hairball_89
Club Champion
Thanks for the replies all. Will talk to an IFA, definitely sounds like the way forward.
Investments - Strategies, Ideas, Options & advice
- Thread starter PNWokingham
- Start date
You *may* need an IFA in the below circumstances
1 - you are close to retirement and want a drawdown plan
2 - you are setting up some complex offshore trusts/bonds
Anything else can be self managed.
If you absolutely must, then avoid anything attached to St James Place like the plague. Ideally find one off fixed fee advice rather than a recurring percentage.
My advice would be to go to UK Personal Finance on Reddit and follow the flowchart. Don’t overcomplicate it!
1 - you are close to retirement and want a drawdown plan
2 - you are setting up some complex offshore trusts/bonds
Anything else can be self managed.
If you absolutely must, then avoid anything attached to St James Place like the plague. Ideally find one off fixed fee advice rather than a recurring percentage.
My advice would be to go to UK Personal Finance on Reddit and follow the flowchart. Don’t overcomplicate it!
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Why…just out of interest. I’ve read a lot over the last few years about them, and the grumbles. However more recently, maybe in the last year or two, I’ve read a lot about how they are changing their practices and have really tightened up on their governance around advisors and their advice.
Neilds
Assistant Pro
We are with St James Place and have excellent service from them. They have advised when they think we should change the portfolios and done everything we needed. Our money is growing at a rate we feel is good so would recommend them to anyone.
Mudball
Assistant Pro
This is so true... if I got any spare cash/lottery/inheritance... there are so many permutations. We have a v big mortgage that will outlast my employment, so depending on the size of spare cash, i would be tempted to overpay - but NOT so much that I have to pay a penalty. Then i want to invest in a fund/stock that gives me 15%+ growth in an ISA/Pension tax wrapper. With that 15%, i would look to do my annual overpayments and still have money left over to reinvest.
While I know the Mrs will end up agreeing to what I say, she would prefer to reduce debt. You cannot underestimate the relief of being debt free. So the younger you are, look at investments; while the older you are look towards going debt free. Whichever way, dont forget to enjoy a bit of life too.
As has been said several times, get independent advice.
While I know the Mrs will end up agreeing to what I say, she would prefer to reduce debt. You cannot underestimate the relief of being debt free. So the younger you are, look at investments; while the older you are look towards going debt free. Whichever way, dont forget to enjoy a bit of life too.
As has been said several times, get independent advice.
Neilds
Assistant Pro
Doesn’t 15% return put you into the high risk area and is more than the historical norm? Maybe you need to temper your expectations to pay off your mortgage.
Last edited:
Mudball
Assistant Pro
100%..
But this works for me.. I hope i can drive that can of return across asset classes (excl real estate). Sometimes i lose 80% of the money e.g. betting on Chinese EV makers, sometings i double e.g. Nasdaq, sometimes i am just defensible & boring. But this works FOR ME. I am also prepared to wait longer on some and others I will cut early. If only I can win a few million today..
All comes to risk appetite and training
The Squirrel
Well-known member
If you properly look at all SJP’s fee layers then you wouldn’t be so happy - especially compared to what you can easily set up yourself.
Returns are uncertain but fees are absolutely certain so the one thing you can control. Worse still, they compound (like compound interest but bad).
SJP’s performance has never been better than tracker funds (I.e. no better than picking stocks at random) so you’re getting nothing for those fees. 1% per annum extra fees SOUNDS trivial but over investment lifetimes it is horrific - even a modestly sized portfolio (e.g. around the value of a typical house) will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds to unnecessary fees (not hundreds or thousands, hundreds OF thousands; £100,000 or multiples of that).
Yes your investment will still grow; just significantly slower than one with reasonable fees.
SJP can’t advise you on much as they only advise on their own (expensive and fairly rubbish) products. They are sales people, not true advisers.
