Is II a no brainer

gonboating

Hi I am gearing up to drawdown. I have SIPPS with Aviva and HL. Both have been easy use platforms BUT
Aviva Annual fee £875 HL £1125 (+ £450 for spouse small pot)
II £156pa on any size pot. (figures from Which)
So where's the catch?

hara____

No catch. You really don't need to be paying as much as that.

But ii have just announced some fee changes: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/diyinvesting/article-15363557/interactive-investor-launches-new-price-plans-fees-compare.html

SouthCoastBoy

I'm thinking of moving as well, would be interested if anyone has used ii  and their experiences.

blue_eyes

it's possible to cap your HL sipp at £200 pa if you're happy to stick to investing in ETFs/ITs as well as gilts bonds shares. It's only funds that are uncapped, though you can hold funds as well you'll just pay the charge for them separately.
https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/sipp/charges-and-interest-rates
Although I think if you go to drawdown then you have two sipp accounts that may be £200 on each SIPP account 

Fidelity on the other hand cap is £90 pa/7.50 pm but across all of your accounts combined [SIPPs/ISA/GIA] on similar instruments [e.g. ETFs]  so despite a large pot size there are ways to keep fees down, if you are happy with exchange traded instruments as suitable proxies/equivalents for your current investments/strategy
https://www.fidelity.co.uk/services/charges-fees/

Alexland

gonboating said:

Hi I am gearing up to drawdown. I have SIPPS with Aviva and HL. Both have been easy use platforms BUT
Aviva Annual fee £875 HL £1125 (+ £450 for spouse small pot)
II £156pa on any size pot. (figures from Which)
So where's the catch?

II are fine (have used them in the past) and a lot cheaper than what you are paying now but as above some of us tight fisted MSE regulars still find them expensive compared to cheaper options.

I like to spread my money across multiple providers so have capped SIPPs at both Fidelity and AJ Bell which each cost less than II if holding exchange traded assets and trading very infrequently.

Sometimes these platforms run transfer cashback offers which on large amounts can cover the fees for years,.

Pat38493

Also I have seen posts today that II are just about to change their pricing strategy which will result in a reduction in the fixed fee for most investors.  It was quoted that the cost for a SIPP and ISA combo will go down from 21.99 per month to 14.99 per month.  I have not received an email from them yet, maybe because I only have a SIPP with them at the moment.  They have been sending out messages to existing customers today but I don't see any announcement on their website.

Still - keep in mind that there are a few platforms that offer S&S ISA with no fees at all e.g. T212 (but you can only use ETFs).

michaels

II don't let you seperate crystalised and uncrystallised funds. Myself and another person I know have had real issues with the amount of time ii transfers take and that you can't drawdown whilst waiting for them to be finalised.
Am probably moving to AJ bell and putting same holdings in ETFs and bonds directly to minimise fees as they also let you trade linkers online.

hara____

This is the ii page for the new fees:
https://www.ii.co.uk/our-charges/new-pricing

NormalNorman

blue_eyes said:

it's possible to cap your HL sipp at £200 pa if you're happy to stick to investing in ETFs/ITs as well as gilts bonds shares. It's only funds that are uncapped, though you can hold funds as well you'll just pay the charge for them separately.
https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/sipp/charges-and-interest-rates
Although I think if you go to drawdown then you have two sipp accounts that may be £200 on each SIPP account 

Fidelity on the other hand cap is £90 pa/7.50 pm but across all of your accounts combined [SIPPs/ISA/GIA] on similar instruments [e.g. ETFs]  so despite a large pot size there are ways to keep fees down, if you are happy with exchange traded instruments as suitable proxies/equivalents for your current investments/strategy
https://www.fidelity.co.uk/services/charges-fees/

Yeah, both our SIPPs were with HL sticking to ETFs to cap the fees. Recently switched to ii for cheaper fees especially for drawdown when the fees could double. The switch was inspecies and very fast. Even the £200 incentive was paid quickly. The HL app is nicer but really bothered atm as likely to be updated in the future.

MallyGirl

Pat38493 said:

Also I have seen posts today that II are just about to change their pricing strategy which will result in a reduction in the fixed fee for most investors.  It was quoted that the cost for a SIPP and ISA combo will go down from 21.99 per month to 14.99 per month.  I have not received an email from them yet, maybe because I only have a SIPP with them at the moment.  They have been sending out messages to existing customers today but I don't see any announcement on their website.

Still - keep in mind that there are a few platforms that offer S&S ISA with no fees at all e.g. T212 (but you can only use ETFs).

I have had the letter - the fees have been reduced for everything I do and they were competitive before. Happy bunny.

LHW99

SouthCoastBoy said:

I'm thinking of moving as well, would be interested if anyone has used ii  and their experiences.

OH & self both have SIPPs and ISA's with II. We have no complaints, and the new fees will improve that further. The website works as well as HL's & AJBell's (have used both) and II are generally responsive to secure messaging. I haven't called them for anything lately, but AFAIR the customer service people are fine.