Which Pension Fund from L&G?

comsyte
comsyte Posts: 17 Forumite
in Pensions, annuities & retirement planning
To summarise: For better or worse I have a basic stakeholder pension with Legal & General. When setting the account up, I picked what I thought was the best "middle of the road" fund, called "Managed Fund".

Since then, a friend has set one up and was told the default is "UK Equity Fund".

In all honesty, I have no clue which fund I should go for. I am managing (just) to contribute around £100 a month, so we're not talking huge sums of money.

From the below document, they are described as such:
http://www.legalandgeneral.com/pensions/stakeholder-for-individuals/ChoosingYourInvestmentFundW10577.pdf

Managed Fund: "The Managed Fund invests in a spread of UK and overseas
equities (company stocks and shares), fixed interest stocks,
property and cash. This fund is suited to investors who want
to leave decision making to our experienced fund
managers. The investment objective is to get steady
long-term growth while at the same time safeguarding the
fund against unnecessary risks."

UK Equity Fund: "The UK Equity Index Fund is set up in such a way that its
performance (before charges) aims to reflect that of the
Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) – All Share Index
with income reinvested."

All thoughts most welcome.

Comments

  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,296 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    Erm, none of them and particulary wonderful individually and I wouldnt want my pension there and that reflects that I have not done one L&G stakeholder in the last 3 years.

    However, if you dont want anything better and want to stick with L&G then you shouldnt stick it all in one fund but spread it across multiple funds with a percentage in each that averages out to match your risk attitude.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • EdInvestor
    EdInvestor Posts: 15,749 Forumite
    Of the internal funds, the Smaller companies ( high risk) Index tracker ( med-high) and Property (med) might be worth putting some money in.

    http://www.trustnet.com/pen/funds/perf.asp

    You can check the performance of the external funds on Trustnet to see if it's worth paying the extra to invest in those - it may well be.
    Trying to keep it simple...;)
  • comsyte
    comsyte Posts: 17 Forumite
    dunstonh wrote:
    Erm, none of them and particulary wonderful individually and I wouldnt want my pension there and that reflects that I have not done one L&G stakeholder in the last 3 years.

    I didn't realise L&G was quite so, erm, undesireable. Any reccomendations on a few places to look at stakeholder pensions if not L&G?

    Thanks,
    James
  • comsyte
    comsyte Posts: 17 Forumite
    I should probably add too... and which funds with that provider are worth looking at for a medium risk strategy. Else I'll end up asking the same question that all this started with again...
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,296 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    All the funds basically are fine for a medium risk strategy. If you use higher risk funds, then you offset them with lower risk funds and average out to match medium risk.

    The old saying of dont put all your eggs in one basket applies. So, for example, picking 100% in FTSE All share tracker is a bad choice.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • comsyte
    comsyte Posts: 17 Forumite
    When you say that L&G are not particulary wonderful. For stakeholder, which providers do you think are worth looking at currently?

    Thanks again,
    James
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,296 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    I cant really say because it depends on your attitude to risk as some are better at the low end than others.

    To be honest. I hardly ever do a stakeholder. Too many fund limitations and personal pensions just offer better value than stakeholder pensions.

    You have to remember what you are doing with a pension. You are investing money for your retirement. Stakeholder pensions limit your investment options and you can rarely build an adequate portfolio with a stakeholder. With personal pensions allowing to utilise stakeholder funds at 1% (or even cheaper than on the stakeholder with one major provider), there is little reason to handicap your investment.

    Stakeholder pensions served their purpose in bringing charges on all pensions but they position they have now is that they are only really ideal for those wanting low risk funds. That would typically be those closer to retirement or those already in retirement but utilising their annual allowance.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
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