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Going solo

This discussion was created from comments split from: Pension Options and IFA advice.
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  • IvanOpinion
    IvanOpinion Posts: 22,466 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 16 December 2024 am31 6:58AM
    Jumping on the bandwagon of this post if I may. Not too sure why I am posting, other than in the hope that sharing my feelings of disloyalty in wishing to now extract from my FA (connected to a wealth platform) after almost 30 years, will allow me to move forward and DIY having over the past year taken an interest in and accumulated learning on tax and personal finance/investment.

    All this time my pot has suffered an annual charge of approx. 2% (1% FA and 1% platform/funds etc). For this I have received various good advice which gave me confidence that my affairs were being managed over the years but also I now know, advice geared towards limited funds/platform as not an IFA.  Calculated a net return of 4% pa over the past decade in my estimation.

    Opened a Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP and ISA and want to transfer over with one or two broad ETFs.  Have a game plan, but feels after all this time I am taking a big leap on my own, but almost more importantly, being disloyal to one person albeit that person has lined their pocket quite nicely over 30 years.

    I am not quite sure what I am looking for by posting this. Encouragement to take the leap perhaps.
    Go for it! If using HL I agree with FireDreamer to avoid funds. If you still feel unsure then stick to global index products that will offer a broad diversification. You can decided how much or how little you want in non-equity products as well. As you gain knowledge then you can 'fill in the blanks' where you feel that you would be happier with increased/decreased exposure to specific areas - however the golden rule is not to over think and over tinker with the portfolio. Good luck.
    Past caring about first world problems.
  • MallyGirl
    MallyGirl Posts: 7,092 Senior Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I have split these posts out into a separate thread to avoid confusion 
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning, Loans
    & Credit Cards boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
    All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • Brie
    Brie Posts: 13,504 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Jumping in here - what do people mean by "avoiding funds"?  And ETF?
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe and Old Style Money Saving boards.  If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

    "Never retract, never explain, never apologise; get things done and let them howl.”  Nellie McClung
  • AlanP_2 said:
    Thank you both for the encouragement.  Choosing a global accumulation EFT.  Note that HL will not auto-reinvest the monthly tax relief and so will pay appx £11 for the pleasure each month.  What would you do?  Suck up the fee or accumulate in cash and move into the fund x2 per year for example, to reduce £11 fee each time?
    Your questions and answers are getting mixed in with the OPs which can cause confusion unless it is really clear as to who is answering what. I'd suggest asking the moderators to split your Q's and As out in to their own topic for ease and clarity.

    Is sounds like you will be making monthly contributions. Are ETFs the best option in that situation given HL buy/sell fees? 

    You could use funds and then move say 6 months worth across into your chosen ETF to reduce fees.

    Not sure now much you have in your pot but a transfer to Fidelity to take advantage of their current cashback deal might be worth looking at. I'm going to do that for one of our pensions and cashback should cover fees for about 4 to 5 years ahead.
    Thank you for the Fidelity suggestion.  I will definitely look into opening a SIPP here from which I can transfer over from the FA managed fund which has relatively sizeable pot!  As for now contributions to the latter have stopped and regular contributions re-directed to LH.  I've gone for one set and forget EFT which attracts no trade fees I believe if with a regular monthly contribution.
  • Brie said:
    Jumping in here - what do people mean by "avoiding funds"?  And ETF?
    ETF = exchange traded funds

    https://monevator.com/etfs-vs-index-funds-differences/

    I think that the advice to avoid funds above is specifically for HL because of their fees on index funds, rather than to avoid index funds per se. I’m sure someone will be along to confirm or rebut that.
  • Anything listed as a fund on HL will have uncapped fees. The fees on shares and ETFs as capped as described previously.


  • Albermarle
    Albermarle Posts: 25,993 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Sixth Anniversary Name Dropper
    Brie said:
    Jumping in here - what do people mean by "avoiding funds"?  And ETF?
    ETF = exchange traded funds

    https://monevator.com/etfs-vs-index-funds-differences/

    I think that the advice to avoid funds above is specifically for HL because of their fees on index funds, rather than to avoid index funds per se. I’m sure someone will be along to confirm or rebut that.
    The advice is not just for HL customers, similar caps are also in place on the Fidelity and AL Bell platforms.

    Also it is not just index funds, it refers to all OEIC funds.

    In addition the caps are for 'exchange traded products' so also includes individual company shares and Investment Trusts, as well as ETF's. 
  • Qyburn
    Qyburn Posts: 3,164 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    The counterbalance factor is that HL charge transaction fees (£11.95?) to buy and sell ETFs but not OEICs.

    So monthly contributions could go into an OEIC (in fact I think you can set up regular investing via Direct Debit, unless that's just for ISA and not SIPP). Then annually empty the OEIC into the chosen ETF.
  • If it's a regular monthly payment into an ETF, HL do not charge anything.
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