What is hard to understand about the warning that "the price of the units can fall as well a rise". So many people think they know best & dont want to take advice.. "ooh, not going to pay a greedy salesman any of my hard earned money...." and think all they need to do is read the newspaper & that's that.
What is hard to understand about the warning that "the price of the units can fall as well a rise". So many people think they know best & dont want to take advice.. "ooh, not going to pay a greedy salesman any of my hard earned money...." and think all they need to do is read the newspaper & that's that.
Imagine paying a greedy salesman who then put your money in Woodford!
"The bulk of Woodford’s business is won through IFAs directing client money to him"
People don't need to even read newspapers, they need to invest in some trackers.
With the greatest respect, and I do mean that, your entire industry is an absolute con. A con that won't last much longer either. being an IFA will be 2020's version of being a cab driver. Pointless.
I only have an account setup with Hargreaves who serve me well for funds with low fees etc. I am not a HL cheerleader but built my Isa's with them over the years.
I nearly invested info FTree until I saw a small punt with them would need to male £24 to cover the commission! Been a while since I've bought individual shares so opted not to.
@mendonca I’ve been a client since 1991, when it was a local Fylde news sheet and I was working up in Lytham.
Unfortunately have come to the conclusion that they’ve been taking the piss for a few years now. Allowing conflicts of interest to affect their views when they were once the customers’ champion and raping clients for FX and unit trust fees.
Take my hat off to them for shaking the market up though. We’re all much better off for Messrs Hargreaves and Lansdowne.
I only have an account setup with Hargreaves who serve me well for funds with low fees etc. I am not a HL cheerleader but built my Isa's with them over the years.
I nearly invested info FTree until I saw a small punt with them would need to male £24 to cover the commission! Been a while since I've bought individual shares so opted not to.
@mendonca I’ve been a client since 1991, when it was a local Fylde news sheet and I was working up in Lytham.
Unfortunately have come to the conclusion that they’ve been taking the piss for a few years now. Allowing conflicts of interest to affect their views when they were once the customers’ champion and raping clients for FX and unit trust fees.
Take my hat off to them for shaking the market up though. We’re all much better off for Messrs Hargreaves and Lansdowne.
What is hard to understand about the warning that "the price of the units can fall as well a rise". So many people think they know best & dont want to take advice.. "ooh, not going to pay a greedy salesman any of my hard earned money...." and think all they need to do is read the newspaper & that's that.
Imagine paying a greedy salesman who then put your money in Woodford!
"The bulk of Woodford’s business is won through IFAs directing client money to him"
People don't need to even read newspapers, they need to invest in some trackers.
With the greatest respect, and I do mean that, your entire industry is an absolute con. A con that won't last much longer either. being an IFA will be 2020's version of being a cab driver. Pointless.
I would have said that the bulk of the Woodford money came in via HL and other "platforms" that had him on their "white lists".
The is also another scandal brewing (imo) that people know little about. A lot of advisers now are "restricted" & are directed to invest client monies into selected funds. But that's another story.
What is hard to understand about the warning that "the price of the units can fall as well a rise". So many people think they know best & dont want to take advice.. "ooh, not going to pay a greedy salesman any of my hard earned money...." and think all they need to do is read the newspaper & that's that.
Imagine paying a greedy salesman who then put your money in Woodford!
"The bulk of Woodford’s business is won through IFAs directing client money to him"
People don't need to even read newspapers, they need to invest in some trackers.
With the greatest respect, and I do mean that, your entire industry is an absolute con. A con that won't last much longer either. being an IFA will be 2020's version of being a cab driver. Pointless.
I would have said that the bulk of the Woodford money came in via HL and other "platforms" that had him on their "white lists".
The is also another scandal brewing (imo) that people know little about. A lot of advisers now are "restricted" & are directed to invest client monies into selected funds. But that's another story.
I only have an account setup with Hargreaves who serve me well for funds with low fees etc. I am not a HL cheerleader but built my Isa's with them over the years.
I nearly invested info FTree until I saw a small punt with them would need to male £24 to cover the commission! Been a while since I've bought individual shares so opted not to.
@mendonca I’ve been a client since 1991, when it was a local Fylde news sheet and I was working up in Lytham.
Unfortunately have come to the conclusion that they’ve been taking the piss for a few years now. Allowing conflicts of interest to affect their views when they were once the customers’ champion and raping clients for FX and unit trust fees.
