PensionBee plans
Discussion
At the start of the year I though i would roll up a couple of my old pensions into a PensonBee fund and the idea was to stick it in the highest risk investment fund and forget about it.
It has been in there 8 weeks now and as the stock market has been going great guns I thought I would see how 7k in an investment fund is performing.
I lost 85 quid. How on earth has an investment fund lost money in this market.
Can someone who is not as inept as I am at financial stuff recommend a better PensionBee plan to put my money in?
I was advised the highest risk one was their pre-annuity plan.
https://www.pensionbee.com/plans
It has been in there 8 weeks now and as the stock market has been going great guns I thought I would see how 7k in an investment fund is performing.
I lost 85 quid. How on earth has an investment fund lost money in this market.
Can someone who is not as inept as I am at financial stuff recommend a better PensionBee plan to put my money in?
I was advised the highest risk one was their pre-annuity plan.
https://www.pensionbee.com/plans
I told the advisor that I wanted the highest risk, I am not sure why bonds would be assessed as the most bullish fund they have - very strange. I was probably talking to a bot.
To be honest I wish I had just taken it all out and dumped it in my Coinbase account - I think that has risen about 50% in the same time frame.
To be honest I wish I had just taken it all out and dumped it in my Coinbase account - I think that has risen about 50% in the same time frame.
Had a cursory look and I don't think any of their offerings are what I would see as high risk and very adventurous.
The annuity fund is not what you were thinking it was though. Your watching the world equity markets and anticipating that return but are invested in bonds which is something very different.
Look at the tracker fund, that said 80% equity so might be closer to what your after and shouldn't require any managing on your part
The annuity fund is not what you were thinking it was though. Your watching the world equity markets and anticipating that return but are invested in bonds which is something very different.
Look at the tracker fund, that said 80% equity so might be closer to what your after and shouldn't require any managing on your part
272BHP said:
I told the advisor that I wanted the highest risk, I am not sure why bonds would be assessed as the most bullish fund they have - very strange. I was probably talking to a bot.
To be honest I wish I had just taken it all out and dumped it in my Coinbase account - I think that has risen about 50% in the same time frame.
It depends how you define risk I suppose.To be honest I wish I had just taken it all out and dumped it in my Coinbase account - I think that has risen about 50% in the same time frame.
Bonds don't tend to result in permanent loss of capital but they can be very volatile as 2022 showed.
Most people equate high risk with equities and they have been on a tear lately.
From a quick glance their only 100% equity fund is the Shariah plan which invests 100% in the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund which has done around 9% YTD.
Their other plans look to be either multi-asset or around ESG themes.
I think Pension Bee's 'higher risk' assessment comes from the fact that around 75% of its Pre-Annuity Plan is invested in long-term corporate bonds. It doesn't include any treasuries at all (as per the plan Fact Sheet).
In fairness, the web site makes it clear that the equity mix is 0%.
In fairness, the web site makes it clear that the equity mix is 0%.
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hstewie said:
hstewie said: Their pre-annuity plan is all bonds.
I suppose the logic in that is that is with interest rates rises annuity rates go up. So even though bond funds might drop in value (due to higher interest rates) you could ene up better off.Of course buying an annuity, which used to be the default thing to do on retiring, hasn't been a thing to do for some years while interest rates have been low. There is a bit of a resurgence of discusssion of annuities as rates are higher now.
272BHP said:
I told the advisor that I wanted the highest risk, I am not sure why bonds would be assessed as the most bullish fund they have - very strange. I was probably talking to a bot.
To be honest I wish I had just taken it all out and dumped it in my Coinbase account - I think that has risen about 50% in the same time frame.
The website's content is disturbingly inconsistent. The pre retirement option manages to sayTo be honest I wish I had just taken it all out and dumped it in my Coinbase account - I think that has risen about 50% in the same time frame.
"This higher-risk plan will invest the majority of your money into equities (company shares that are traded on stock markets) or corporate bonds (a type of loan guaranteed by a company). Equities have higher growth potential than other types of assets, but can also fall in value if the company or market performs poorly"
as well as
"Pre-Annuity Plan
Invests your money in bonds to provide you with returns that broadly correspond to the cost of purchasing an annuity. "
It is almost as if nobody who knows anything about investing has proof read it
Have not checked my PensionBee account since I swapped my investments over to their tracker fund nearly 2 months ago. Just noticed in the news this week that prices across the FTSE 100 have risen sharply in those 2 months so I checked my account and expected a reasonable uptick.
I am 20 quid down on top of the 85 quid I lost in the first 2 months of the year.