Their previous working practices have been horrific with advisers incentivised by big bonuses for pushing clients into expensive products that were bad for them but good for SJP - a Google of that will leave no doubt and there is a reason the papers are now full of lawyers adverts along the “have you ever been sold anything by SJP line. Start here:
www.cityam.com
Staying with them is a simple failure to look at costs and/or sunk cost fallacy or escalation of commitment heuristic.
Returns are uncertain but fees are absolutely certain so the one thing you can control. Worse still, they compound (like compound interest but bad).
SJP’s performance has never been better than tracker funds (I.e. no better than picking stocks at random) so you’re getting nothing for those fees. 1% per annum extra fees SOUNDS trivial but over investment lifetimes it is horrific - even a modestly sized portfolio (e.g. around the value of a typical house) will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds to unnecessary fees (not hundreds or thousands, hundreds OF thousands; £100,000 or multiples of that).
Yes your investment will still grow; just significantly slower than one with reasonable fees.
SJP can’t advise you on much as they only advise on their own (expensive and fairly rubbish) products. They are sales people, not true advisers.
Their previous working practices have been horrific with advisers incentivised by big bonuses for pushing clients into expensive products that were bad for them but good for SJP - a Google of that will leave no doubt and there is a reason the papers are now full of lawyers adverts along the “have you ever been sold anything by SJP line. Start here:
'There's an awful lot of business': St James's Place boss defends rewarding cruises to partners
The chief executive of St James’s Place has defended the trips offered to its partners as part of the firm’s controversial incentive scheme.The wealth manager is conducting a review into the scheme after details of rewards ranging from white-gold cufflinks to luxury cruises were made public last...
www.cityam.com
Why St. James's Place owe their customers compensation - Resolver News
If you were a client of St. James’s Place within the last 12 years, you may be entitled to compensation. Find out the details.
news.resolver.co.uk
Staying with them is a simple failure to look at costs and/or sunk cost fallacy or escalation of commitment heuristic.
IanM
Journeyman Pro
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Messages
- 14,594
- Location
- Monmouthshire, UK via Guildford!
Just been advised of an under payment in my tax on interest. I've done the sums, and I think they've made a mistake. So, I'm hanging on the phone to seek "clarification!"
They're not wrong very often, hopefully, they found some cash I didn't know I had!
(not very likely)
Edit: no, they've made a mistake. Or rather a savings institution has. That's the next call
They're not wrong very often, hopefully, they found some cash I didn't know I had!
(not very likely)Edit: no, they've made a mistake. Or rather a savings institution has. That's the next call
Last edited:
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
The SJP fee structure has very recently been changed quite significantly. Plus the governance annd monitoring around the advice and support that SJP advisors must provide to clients has also been significantly tightened up.If you properly look at all SJP’s fee layers then you wouldn’t be so happy - especially compared to what you can easily set up yourself.
Returns are uncertain but fees are absolutely certain so the one thing you can control. Worse still, they compound (like compound interest but bad).
SJP’s performance has never been better than tracker funds (I.e. no better than picking stocks at random) so you’re getting nothing for those fees. 1% per annum extra fees SOUNDS trivial but over investment lifetimes it is horrific - even a modestly sized portfolio (e.g. around the value of a typical house) will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds to unnecessary fees (not hundreds or thousands, hundreds OF thousands; £100,000 or multiples of that).
Yes your investment will still grow; just significantly slower than one with reasonable fees.
SJP can’t advise you on much as they only advise on their own (expensive and fairly rubbish) products. They are sales people, not true advisers.
Their previous working practices have been horrific with advisers incentivised by big bonuses for pushing clients into expensive products that were bad for them but good for SJP - a Google of that will leave no doubt and there is a reason the papers are now full of lawyers adverts along the “have you ever been sold anything by SJP line. Start here:
'There's an awful lot of business': St James's Place boss defends rewarding cruises to partners
The chief executive of St James’s Place has defended the trips offered to its partners as part of the firm’s controversial incentive scheme.The wealth manager is conducting a review into the scheme after details of rewards ranging from white-gold cufflinks to luxury cruises were made public last...
