Fidelity Cashback offer for transfer of ISAs, SIPPs or Investment accounts

artyboy

artyboy said:

Alexland said:

artyboy said:

How dare they try and play me at my own game 

Maybe ask them what's happening? If you do see a material increase in charges it doesn't seem reasonable that they could hold you to a cashback lock-in period as they have an obligation to treat you fairly. Especially if you haven't been notified. Maybe they will let you take the money and leave early to get a cashback deal elsewhere?

Oh I will be asking - the cashback won't be paid till next July either so I am realistically free to move, but it still makes sense to hold out for that for another 7 months for the sake of £350 more in fees.

And just to add, I can still google T&Cs that refer to the monthly £20 fee cap for ETF only holdings

https://cdn.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/sites/default/files/img/documents/cs_direct_rates_charges_jan_2017_0.pdf

So if they have quietly chopped that without a prominent notification, I will be less than impressed...

AdamS_CivilServant

I think the Charles Stanley schemes are the best offers this year, if you have someone to refer you, and if you have >£20,000 between your ISA/SIPP/GIA. I.e. this loyalty referral scheme (non-referral link): https://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/services/invest/diy/online-investing/loyalty/referral-terms-conditions . But it's against the rules to share my referral link on this forum.

£300 cashback if you transfer >£20,000; £600 cashback if you transfer >£50,000; £1000 cashback if you transfer >£100,000; £1500 cashback if you transfer >£200,000. Cashback paid after 1 year. The referrer also gets a reward. It's all 'in specie' transfer so no time out of market. 

Note it is NOT usually the cheapest platform - 0.3% annual charge capped at £600/year (to cover all accounts - SIPP/ISA/GIA/JISA etc). If you transfer in >£200,000 you also get 6-months of no platform fees (i.e. it's £300 for the year, rather than £600, so this is 0.15% or less). But regardless, do review your situation after 1 year - it will likely be beneficial to move to another provider (hopefully for another cashback reward!) after 1 year.

People have mentioned the rival scheme being offered by Fidelity, but I think the Charles Stanley one is better for several reasons (more cashback, lower annual fees, requires you to stay with Charles Stanley for 12 months vs 18 months with Fidelity).

masonic

Interesting, but way too much paid to referrer for my liking. Makes it essential to split that cash and adds risk if you don't know them very well.

Otherwise it looks like the cashback is available without being referred, you just need to send a secure message mentioning the cashback at the time you request the transfer. https://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/services/invest/diy/online-investing/loyalty/cashback-offer-terms-conditions

Alexland

I guess people should consider CSD's offers and it will depend on the situation but their high ongoing fees put me off even with the £600 pa cap it's so much higher than the £90 pa cap at Fidelity for holding an ETF.

AdamS_CivilServant

Alexland said:

I guess people should consider CSD's offers and it will depend on the situation but their high ongoing fees put me off even with the £600 pa cap it's so much higher than the £90 pa cap at Fidelity for holding an ETF.

Thanks - sorry I hadn't noticed the ETF cap - agree Fidelity is decent then for those who use ETFs. For Charles Stanley, if you transfer in >£200,000 with loyalty scheme, then the cap is £300 pa (for 1 year only), or arguably even less (e.g. if you are referred, wait 3 months to transfer, transfer in >£200,000, then get 6 months free, then pay 0.3% fee for remaining 3 months (£150) to qualify for cashback). But agree it's not good long-term, and you need to remember to review/leave after receiving cashback. Or for those paying in <£200,000, obviously the 0.3% fee will work out as less than £600 (but still expensive) - need to do the maths to see if Fidelity or CS better for each individual. I think the higher cashback will usually outweigh the fees, even for those who only do ETFs.

masonic said:

Interesting, but way too much paid to referrer for my liking. Makes it essential to split that cash and adds risk if you don't know them very well.

Otherwise it looks like the cashback is available without being referred, you just need to send a secure message mentioning the cashback at the time you request the transfer. https://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/services/invest/diy/online-investing/loyalty/cashback-offer-terms-conditions

I'm not sure I understand. My brother referred me - he will get £1000, I will get £1500. My brother also gets additional cashback for when he joined/transferred. Then additionally, if I want, I have 1-2 family members I can refer, and get £1000 for each of them (or maybe less if they transfer <£200,000). Even if I 'only' got £1500 (i.e. if I refer nobody, and don't share any referral rewards), it seems a better deal than Fidelity (for me at least).  The CS cashback deal you mentioned looks good too - similar - the T&Cs are slightly different - e.g. you need to hold money for 1 year (rather than 9+3 months), and you need to make a *single* transfer of >£200,000 (rather than combined of >£200,000 between GIA/ISA/SIPP) to qualify for 6 months fee-free, and you can't combine amounts to get higher cashback (e.g. if you transfer £190,000 ISA and £10,000 SIPP then you 'only' get £1000 rather than £1500), and obviously there's no referrer fee (so less good for families) but otherwise it's pretty similar. I.e. I think it's still often better than Fidelity, for those without a loyalty referral - but like above need to do the maths for each individual

masonic

AdamS_CivilServant said:
masonic said:

Interesting, but way too much paid to referrer for my liking. Makes it essential to split that cash and adds risk if you don't know them very well.

Otherwise it looks like the cashback is available without being referred, you just need to send a secure message mentioning the cashback at the time you request the transfer. https://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/services/invest/diy/online-investing/loyalty/cashback-offer-terms-conditions

I'm not sure I understand. My brother referred me - he will get £1000, I will get £1500. My brother also gets additional cashback for when he joined/transferred. Then additionally, if I want, I have 1-2 family members I can refer, and get £1000 for each of them (or maybe less if they transfer <£200,000). Even if I 'only' got £1500 (i.e. if I refer nobody, and don't share any referral rewards), it seems a better deal than Fidelity (for me at least).  The CS cashback deal you mentioned looks good too - similar - the T&Cs are slightly different - e.g. you need to hold money for 1 year (rather than 9+3 months), and you need to make a *single* transfer of >£200,000 (rather than combined of >£200,000 between GIA/ISA/SIPP) to qualify for 6 months fee-free, and you can't combine amounts to get higher cashback (e.g. if you transfer £190,000 ISA and £10,000 SIPP then you 'only' get £1000 rather than £1500), and obviously there's no referrer fee (so less good for families) but otherwise it's pretty similar. I.e. I think it's still often better than Fidelity, for those without a loyalty referral - but like above need to do the maths for each individual

It was more of a moan in general about how these schemes tend to be set up. Yes, the scenario where you refer family members will work well, but if you have to solicit a referral from a stranger (which of course cannot happen here), then that often leads to a cottage industry where some people use their platform to pump out referrals to a large number of people. This is tolerable when the referrer, who is just sharing a code, gets a small payout and the vast majority goes to the switcher who has to go through the process of signing up and moving their accounts, with all the potential hassles that may entail. Where the split of the total cashback is different, then you will often see a referrer offer to split their share with the switcher as an enticement. But given no money is paid out for 12 months, what are the chances of any agreement being honoured by a stranger on the internet? So I would be reluctant to go out away from this forum in search of a referrer when there seems to be a broadly equivalent offer that doesn't involve a third party. That wouldn't prevent me from subsequently referring people I personally knew, as the first person in my circle to be a customer of CSD.

But this is not one for me anyway, as I am locked in until July from a previous switching offer.

AdamS_CivilServant

I agree with all of that Masonic! I haven't seen anyone offering the 'split their share' offer, but I don't often use this forum, and agree I wouldn't trust anonymous stranger to honour this