Multi-managers

birdy1010

I really need some assistance.

I want to move my #21K Cash ISA into an Equity ISA and also pay #600 a month into it. I know my limitations with regards to managing this myself. It seems a Wealth Manager would be a better idea, but they (obviously) come with fees - 5% contributions fee and 1.5% annual fee, for example.

Shall I choose a multi-manager?? Should I just go with Neil Woodford at Invesco for instance?

jem16

birdy1010 wrote: »

Should I just go with Neil Woodford at Invesco for instance?

Do you mean put the whole £21k plus monthly contributions into just one fund? If so it would be a bad idea to put all your eggs into one basket.

Why don't you get an IFA to manage this for you? I'm sure it would be cheaper than the wealth manager you talk about charging 5% initial fee.

birdy1010

I was going to spread the #21K over various funds under the umbrella of the a multi-manager.

What charges are acceptable for someone to manage my money?

jem16

birdy1010 wrote: »

What charges are acceptable for someone to manage my money?

Maximum commission taken by an IFA is normally 3%. Average taken is 1.8% with 0.5% trail commission which is paid through the 1.5% annual management charge on most funds.

dunstonh

5% is on the heavy side and your amount isnt going to be much interest of a discretionary investment manager. Using multi-manager funds will also be more expensive. Not a bad idea for small amounts for a lazy investor but using an IFA will be more cost efficient to build you a spread. Not as cheap as DIY but cheaper than MM.

LongTermLurker

birdy1010 wrote: »

I really need some assistance.

I want to move my #21K Cash ISA into an Equity ISA and also pay #600 a month into it. I know my limitations with regards to managing this myself. It seems a Wealth Manager would be a better idea, but they (obviously) come with fees - 5% contributions fee and 1.5% annual fee, for example.

Shall I choose a multi-manager?? Should I just go with Neil Woodford at Invesco for instance?

I'm not recommending them, of course, but you might be interested first of all in looking at Hargreaves Lansdown. They are a discount broker (and there are others you could also look at) and they will discount some or all of the fees. So if you buy funds through them, that 5% initial charge might shrink to 0.5% or even nothing, and the 1.5% annual charge might become 1.25% - their discounts vary depending on what funds you choose.

You could choose a number of multi-manager funds, or you could just choose a number of different unit trusts - the difference is best understood as layers: a Multi-manager or Manager-of-Managers (subtle difference) is a fund which contains multiple unit trusts - the MM or MoM doesn't buy shares, he buys funds, in exactly the same way you can, but he will include a charge himself for the privilege.

Why not buy a number of UTs or ITs and add in a Multi Manager fund so at least some of your investments are chosen professionally? First though, you should read and understand what you're getting into, because even if you choose a managed fund without seeing an IFA first, it's still "execution only" which means if the MM or MoM is crap, it's your fault, not their's. Good luck.

turbobob

As well as the management charges, make sure to check out the total expense ratio's (TER) of multi manager "fund of funds" investments. They can be quite hefty. You have to bear in mind that the fund manager charges a fee and also the funds they invest in charge their own management fees. Funds like the Jupiter Merlin Growth Portfolio, for example, have a total expense ratio of over 2.5%.

westy23

Its a superb time to be investing, many many bargains out there and i have a few years to go before retirement, so can wait for the rise in prices.

purch

various funds under the umbrella of the a multi-manager

Multi Manager Funds are rarely top performers in their sectors, from what I see anyway :cool:

I think a carefully researched set of Funds is a better choice

You will easily be able to discount all (or virtually all) the Initial Charge on most Funds, and you should be able to get a 'wee' bit of the AMC refunded too !!!