Take my hat off to them for shaking the market up though. We’re all much better off for Messrs Hargreaves and Lansdowne.
ummm..are you..er...pro-Brexit, then? :-)
(sorry in advance for thread contagion :-)
Let's not go there ... common ground is he did shake up the pensions rip-off industry but then they listed and became the establishment.
What is hard to understand about the warning that "the price of the units can fall as well a rise". So many people think they know best & dont want to take advice.. "ooh, not going to pay a greedy salesman any of my hard earned money...." and think all they need to do is read the newspaper & that's that.
Imagine paying a greedy salesman who then put your money in Woodford!
"The bulk of Woodford’s business is won through IFAs directing client money to him"
People don't need to even read newspapers, they need to invest in some trackers.
With the greatest respect, and I do mean that, your entire industry is an absolute con. A con that won't last much longer either. being an IFA will be 2020's version of being a cab driver. Pointless.
I would have said that the bulk of the Woodford money came in via HL and other "platforms" that had him on their "white lists".
The is also another scandal brewing (imo) that people know little about. A lot of advisers now are "restricted" & are directed to invest client monies into selected funds. But that's another story.
Come on, Golfie. Spill the beans. Who does the restricting, and what's the money trail that ensures how they choose only those funds?
What is hard to understand about the warning that "the price of the units can fall as well a rise". So many people think they know best & dont want to take advice.. "ooh, not going to pay a greedy salesman any of my hard earned money...." and think all they need to do is read the newspaper & that's that.
Imagine paying a greedy salesman who then put your money in Woodford!
"The bulk of Woodford’s business is won through IFAs directing client money to him"
People don't need to even read newspapers, they need to invest in some trackers.
With the greatest respect, and I do mean that, your entire industry is an absolute con. A con that won't last much longer either. being an IFA will be 2020's version of being a cab driver. Pointless.
I would have said that the bulk of the Woodford money came in via HL and other "platforms" that had him on their "white lists".
The is also another scandal brewing (imo) that people know little about. A lot of advisers now are "restricted" & are directed to invest client monies into selected funds. But that's another story.
Come on, Golfie. Spill the beans. Who does the restricting, and what's the money trail that ensures how they choose only those funds?
I can only speak for the Companies I've worked for.........
Nowadays advisers, whether individually, a small 3 man firm or a national company belong to a "Network". The Network generally set the standards & agree with the FCA issues to do with training & compliance. Advisers who are not "whole of market" (previously known as IFA's) are generally deemed to be "restricted"......which can cover multitude of sins. "Restricted" might mean you can only select from 2 or 3 different product providers ....it might mean 5 or 6. However, it's more to do with the individual funds that they are "allowed" to sell. I will not name names on here but I know a national firm that employs over 200 advisers that has a very narrow fund range.....generally just 2 or 3 funds per risk attitude. This means if you are low or medium or adventurous risk you are likely to be put into a just one fund (albeit a multi-asset one). I think it is mainly done for ease of compliance (easier to keep advisors in check if there are very few funds to choose from - and advisers are told that they are not stock pickers & they should leave that to the experts, ie fund managers). It also helps if the network is owned by a fund management company......🤔. This is all legal & the FCA are happy with all this.
I am very autonomous & although I work for a large national advisory firm I do not have much to do with fellow colleagues so I dont really know what others do on a day to day basis, but I speak to ex-colleagues whom I have known for 20 years (one being a 1 man band who is now directly authorised by the FCA) and they tell me the same. I know I am one of a small band who still do my own fund research when investing money for my clients & have only ever come across 1 other colleague at any of the various fund manager events that I attend, with the other attendees generally being the typical 1 man band IFA's that are slowly dying out.
Just to add......there is usually a "selection committee" at larger advisory firms that choose which particular funds are on their "panel", but in my experience the funds are not changed that regularly and the ones that are on there are generally average at best. I certainly wouldn't be choosing any of them for my clients.
Good question! I used to believe in caveat emptor but my wife ended up as a poacher turned gamekeeper and the horror stories she uncovered in this industry were shocking.
It doesn't seem to matter what rules the FCA put in place, people get around them. The problem then is that people believe that if something is approved by the FCA it's fair and reasonable, which becomes counter-productive as they don't do as much due diligence. And most people are very trusting.
SJP have been well chronicled in the Sunday Times for their very creative interpretation of the rules on fees and they are extremely opaque on fees and relative performance of their funds.
Of course, there are good, honest IFAs out there who work hard for their money. You just have to ask a few basic questions to get the sense as to which camp they're in - clarity on fees, whether they are looking at the whole market, etc., what the fee-included performance of any fund is, etc.. @golfaddick clearly is in the latter camp, if he's still bothering to do his own research!
