Want to transfer away from Rquitable Life, where do I start?

MoneySpanner

Hi, I have been paying into an Equitable Life scheme since 1999, about £150 a month goes in from my own & employer's contribution (although I am likely to increase this as I'm getting a little nervous about having a pitiful pension), I was also opted out for a while but now opted back in automatically (Equitable's recommendation) - I am 30 now and after mentioning to a friend that I am with Equitable they reeled in surprise and told me to get out asap. So I am now looking around, I really know *nothing* about what I am looking at, I called Standard Life and they seemed to push a "Stakeholder" pension, which I understand is based on their own shares etc, is that a little risky?
Is an IFA a wise investment? How much does it cost for a consultation with an IFA regarding a pension transfer & recommendation? Or am I better to just pick a good performing pension provider and arrange it myself?
Thanks in advance for any pointers.

dunstonh

but now opted back in automatically (Equitable's recommendation)

They opted you back in not because opting out is bad but because the Eq life fund is incapable of meeting the required growth to make it better.

I called Standard Life and they seemed to push a "Stakeholder" pension, which I understand is based on their own shares etc, is that a little risky?

That is an incorrect assumption. Firstly the stakeholder pension is just a tax wrapper with a defined charging process. It has a range of funds, some of which do not include any stockmarket investment. Going direct to provider is not a good way to buy a pension.

Is an IFA a wise investment?

In your case yes. You appear to need the advice as you are confused.

How much does it cost for a consultation with an IFA regarding a pension transfer & recommendation?

Depends on the IFA you employ and whether you want to go on fee basis or commission basis or a hybrid of the two. That sort of thing is discussed before you commence any transaction and incur any costs with the IFA. At worst, on maximum commission, you would find the IFA the same or cheaper than the Standard Life option you were looking at. Standard Life are tied reps so cannot advise on investments within the pension so that choice would be yours. IFAs have to advise on the investments within the pension so its a bit of a no brainer who to use.

Or am I better to just pick a good performing pension provider and arrange it myself?

There is no such thing as a good performing pension provider. Pensions dont lose or make money. They are a container for your investments. Its the investments that have the good or bad performance.

Ask yourself these questions

1 - Am I able to identify the right type of pension for me from stakeholder, personal pension or SIPP?
2 - Am I able to build the right investment portfolio with a spread of funds that offer the right potential and match my attitude to investment risk?
3 - Do I understand investments?

If the answers are no, then you need an IFA.

MoneySpanner

Thanks, fair points, so IFA it is!
Next question - is there a good way of contacting a decent local IFA? I found a website http://www.searchifa.co.uk/ - is there certification I should look for with regards to pension advisors? Or a better body to contact in order to find one?
Thanks again.

dunstonh

www.unbiased.co.uk is the main uk database. The link you give appears to be a sponsered one and not many are on there (I couldnt find my firm for example or three other local ones I tried). the unbiased one also verifies FSA authorisation before you get listed on there.

Your transaction is a bread and butter one and any investment or pension IFA would be fine. It you go to unbiased and filter by pensions/retirement planning (ignore qualifications as its flawed. If you pick a qualification it will only show those with that qualification and not those with equal alternatives or higher). i.e. if you pick pensions G60 (which is a higher but now obsolete exam) then you wont get those who have passed the newer replacement.

It will search by full post code and give a list in order of distance. Some IFAs do pay for an increased profile. You can spot those easily but dont read anything into it. IFAP (who run the site) phone up all the firms periodically trying to badger us into paying for a better profile. It doesnt indicate any difference in quality.

Some IFAs are directly authorised by the regulator. Others are members of a network and the network carries out the compliance requirement. The FSA seem to believe that network members or those firms that use compliance service companies are better than those that are not. Probably as the networks sample check cases of their members whereas directly authorised firms do it themselves. If the firm is a network member, it will say it in the text box. Something along the lines of "xyz is an appointed representative of abc which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority".