie

ElBogster said:

it’s sitting in cash funds for weeks especially with US election looming.

Why would it sit in cash for weeks? If you're concerned about uncertainties caused by the US elections, then just wait unti the elections are over!

Pat38493

I did a partial transfer from Aegon to II in January and as far as I remember, I had to rebalance the amount that I wanted to transfer to cash myself on their platform.  The transfer went through smoothly and took about 10 days as far as I remember - faster than I had expected.