Nothing for me this month . Fortunately got an email from Annual tax refund- Info Support hmrc@co.uk informing me the “gov” has issued me a refund of £411.12. All I have to do is send on my debit card details to the email address supplied
Thanks for the reminder, cut my holding so less in the draw this month, won more than usual £50 for me, £100 for Mrs R7L so no chance of getting her to cash out now
£25 for me, nought for the missus. Still holding out for the big one. Would move my money elsewhere but rates are so low and there is always that chance of a decent win ….
Would you rather have a final salary pension of 14k ( in today’s money ) at 65? Or 445k to invest today ?
I'm guessing you have a pension that you are thinking of transferring ??
That being the case there are probably too many improndrables to give you a definitive answer. If it was me I'd take the transfer value as you have more flexibility than with a final salary pension. This is what I usually tell my clients. It's not will the £445k give more than £14k pa (which I'm sure it will in 14 years time - even at a modest 3.5% "drawdown" figure it could give you £16k pa) but would you prefer flexibility over a guarantee.
Currently your pension gives you a known annual pension (maybe a lump sum too). But the fund is lost on your death (maybe 50% to your spouse if you're married). Whereas in your plan you (and any dependants) have access to the full amount. You could take it earlier than 65 without any penalties. You can take out more now & less later (when you start receiving the State Pension). You can alter the amount of income over time, up & down stopping & starting.
As I said......irs more to do with flexibility than replicating what the final salary scheme will give you.
FWIW.......and it's a long piece of string......I would say you could turn £445k into £800k-£1m in 14 years time.
Say Holyjo fund has reached 900K in 10 years and he decides he wants to retire. Does he stay invested with what ever the risk is or does he then plump for a safer haven?
If there is one of course that makes viable sense. Assuming he is a fit guy and likely to live another 20-25 years.
just read back the last few pages. Think holyjo has done the right thing. I did that a couple of years ago. Final salary schemes are ok but if you pass away your significant other is likely to get only 50% and there is no other flexibility as others have pointed out. Mine has increased about £53k in under three years, about 11.5% growth after various charges. Not a massive increase but my funds are invested in low to moderate risk as I didn't want to in any way put my future income at risk. Retirement at 58 is still the plan.
The first major return of Woodford funds happened a couple of days ago. Payout at 59p per share. That's a loss of between 40-50% on my purchases, although I did sell some before it went tits up. Mind you that's still not quite as bad as my epic losses on a gold fund i got into a few years ago.
Would you rather have a final salary pension of 14k ( in today’s money ) at 65? Or 445k to invest today ?
I'm guessing you have a pension that you are thinking of transferring ??
That being the case there are probably too many improndrables to give you a definitive answer. If it was me I'd take the transfer value as you have more flexibility than with a final salary pension. This is what I usually tell my clients. It's not will the £445k give more than £14k pa (which I'm sure it will in 14 years time - even at a modest 3.5% "drawdown" figure it could give you £16k pa) but would you prefer flexibility over a guarantee.
Currently your pension gives you a known annual pension (maybe a lump sum too). But the fund is lost on your death (maybe 50% to your spouse if you're married). Whereas in your plan you (and any dependants) have access to the full amount. You could take it earlier than 65 without any penalties. You can take out more now & less later (when you start receiving the State Pension). You can alter the amount of income over time, up & down stopping & starting.
As I said......irs more to do with flexibility than replicating what the final salary scheme will give you.
FWIW.......and it's a long piece of string......I would say you could turn £445k into £800k-£1m in 14 years time.
Say Holyjo fund has reached 900K in 10 years and he decides he wants to retire. Does he stay invested with what ever the risk is or does he then plump for a safer haven?
If there is one of course that makes viable sense. Assuming he is a fit guy and likely to live another 20-25 years.
Again, it all depends on his attitude to risk /risk appetite going forward. The whole point of investing imo is that nothing is set in stone and you can move in & out of funds/risk stategies when it suits you.
At retirement you now have a range of options & it's no longer one size fits all (aka, an annuity). I would usually advise to go into a Flexi-Access drawdown plan, staying invested, albeit with a less riskier portfolio. However, if you had a pension pot of £900k you could easily turn half into an annuity, giving you a guaranteed income that is enough to pay your household bills etc, leaving the rest available to be "drawn down" as & when needed or to supplement the annuity income.
There really is no one answer......and usually best to speak to a financial advisor...😉.
