Should I move my SIPP platform?

Sulaco86

After many years of just letting things tick along, I've recently taken a more active hold over my various pensions. I have a long standing SIPP that I took out 12 odd years ago, and consolidated all my then existing pensions (about three at the time) into. Since then I've ended up with three more workplace pensions (I've moved about a bit), and last year I consolidated two of those into the same SIPP. So I now have a live NEST pension, which I'm putting the max into I need to get max employer contribution, and then the same SIPP I've had for years which is just sitting and accrueing value with no additional money going into it other than the two recent consolidations.

My question is whether I should now consider moving to a different SIPP platform? I'm aware of the difference between funds and platform. The fund I'm in (Scot Eq Dyn LFS Pn ARC) looks ok, but I might think about moving it. But before I start researching and doing that, I'm wondering if I should consder moving to a different platform altogether?

I'm with Aegon in their ARC product, and since removing the (long dormant) advisor last year I am now directly managing it. The online platform tells me I'm paying 0.25% PA, it also says there is a 0.27% fee from the fund, but it's not clear from the illustrations whether these are seperate or the 0.25% is part of the 0.27% (pic shows details). I'm not sure if this is a good or bad rate, it sounds decent compared to a lot I've seen being described, but I'm finding it hard to do comparisons (hence the post!). 

Reading reviews, I can see that ARC has a pretty wide choice of funds, so being in this shouldn't significantly stop me investing where I want. There is quite a bit of talk about how rubbish their systems are, which I would agree with, but it's not a deal breaker. So I'm trying to get a feel for how competitive these charges are, as all the guides stress how important that is. Plus any other issues I should be thinking about.

I'm not looking to be a razor sharp investor chasing the best possible deal, I just want my money to work as hard as it reasonably can without me putting in massive amounts of time. TBH if ARC is a decent product and I'm not being ripped off, I'll probably stay put, but I'm struggling to understand if that is the case.

By way of background, I'm 51 and planning to work for at least another 15 years. I have a decent 6 figure sum in the pension, but compared to my income I'm under-pensioned, so I'm looking for higher returns to maximise what I do have (but not crazy high risk stuff). 

Mark_d

Is it possible to transfer all your DC pensions in to your NEST pension?  In my opinion it is more efficient to have just one DC scheme.

Sulaco86

Mark_d said:

Is it possible to transfer all your DC pensions in to your NEST pension?  In my opinion it is more efficient to have just one DC scheme.

I imagine I could, but from what I've read NEST isn't generally very well thought of as a pension provider, with very limited fund choices. I'm only in there because it's my workplace pension so I need to be in order to get the employer contribution. NEST also doesn't allow partial transfers out, it's all or nothing, so I can't even consolidate out from it (unless I leave my current job). 

My strategy was to just let that run, as it gets the contributions, and use a SIPP for my main historic pension (which is ten times the size of the NEST one). If/when I leave this job, I'll probably roll the Nest into the SIPP as well (assuming things haven't radically changed in the meantime)

Sulaco86

Just had a look and the NEST AMC is 0.3%. Depending on whether Aegon is charging me 0.27% or 0.52% (question above), this could be higher than I'm paying now, with a 1.8% charge to transfer in.

NoMore

Main reason to move SIPP is basically platform cost and choice of investments. Other more minor reasons are ease of use and possibly drawdown options

Your platform cost appear competitive. 0.25% isn't bad, depending on the exact size of the pot moving to a fixed fee provider may work out cheaper.

The OCF cost can effectively be ignored for comparison between SIPP's that's the cost to hold that fund (usually tracked internally to the price of the fund so you don't actually see this cost) and would be the same in any provider for the same fund, if they provide it of course.

Broker comparison: cheap investment platforms UK is a good comparison of options.

Sulaco86

NoMore said:

Main reason to move SIPP is basically platform cost and choice of investments. Other more minor reasons are ease of use and possibly drawdown options

Your platform cost appear competitive. 0.25% isn't bad, depending on the exact size of the pot moving to a fixed fee provider may work out cheaper.

The OCF cost can effectively be ignored for comparison between SIPP's that's the cost to hold that fund (usually tracked internally to the price of the fund so you don't actually see this cost) and would be the same in any provider for the same fund, if they provide it of course.

Broker comparison: cheap investment platforms UK is a good comparison of options.

Gotcha, thanks, exactly what I was looking to check. If I took that same fund with some other platform it would also have that 0.27% fee. So the comparison rate is 0.25%, compared to say the 0.3% I'm getting with NEST. That's good to know. I'll do some research on fix fee platforms, but it sounds like I'm not being taken for a ride where I am, so there's no emergency! 

Albermarle

IanDudley said:

NoMore said:

Main reason to move SIPP is basically platform cost and choice of investments. Other more minor reasons are ease of use and possibly drawdown options

Your platform cost appear competitive. 0.25% isn't bad, depending on the exact size of the pot moving to a fixed fee provider may work out cheaper.