Along with the compounding effects of inflation I am starting to think my money should be elsewhere. What is the point of having something sitting there losing money in what is supposedly a bull market?
I am 20 quid down on top of the 85 quid I lost in the first 2 months of the year.
Along with the compounding effects of inflation I am starting to think my money should be elsewhere. What is the point of having something sitting there losing money in what is supposedly a bull market?
xeny said:
FTSE 100 over the past month has behaved very differently to a global tracker where the bull market paused about 6 weeks ago.
Kind of wonder if you want to be this hands on, a SIPP may be a better fit than Pension Bee?
It is just 7k so not my main pension fund or even my secondary one - it was always meant to be just a third high risk fund.Kind of wonder if you want to be this hands on, a SIPP may be a better fit than Pension Bee?
Maybe I should look at SIPP instead as you say.
My dad had a couple of old, small work pensions from decades ago, my mum unknown to me transferred them to pension bee. Yes you guessed it, despite the FTSE100 and S&P 500 being at all time highs it has lost money.
To me they are the pension version of Car vertical, because people have seen the adverts so many times they just assume they are good.
I am assuming it is the classic case of high fees meaning that you will always make a loss with Pension bee, a bit like my children's CTFs with Forsters which are worth less than the money we paid in.
Shame on these companies for ripping off people who don't know what they are doing in this way.
To me they are the pension version of Car vertical, because people have seen the adverts so many times they just assume they are good.
I am assuming it is the classic case of high fees meaning that you will always make a loss with Pension bee, a bit like my children's CTFs with Forsters which are worth less than the money we paid in.
Shame on these companies for ripping off people who don't know what they are doing in this way.
272BHP said:
It is just 7k so not my main pension fund or even my secondary one - it was always meant to be just a third high risk fund.
Maybe I should look at SIPP instead as you say.
I think the issue is that PensionBee only sell PensionBee products whilst with a SIPP depending who it's with you have access to pretty much every fund or product on the market that can be held in a SIPP.Maybe I should look at SIPP instead as you say.
PensionBee don't look cheap and they don't look especially decent which is pretty unforgivable IMHO when you can invest in a SIPP for buttons elsewhere.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said:272BHP said:
It is just 7k so not my main pension fund or even my secondary one - it was always meant to be just a third high risk fund.
Maybe I should look at SIPP instead as you say.
I think the issue is that PensionBee only sell PensionBee products whilst with a SIPP depending who it's with you have access to pretty much every fund or product on the market that can be held in a SIPP.Maybe I should look at SIPP instead as you say.
PensionBee don't look cheap and they don't look especially decent which is pretty unforgivable IMHO when you can invest in a SIPP for buttons elsewhere.
My first thoughts on PensionBees' performance vs the high FTSE 100 and S&P 500 is either (a) you weren't invested in them (b) high charges, and (c) possibly both.
I hesitate to be too definite as I'm far from a pensions boff, but limited googling suggests PensionBee pensions are SIPPs, so it's not either/or: https://ourlifeplan.co.uk/pensionbee-sipp/#:~:text...
272BHP said:
I told the advisor that I wanted the highest risk, I am not sure why bonds would be assessed as the most bullish fund they have - very strange. I was probably talking to a bot.
If that was 'pension advice' they need a kick up the arse. A bot as an adviser? What does the FCA make of that? Maybe I am just late to the party as the tracker plan did a respectable 16.9% last year.
https://www.pensionbee.com/blog/2024/february/our-...
Looking at those results I am tempted to jump ship to the Shariah plan - 27.4%!
https://www.pensionbee.com/blog/2024/february/our-...
Looking at those results I am tempted to jump ship to the Shariah plan - 27.4%!
Respectfully you've jumped from all bonds to a tracker to a Shariah plan and we're only on the first page 
That's not going to end well.
The first thing to do is to stop keep jumping from one thing to another and understand what you're investing in, why you're investing in it, and to stick to the plan.
That's not going to end well.
The first thing to do is to stop keep jumping from one thing to another and understand what you're investing in, why you're investing in it, and to stick to the plan.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Respectfully you've jumped from all bonds to a tracker to a Shariah plan and we're only on the first page
That's not going to end well.
The first thing to do is to stop keep jumping from one thing to another and understand what you're investing in, why you're investing in it, and to stick to the plan.
Fair comment.That's not going to end well.
The first thing to do is to stop keep jumping from one thing to another and understand what you're investing in, why you're investing in it, and to stick to the plan.
I guess my usual approach of fail fast and find something that works does not really apply to pension investments
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