First time i have been on this particular thread and if people are after a bit of info on finance my mate runs a free advice company called Money to the Masses. He does a couple of weekly podcasts too which are always a good listen. They have recently set up a Facebook community page where people are sharing their experience on different investment types. Always worth a look as a lot of it is along the same lines as this...
First time i have been on this particular thread and if people are after a bit of info on finance my mate runs a free advice company called Money to the Masses. He does a couple of weekly podcasts too which are always a good listen. They have recently set up a Facebook community page where people are sharing their experience on different investment types. Always worth a look as a lot of it is along the same lines as this...
There is a real lack of choice in Hong Kong for stock-trading platforms, they are mostly geared towards pros or are run by banks with silly fees. Have decided to move money back to England and take advantage of the wider choice of platforms on offer.
Can anyone recommend a low-fee platform in the UK? It will mostly be used for ETFs but with a few picks here and there with access to international markets.
There is a real lack of choice in Hong Kong for stock-trading platforms, they are mostly geared towards pros or are run by banks with silly fees. Have decided to move money back to England and take advantage of the wider choice of platforms on offer.
Can anyone recommend a low-fee platform in the UK? It will mostly be used for ETFs but with a few picks here and there with access to international markets.
as mentioned not long ago, The Lang Cat are your best ever friends for reviewing the many platforms now available on the UK market.
The UK has easily the widest choice of both platforms and funds (other than the US, I suppose), but when you say "access to international markets" there are myriad funds which invest in all kinds of global markets, but a UK platform will offer you funds which are denominated in £s, and your holdings will also be in £s. If you wanted to hold some investments in euros, you'd need a Euro platform, but in my experience they are all crap (i.e, much like how you describe the HK ones) compared with several UK platforms.
There is a real lack of choice in Hong Kong for stock-trading platforms, they are mostly geared towards pros or are run by banks with silly fees. Have decided to move money back to England and take advantage of the wider choice of platforms on offer.
Can anyone recommend a low-fee platform in the UK? It will mostly be used for ETFs but with a few picks here and there with access to international markets.
as mentioned not long ago, The Lang Cat are your best ever friends for reviewing the many platforms now available on the UK market.
The UK has easily the widest choice of both platforms and funds (other than the US, I suppose), but when you say "access to international markets" there are myriad funds which invest in all kinds of global markets, but a UK platform will offer you funds which are denominated in £s, and your holdings will also be in £s. If you wanted to hold some investments in euros, you'd need a Euro platform, but in my experience they are all crap (i.e, much like how you describe the HK ones) compared with several UK platforms.
Thanks Prague. Any recommendations on usability?
I'm also pondering if it would be worth setting up a DIY ISA for buying funds and a share dealing platform for the picks rather than buying both funds and shares through one platform
There is a real lack of choice in Hong Kong for stock-trading platforms, they are mostly geared towards pros or are run by banks with silly fees. Have decided to move money back to England and take advantage of the wider choice of platforms on offer.
Can anyone recommend a low-fee platform in the UK? It will mostly be used for ETFs but with a few picks here and there with access to international markets.
I assume you are UK non-resident... If so, why would you want to move your money back to UK?
You might be better off looking at brokers like Swissquote, SaxoBank or even Interactive Brokers. They give you access to the major global exchanges and have the option of different currency accounts.
There is a real lack of choice in Hong Kong for stock-trading platforms, they are mostly geared towards pros or are run by banks with silly fees. Have decided to move money back to England and take advantage of the wider choice of platforms on offer.
Can anyone recommend a low-fee platform in the UK? It will mostly be used for ETFs but with a few picks here and there with access to international markets.
I assume you are UK non-resident... If so, why would you want to move your money back to UK?
You might be better off looking at brokers like Swissquote, SaxoBank or even Interactive Brokers. They give you access to the major global exchanges and have the option of different currency accounts.
Thanks, I have looked at IB, big brand here. But they're very geared towards the professionals and have a 10USD minimum on commission fees per month. SwissQuote and Saxo fees seem quite high.
Comments
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-woodford-inv-suspension-advisers/woodford-struggles-to-build-bridges-with-uk-financial-advisers-idUKKCN1VD152
"The bulk of Woodford’s business is won through IFAs directing client money to him"
People don't need to even read newspapers, they need to invest in some trackers.
With the greatest respect, and I do mean that, your entire industry is an absolute con. A con that won't last much longer either. being an IFA will be 2020's version of being a cab driver. Pointless.
Take my hat off to them for shaking the market up though. We’re all much better off for Messrs Hargreaves and Lansdowne.