The OCF cost can effectively be ignored for comparison between SIPP's that's the cost to hold that fund (usually tracked internally to the price of the fund so you don't actually see this cost) and would be the same in any provider for the same fund, if they provide it of course.

Broker comparison: cheap investment platforms UK is a good comparison of options.

Gotcha, thanks, exactly what I was looking to check. If I took that same fund with some other platform it would also have that 0.27% fee. So the comparison rate is 0.25%, compared to say the 0.3% I'm getting with NEST. That's good to know. I'll do some research on fix fee platforms, but it sounds like I'm not being taken for a ride where I am, so there's no emergency! 

Some pensions, like Nest just have one all in fee. So the 0.3% is all you pay. The main downside to Nest is that you pay 1.8% on new contributions as a one off, but this does not apply to transfers.
Also Nest has a limited range of investment choices.
I think the fund you have with Aegon is an inhouse fund, so if you transferred to another platform it would have to be in cash and then reinvest on the new platform. 

Sulaco86

Albermarle said:

IanDudley said:

NoMore said:

Main reason to move SIPP is basically platform cost and choice of investments. Other more minor reasons are ease of use and possibly drawdown options

Your platform cost appear competitive. 0.25% isn't bad, depending on the exact size of the pot moving to a fixed fee provider may work out cheaper.

The OCF cost can effectively be ignored for comparison between SIPP's that's the cost to hold that fund (usually tracked internally to the price of the fund so you don't actually see this cost) and would be the same in any provider for the same fund, if they provide it of course.

Broker comparison: cheap investment platforms UK is a good comparison of options.

Gotcha, thanks, exactly what I was looking to check. If I took that same fund with some other platform it would also have that 0.27% fee. So the comparison rate is 0.25%, compared to say the 0.3% I'm getting with NEST. That's good to know. I'll do some research on fix fee platforms, but it sounds like I'm not being taken for a ride where I am, so there's no emergency! 

Some pensions, like Nest just have one all in fee. So the 0.3% is all you pay. The main downside to Nest is that you pay 1.8% on new contributions as a one off, but this does not apply to transfers.
Also Nest has a limited range of investment choices.
I think the fund you have with Aegon is an inhouse fund, so if you transferred to another platform it would have to be in cash and then reinvest on the new platform. 

Ahh, so for NEST the 0.3% fee should really be compared to the total 0.52% fee with Aegon, interesting. But yes, the fund choice in NEST is pretty thin. I have my current pot in their Sharia fund which is better than the default or 'high risk' fund, although not as good as it was previously. As it would take about 8 years of the lower fees to pay off that 1.8% transfer fee (ignoring returns), I won't be rushing in!

kempiejon

Mark_d said:

Is it possible to transfer all your DC pensions in to your NEST pension?  In my opinion it is more efficient to have just one DC scheme.

I have a different point of view. If, as I read, NEST is a percentage fee based service fixed fees will be cheaper as the pot grows this applies to Aegon too. As to just one provider in the unlikely event of a foul up with NEST that might affect ones access to funds.
I opened a 2nd ISA when I felt the first had grown to a large size such that an interuption of my access to it might be incnvenient. I added a 2nd SIPP for the same reason. As first the ISAs and then the SIPPs will be used to fund my retirement having a second might offer me some short term protection if there was a technical error with a provider that interupts my income flow. I have to pay extra and do a bit more admin for this as I use fixed fee providers but felt the small cost was insurance to that risk of interuption to normal service to any one provider. 

LHW99

Albermarle said:

IanDudley said:

NoMore said:

Main reason to move SIPP is basically platform cost and choice of investments. Other more minor reasons are ease of use and possibly drawdown options

Your platform cost appear competitive. 0.25% isn't bad, depending on the exact size of the pot moving to a fixed fee provider may work out cheaper.

The OCF cost can effectively be ignored for comparison between SIPP's that's the cost to hold that fund (usually tracked internally to the price of the fund so you don't actually see this cost) and would be the same in any provider for the same fund, if they provide it of course.

Broker comparison: cheap investment platforms UK is a good comparison of options.

Gotcha, thanks, exactly what I was looking to check. If I took that same fund with some other platform it would also have that 0.27% fee. So the comparison rate is 0.25%, compared to say the 0.3% I'm getting with NEST. That's good to know. I'll do some research on fix fee platforms, but it sounds like I'm not being taken for a ride where I am, so there's no emergency! 

Some pensions, like Nest just have one all in fee. So the 0.3% is all you pay. The main downside to Nest is that you pay 1.8% on new contributions as a one off, but this does not apply to transfers.
Also Nest has a limited range of investment choices.
I think the fund you have with Aegon is an inhouse fund, so if you transferred to another platform it would have to be in cash and then reinvest on the new platform. 

As it would take about 8 years of the lower fees to pay off that 1.8% transfer fee (ignoring returns), I won't be rushing in!

As Albermarle says - there is no 1.8% fee on transfer in to NEST