Towry Law

dunstonh

I do not consider 1.5% to be good value for money.

And so you shouldnt when 0.5% is the more common norm.

Silversavers

Help! We've been told that because our assets are held in EJ's nominee account then it would be difficult to move them over to another company and simply placed as is on a fund platform. We're being led to believe that it would be much 'easier' to transfer to a nominee account held by a discretionary fund manager - so therefore this should be the way to go. Can anyone comment on this?

Also. Despite a good deal of googling, I can't seem to find articles or analysis discussing the upsides and downsides between discretionary fund management and advisory management.

Re: the previous post ... 0.5% charge??? Where would we get that then? :-)
Regards

Aegis

Silversavers wrote: »

Help! We've been told that because our assets are held in EJ's nominee account then it would be difficult to move them over to another company and simply placed as is on a fund platform. We're being led to believe that it would be much 'easier' to transfer to a nominee account held by a discretionary fund manager - so therefore this should be the way to go. Can anyone comment on this?

Also. Despite a good deal of googling, I can't seem to find articles or analysis discussing the upsides and downsides between discretionary fund management and advisory management.

Re: the previous post ... 0.5% charge??? Where would we get that then? :-)
Regards

Many IFAs will typically charge 0.5% in trail commission for ongoing advice. This is usually taken from the annual charges of the funds you invest in, which will probably range from 0.90-1.75% depending on the sector and the type of fund. Trackers will usually have a much lower annual charge, but if they don't pay recurring commission then a different deal with your IFA would be needed to cover ongoing advice.

The other option is fee based with an ongoing retainer to cover regular reviews. This typically works out cheaper for larger portfolios, though "larger" depends on a comparison between the ongoing commission costs and the fee costs.

Silversavers

Ah, OK .. yes I understand about the 0.5% trail. I'm looking more as to what would be considered 'average' for a discretionary management annual fee. We know that Towry Law is 2% (<£100k) and we've had sight of an offer from Quilter at 1.5% ... anyone had experience of anything lower?
Regards

terrytravel

I have recently held a meeting with Close Brothers and was most impressed by their professionalism and advice given.
At present I am considering moving my investments from EJ (TL) to Close Brothers for investing in their Asset Management Plan - Fee 1% per annum and NO charges.
I do not feel comfortable with TL.

Silversavers

Has any existing EJ clients actually initiated a move of their assets from EJ/TL. I'm trying to get them to tell me what their charge would be for that option and am currently hitting a brick wall.

Has anyone had any charges passed to them for leaving EJ?
Regards

RobotB

We had our first meeting with the Towry Law man yesterday. Very unimpressed and didn't feel we wanted to trust him with our money at all. Sadly can't trace our Edward Jones advisor.

We are really cautious unknowledgeable investors and have just sold a property so want good advise. I know people on this forum say look for a good IFA but how on earth do you choose? We live near Salisbury and even in that small town there are loads. Is there a website with reviews?!!

Any suggestions?

dunstonh

Is there a website with reviews?!!

If would be very hard to review an IFA fairly. Some will go by investment returns but the average consumer doesnt understand investments enough. (i.e. see one IFA and the portfolio goes down with the market, see another that and their portfolio goes up with the market and you think the second one is better - hower its the timing that is the key, not the adviser).

First thing to be aware of is that IFAs account for very few complaints. Under 2% at the FOS and that is despite handling the majority of transactions. So, whilst every profession has bad apples, the stats are far better than a decade or two back. The FOS had also said that over 80% of IFAs havent had a complaint registered with them.

You can often tell a good adviser by the quality of the research and the willingness to discuss and explain what they are doing. Does the adviser work to structured investment strategies or is it a bit random? How many levels of risk profiles do they operate by (for example if only 3 then its not very tailored to your needs, if its 10 then its much better). Do they rebalance and review the portfolios? Do they bed&ISA each year (at no cost to you ideally)? How much do they cost (a good adviser never hides from it, a greedy one will)?

Just by having that discussion you can usually pick up on whether the IFA is interested in you and what you want and is capable of building a portfolio and providing the service you want.

Also, you can appoint a new IFA at no cost to you if the first one doesnt do what they said they would without having to start all over again. Its a lot easier to move from IFA to IFA.

feesarefare

RobotB wrote: »

I know people on this forum say look for a good IFA but how on earth do you choose? We live near Salisbury and even in that small town there are loads. Is there a website with reviews?!!

Any suggestions?

Did you have a look at the Institute of Financial Planning website as suggested in my earlier post. I would be interested to hear your feedback either positive or negative.

RobotB

Thank you both for your replies. The website looks helpful - when I have a moment I'll look in detail.