Moving pension from Aviva to Vanguard?

muffinek

Hello

I am after a bit of advice please. I have just left my employer and I am trying to decide what to do with my pension pot.

Currently it is invested in Aviva Pensions My Future Focus Long Term Growth S2.

The pot is not much, about £100k, which worries me as I am 43yo, so I am desperate to grow it as much as possible.

I am tempted to move it to Vanguard SIPP and invest in FTSE Global Cap Index.

The main reason I am looking to move away from Avia is that the current fund is only 85% equity and I dont seem to be able to find there equivalent of Vanguard Global Tracker.

What I am not sure is whether I should be worried about difference in charges, as far as I can see Aviva charges me 0.35% and total Vanguard charge will be 0.37%.

I appreciate the difference is tiny but I struggle to understand if over the years it would be erase any gains from moving to 100% equities global tracker.

I also never moved pension pot before, so do I need to take into consideration anything else? I started saving into my pension only few years ago so want to make sure whatever decision I make will be most profitable. I am looking to retire, if I can afford, in about 20 years.

ali_bear

Not sure about that particular fund you are invested in, but Aviva will allow you to move your money into different funds on request, probably at no cost.

dunstonh

What I am not sure is whether I should be worried about difference in charges, as far as I can see Aviva charges me 0.35% and total Vanguard charge will be 0.37%.

How much is the global tracker on the Aviva pension?

You are going to be out of the market on a transfer for about 3-10 days. So, market movements in that period could be several per cent.

The main reason I am looking to move away from Avia is that the current fund is only 85% equity and I dont seem to be able to find there equivalent of Vanguard Global Tracker.

Aviva has global trackers on most of its plans with multiple fund offerings available. Yours be limited as it depends on the version.

Typically split to allow blending

e.g.

Aviva Pension MyM BlackRock World ex UK Eq Index Tracker wtih your able to select the UK tracker and decide how much home bias you want. (or Aviva Investors International Index Tracking Fund - FTSE World ex UK)

Aviva Pension MyM BlackRock (50:50) Global Equity Index Tracker or Aviva Pen BlackRock 60:40 Global Equity Index Tracker are pre-built if you want a heavy home bias

muffinek

Upon further research, it looks like I am able to switch to Aviva Global Equity S2. I havent seen this option in the past, but it looks like it is pretty close to what Vanguard Global Tracker is. It looks like the cost would be 0.35%.

Would it make more sense then for me to just switch to that fund rather than migrating to Vanguard?

DRS1

I thought you wanted to move from Aviva to Vanguard because Aviva did not have the investment fund you wanted. Now you find they have and that it is cheaper than the equivalent at Vanguard. But you still want to move to Vanguard's SIPP. Why?

How easy is it to switch the investment at Aviva? Do you have to write in to do it or is it online and instant (OK maybe done next day)?

Most people move their pension to save on fees or to have access to more investment choice or to consolidate their pensions in one easy to manage place (perhaps with an eye on drawdown flexibility).

muffinek

That's correct, I wanted to move because I couldnt find a suitable fund, then based on dunstonh's post, I went to see if and what I could use using a mix of BlackRock funds.

I have then noticed Global Equity S2 fund, I am not sure if previously I missed it or if it was added recently.

Albermarle

If you intend to get a new job, then there will presumably be a pension with that. So would make sense to wait and see before doing anything.

Presumably you are aware that a 100% global equity fund can drop quite alarmingly if markets crashed. An 85% equity one will do the same but not quite as dramatically.

100% equity funds are a good choice for a 43 year old as in the long term should give you the highest growth. However they are not suitable for anyone with a nervous disposition.

muffinek

I fully appreciate the risk. I got ISA S&S with Vanguard hence the reason I was thinking to move my Aviva pension as I am very happy with performance of the fund.

I really struggle to work out whether I should move pension fund to Aviva S2 Global Equity or to Vanguard Global Global FTSE All Cap.

On one hand Vanguard fund seems to outperform Aviva but on the other hand Aviva is cheaper 0.35% vs 0.37%

Is there any rule of thumb here I could use? I am really no expert when it comes to investments.

MallyGirl

a 0.02% difference on £100k is £20. Being out of the market during the transfer could mean much bigger changes than that - could be positive or negative. With the political climate right now daily shifts are more than that.

If the funds are similar then either choice is fine and for one you don't need to do anything

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936345#Comment_81936345

Plus for a £100K global equity fund, its value could easily change by £3K in a day, and £30K in a month, which puts the £20 a year saving in context.