Why St. James's Place owe their customers compensation - Resolver News
If you were a client of St. James’s Place within the last 12 years, you may be entitled to compensation. Find out the details.news.resolver.co.uk
Staying with them is a simple failure to look at costs and/or sunk cost fallacy or escalation of commitment heuristic.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
I’m frankly a little confused over the obsession so many have about paying off their mortgage. We took out a loan against our property to build an extension. It’s a good low rate and we can comfortably afford the monthly interest-only payment. The rate will expire in a couple of years time. We will not get a similar low rate and our payment will go up unless we pay off some of the capital amount to get the payment back to what it is. And that is what we will do on a year-by-year basis.
We have capital and investments with which we could pay off the full amount of the loan when the current rate expires. But why would we bother. We can service the interest and may well pay off the max we can on a year by year basis. If things took a very unfortunate turn and our children were left with an amount outstanding then they will inherit more than enough to pay it off. I’d rather have the capital to enjoy in our retirement.
I can see that if pension income was likely to be an issue then yes…look to pay it off whilst earning.
Last edited:
Mudball
Assistant Pro
I am with you... except that I dont have the capital to pay it off.
Even if i did find that half a mil, i would still use a level of overpayment to accelerate the closing out, but will never pay fees on it. The remaining 400k would be going straight into investments such that i can generate the 50k overpayment from it. That way i keep captial, service a loan + also have the safety net to overpay without eating into capital.
Once a capital is gone, its gone. Though i can understand the joy/relief someone has when mortgage is paid off. To each his own..
Neilds
Assistant Pro
We have no kids so when the mortgage is paid off - party, party, party
Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
When I went to Thoresby pit in 2006, I was told the pit would be open for another 50 years. Within 6 months we were told we were in competition with a neighbouring colliery for a massive block of coal. If the other pit got it we would be shut in 18 months. I owed £18k on the mortgage. Me and Missis T spent every penny we had on paying off that mortgage. Some of it was from standard life miss selling of endowment mortgages. It was paid off within a year. Within a Couple of months, we were told we were staying open, we had that block of coal. ( ironically the pit shut nine years later). So we had a loan and extended the kitchen. Paid off within 3 years.
But what I don’t understand is once your capital is gone it’s gone.
For me, the two greatest investments are yourself and your property.
Once you have your property paid for, as much as it’s an house, it’s a home and it is capital. I am now at a stage where we could downsize, and that would or could release more “ capital”. I say could because the village I would move to, property value is high.
But what I don’t understand is once your capital is gone it’s gone.
For me, the two greatest investments are yourself and your property.
Once you have your property paid for, as much as it’s an house, it’s a home and it is capital. I am now at a stage where we could downsize, and that would or could release more “ capital”. I say could because the village I would move to, property value is high.
D-S
Well-known member
Not necessarily relevant to this particular discussion but I always like the French expression - "you can't borrow wealth".
Mudball
Assistant Pro
From elsewhere
Whilst I might split hairs on the semantics, there is one absolute. That is time. But maybe even that can be bought. Paying for the best surgeon might buy you more time.
When I decided to retire it was about time. The day I was diagnosed with bowel cancer I decided to use whatever time I might have left my way.
Each to their own but compromising between the biggest pension pot you can achieve ‘v’ time whilst you’re still healthy is worthy of consideration.
PNWokingham
Journeyman Pro
I have 2 or 3 days to finally decide if i piull the trigger on taking tax-free cash from the penion or not - as it takes 5 to 10 days to action. I have raised the required cash is in the SIPPs and while i am circa 90% sure she won't do it/ do it to kick in the day after the budget, i am still leaning to doing it anyway - and to buy low-coupon gilts with the cash in the Trading account. Decision time!
Why not do it, then reinvest if she doesn’t
PNWokingham
Journeyman Pro
i will reinvest in the Trading account - but you can't put it back in sipp if she doesn't do it