(sorry in advance for thread contagion :-)
The is also another scandal brewing (imo) that people know little about. A lot of advisers now are "restricted" & are directed to invest client monies into selected funds. But that's another story.
Nowadays advisers, whether individually, a small 3 man firm or a national company belong to a "Network". The Network generally set the standards & agree with the FCA issues to do with training & compliance. Advisers who are not "whole of market" (previously known as IFA's) are generally deemed to be "restricted"......which can cover multitude of sins. "Restricted" might mean you can only select from 2 or 3 different product providers ....it might mean 5 or 6. However, it's more to do with the individual funds that they are "allowed" to sell. I will not name names on here but I know a national firm that employs over 200 advisers that has a very narrow fund range.....generally just 2 or 3 funds per risk attitude. This means if you are low or medium or adventurous risk you are likely to be put into a just one fund (albeit a multi-asset one). I think it is mainly done for ease of compliance (easier to keep advisors in check if there are very few funds to choose from - and advisers are told that they are not stock pickers & they should leave that to the experts, ie fund managers). It also helps if the network is owned by a fund management company......🤔. This is all legal & the FCA are happy with all this.
I am very autonomous & although I work for a large national advisory firm I do not have much to do with fellow colleagues so I dont really know what others do on a day to day basis, but I speak to ex-colleagues whom I have known for 20 years (one being a 1 man band who is now directly authorised by the FCA) and they tell me the same. I know I am one of a small band who still do my own fund research when investing money for my clients & have only ever come across 1 other colleague at any of the various fund manager events that I attend, with the other attendees generally being the typical 1 man band IFA's that are slowly dying out.
Fair play to you for lifting the lid on it.
What do others think?
Good question! I used to believe in caveat emptor but my wife ended up as a poacher turned gamekeeper and the horror stories she uncovered in this industry were shocking.
It doesn't seem to matter what rules the FCA put in place, people get around them. The problem then is that people believe that if something is approved by the FCA it's fair and reasonable, which becomes counter-productive as they don't do as much due diligence. And most people are very trusting.
SJP have been well chronicled in the Sunday Times for their very creative interpretation of the rules on fees and they are extremely opaque on fees and relative performance of their funds.
Of course, there are good, honest IFAs out there who work hard for their money. You just have to ask a few basic questions to get the sense as to which camp they're in - clarity on fees, whether they are looking at the whole market, etc., what the fee-included performance of any fund is, etc.. @golfaddick clearly is in the latter camp, if he's still bothering to do his own research!
Thanks for the reminder, cut my holding so less in the draw this month, won more than usual
£50 for me, £100 for Mrs R7L so no chance of getting her to cash out now 
Thanks Ernie.
If there is one of course that makes viable sense. Assuming he is a fit guy and likely to live another 20-25 years.
The first major return of Woodford funds happened a couple of days ago. Payout at 59p per share. That's a loss of between 40-50% on my purchases, although I did sell some before it went tits up. Mind you that's still not quite as bad as my epic losses on a gold fund i got into a few years ago.
Live and learn....
At retirement you now have a range of options & it's no longer one size fits all (aka, an annuity). I would usually advise to go into a Flexi-Access drawdown plan, staying invested, albeit with a less riskier portfolio. However, if you had a pension pot of £900k you could easily turn half into an annuity, giving you a guaranteed income that is enough to pay your household bills etc, leaving the rest available to be "drawn down" as & when needed or to supplement the annuity income.
There really is no one answer......and usually best to speak to a financial advisor...😉.
https://moneytothemasses.com/
Fwìw......it depends on what your mate calls "advice".
Can anyone recommend a low-fee platform in the UK? It will mostly be used for ETFs but with a few picks here and there with access to international markets.
The UK has easily the widest choice of both platforms and funds (other than the US, I suppose), but when you say "access to international markets" there are myriad funds which invest in all kinds of global markets, but a UK platform will offer you funds which are denominated in £s, and your holdings will also be in £s. If you wanted to hold some investments in euros, you'd need a Euro platform, but in my experience they are all crap (i.e, much like how you describe the HK ones) compared with several UK platforms.
I'm also pondering if it would be worth setting up a DIY ISA for buying funds and a share dealing platform for the picks rather than buying both funds and shares through one platform
You might be better off looking at brokers like Swissquote, SaxoBank or even Interactive Brokers. They give you access to the major global exchanges and have the option of different currency accounts.
I hear DeGiro are low-cost for a UK broker, but haven't used them myself