Stakeholder Pension versus Personal Pension

dunstonh

SIPP option (can I even do it for children ?)

Yes you can.

I can see that a lot of people take up a SIPP (because its a sexy new product ?)

Yes. its fashionable and too many are taking out a SIPP without realising they are only paying more in charges and getting no benefit from it.

you shouldn't find a low cost online SIPP any more expensive than a PP.

As has been said many many times before and always ignored, the PPP will be cheaper than the SIPP when bought on like for like distribution channels.

EdInvestor

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

am I correct in thinking that H-L would be looking at a minimum of £50 per fund
, per month, whereas with a PP I could invest much smaller mounts over a lot more funds, as long as the minimum was £100pm, gross.?

Yes.I don't think there's a package that offers every precise thing you want at reasonable cost. For instance it's a mistake to think you are not paying transaction charges in a PP, you are, they are just hidden.

.. the PPP will be cheaper than the SIPP when bought on like for like distribution channels.

A SIPP is a "Self Invested" personal pension, so it shouldn't have a "distribution channel" (aka IFA), you are supposed to DIY.Which is apparently what the OP has in mind.

dunstonh

A SIPP is a "Self Invested" personal pension, so it shouldn't have a "distribution channel" (aka IFA), you are supposed to DIY.Which is apparently what the OP has in mind.

A SIPP is really for holding direct investments rather than packaged investments such as funds. Who or how you buy doesnt matter. i.e. I may have a client that says to me that he wants to use shares within his pension. He will use me to set up the pension but do his own dealing.

Murphy has made it clear that funds are the intended investment area so all fund options should be considered and on like for like distribution channels, you would expect many personal pensions to come in cheaper than the SIPP.

Murphy_The_Cat

EdInvestor wrote: »

Which is apparently what the OP has in mind.

What I'm after, is
a) a wide choice of funds, including some 'spicy' ones.
b) a reasonable monthly investment. £100 would be acceptable.
c) it MUST be accessible online and a strong preference would be one where I could monitor each funds performance
d) I'm happy to pay higher charges, as long as I have access to potentially better performing funds.
e) to be able to run several funds (upto, say 10) would be preferable to 1 or 2.
f) I can put their existing pension pots into the new fund (all seem to do this)
g) I've put in g so that when I've thought of something else, I can add it to the list :rotfl:

EdInvestor

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

What I'm after, is
c) it MUST be accessible online and a strong preference would be one where I could monitor each funds performance

This is where the SIPP scores over the PPs at the lifeco, really no comparison. If you have money to transfer in, can you not divide that lump up into one group of funds and then put the regular contributions into 2 others @50 a month?

Murphy_The_Cat

EdInvestor wrote: »

This is where the SIPP scores over the PPs at the lifeco, really no comparison. If you have money to transfer in, can you not divide that lump up into one group of funds and then put the regular contributions into 2 others @50 a month?

I could, but one pension has only been going for 6 months, so the 'lump' would be quite small - although the other one has been running for 3 years, so is a bit more substantial.
But i would prefer to invest over a wider range of funds than 2.

After having a quick looksy at H-L. the minimum monthly contribution for their SIPP is £50 gross, but they will only transfer in from another pension if it has more than £5000 in it.
Questions and answers.
Solutions and problems.

EdInvestor

Have a look at the Alliance Trust SIPP.

https://www.alliancetrust.co.uk

They have a rather complicated but very low cost investment option for small contributions that might suit you. No annual fee, and a specialist in some of the bigger ITs, which are quite similar to unit trusts, but cheaper. The cheap deal also works for shares.

Murphy_The_Cat

Thank you all. So it looks like it is going to be research, research and research again.
But that I'm going to be very lucky to find a provider that offers everything that I would like.

dunstonh

But that I'm going to be very lucky to find a provider that offers everything that I would like.

Yes. The more options you want, the more expensive it is to run. So, you need to decide it what you want is worth the cost.

You also need to decide if using a SIPP limiting you to £50pm per fund is going to damage the investment potential compared to a personal pension which doesnt have that restriction.

Murphy_The_Cat

dunstonh wrote: »

Yes. The more options you want, the more expensive it is to run. So, you need to decide it what you want is worth the cost.

You also need to decide if using a SIPP limiting you to £50pm per fund is going to damage the investment potential compared to a personal pension which doesnt have that restriction.

I'm fairly certain at this stage that putting £50pm into just one fund isn't really what I'm looking for. So far, the closest thing seems to be the Selestia/Skandia PP option, especially if I wait a little while to see about its online functionality. I'd prefer a wide choice of funds and at least some of them to be quite 'spicy' for the childrens pension.