Cheapest fee's on self managed FTSE All Share Index
Cheapest fee's on self managed FTSE All Share Index
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Discussion

fellatthefirst

Original Poster:

619 posts

185 months

Friday 28th December 2018
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I want to invest into a FTSE All Share Index and am wondering where to go for the cheapest fees? Any advice greatly received.

Croutons

13,358 posts

196 months

Friday 28th December 2018
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What wrapper?

fellatthefirst

Original Poster:

619 posts

185 months

Friday 28th December 2018
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Croutons said:
What wrapper?
An ISA

JulianPH

10,084 posts

144 months

Saturday 29th December 2018
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If you are looking for a FTSE All Share index tracker then Vanguard would be a good place to start.

Remember platform costs though.

xeny

5,480 posts

108 months

Saturday 29th December 2018
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fellatthefirst said:
I want to invest into a FTSE All Share Index and am wondering where to go for the cheapest fees? Any advice greatly received.
Here's a reasonably comprehensive list of brokers with comments about what portfolio/investing habits the broker/fee structure is a good fit for:

https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-b...

Ridealong

574 posts

100 months

Sunday 30th December 2018
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An alternative to Vanguard is Legal & General UK Index, on the HL platform it is 0.04% annual fee.

JulianPH

10,084 posts

144 months

Sunday 30th December 2018
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Ridealong said:
An alternative to Vanguard is Legal & General UK Index, on the HL platform it is 0.04% annual fee.
But you also have HL's 0.45% platform fee, bringing the total cost up to 0.49%.

Vanguard's is 0.08% but the Vanguard platform fee is only 0.15% giving a total cost of 0.23%.

This is why I said about being careful to factor in platform costs above. L&G initially looks half the price of Vanguard, but factor in the platform costs and it becomes more than twice as expensive.

Ridealong

574 posts

100 months

Monday 31st December 2018
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JulianPH said:
Ridealong said:
An alternative to Vanguard is Legal & General UK Index, on the HL platform it is 0.04% annual fee.
But you also have HL's 0.45% platform fee, bringing the total cost up to 0.49%.

Vanguard's is 0.08% but the Vanguard platform fee is only 0.15% giving a total cost of 0.23%.

This is why I said about being careful to factor in platform costs above. L&G initially looks half the price of Vanguard, but factor in the platform costs and it becomes more than twice as expensive.
Agree that HL is not the cheapest, I use them as they seem to offer more funds than anyone else and I can keep all my different ISA funds (AXA, Fundsmith, L&G, Lindsell, UBS, etc.) under one platform, if there is a better and cheaper platform that offers the same funds I would consider moving all of my funds.

I've just looked at L&G website and the UK Index Fund Class C Total On-Going Charge Fee is 0.06%, other classes are (I) 0.10%, (F) 0.30% and (R) 0.48%.
I can't see a platform fee.

fellatthefirst

Original Poster:

619 posts

185 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
Many thanks for the replies on this....

To give a bit more information on my situation, i have for the last 4 years been paying into my pension and ISA and it's been managed by a local financial advisor. The money is all invested into a range of managed funds on the Fidelity platform.

I have been reading up over the xmas break and a few places are saying that management funds over the long term do not perform as well as index trackers mainly because of the higher fee's on managed funds.

Does anyone have any experience on this?

I'm in this for the long term. I'm 34 now so i really don't want to get to 65 and look back thinking how much i've lost in fee's over the years when i could have just put everything in index funds and government bonds.

anonymous-user

84 months

Monday 31st December 2018
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fellatthefirst said:
I have been reading up over the xmas break and a few places are saying that managed funds over the long term do not perform as well as index trackers mainly because of the higher fees on managed funds.
Remember that if you track the market upwards you will inevitably track it downwards as well - with no manager to bail you out from collapsing sectors until a company's fall drops it right out of the index. We've just had the longest bull market in history which has made tracking look clever, but how trackers may fare in 2019 and beyond can only be known after the event.

JulianPH

10,084 posts

144 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
fellatthefirst said:
Many thanks for the replies on this....

To give a bit more information on my situation, i have for the last 4 years been paying into my pension and ISA and it's been managed by a local financial advisor. The money is all invested into a range of managed funds on the Fidelity platform.

I have been reading up over the xmas break and a few places are saying that management funds over the long term do not perform as well as index trackers mainly because of the higher fee's on managed funds.

Does anyone have any experience on this?

I'm in this for the long term. I'm 34 now so i really don't want to get to 65 and look back thinking how much i've lost in fee's over the years when i could have just put everything in index funds and government bonds.
There would be no particular reason not to stay with Fidelity, it does everything you seem to be looking for (and more) at a lower platform price than HL.

Charges are important as they reduce your money each and every year, but it goes without saying that the cheapest is not necessarily the best.

You will likely be paying three different types of annual charge:


  • Platform Fee - This should be 0.35% a year with Fidelity
  • Fund Fees - This depends upon the funds used. It could be below 0.1% (trackers) or up to 1% (managed funds)
  • Adviser Fees - Typically 0.5% to 1% (and these days they generally are 1%)

So if you are currently in managed funds on the Fidelity platform with an adviser in place you could be paying 1.85% to 2.35% a year in total fees.

If you switched to tracker funds and removed your financial adviser you would be able to reduce charges to 0.4% to 0.65% very easily.

Assuming 7% average annual returns on a £50k portfolio and £500 a month of regular contributions this could save you over £250k in fees over 30 years.

On a £100k portfolio with £1k a month of contributions this would save you over £500k in fees (on the same basis as above) and so on.

Only you can decide if your adviser and their recommendations are worth the money they will cost you.






JulianPH

10,084 posts

144 months

Monday 31st December 2018
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rockin said:
fellatthefirst said:
I have been reading up over the xmas break and a few places are saying that managed funds over the long term do not perform as well as index trackers mainly because of the higher fees on managed funds.
Remember that if you track the market upwards you will inevitably track it downwards as well - with no manager to bail you out from collapsing sectors until a company's fall drops it right out of the index. We've just had the longest bull market in history which has made tracking look clever, but how trackers may fare in 2019 and beyond can only be known after the event.
That is a good point Steve. However, good fund managers do tend to stand by their convictions and in any event a UK Equity fund (for example) cannot move assets into overseas gilts (again, for example) for safety in any event.

This is why I prefer active asset allocation of low cost trackers for portfolio management rather than active stock picking, as the manager can do just this.

The OP may want to consider this approach as well. As I said, the cheapest is not necessarily the best (though this approach could still be less than half the lowest price he is currently paying).

anonymous-user

84 months

Monday 31st December 2018
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JulianPH said:
I prefer active asset allocation of low cost trackers for portfolio management.
This may be a good approach for many investors.

Regarding your point about fees (above) it's both desirable and doable to get the overall annual cost of running a portfolio under 1%.

These two things can IMO be combined by relatively unskilled investors who take some interest in the subject,
  • Ditch the IFA - or at least only pay a one-off fee for advice when you really need it.
  • Make some basic decisions, with advice if appropriate, about what sort of things to invest in. (Global equities? USA eq? European eq? Large cap? Small cap? Bonds?)
  • Buy the relevant low cost index funds.
  • Use the tax wrappers (ISA, SIPP)
  • Recognise it's a long game. Most particularly, don't panic in a downturn! Review once or twice a year.
  • Keep topping up.

Derek Chevalier

4,661 posts

203 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
fellatthefirst said:
I want to invest into a FTSE All Share Index
Why? Why not pork bellies?

Derek Chevalier

4,661 posts

203 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
rockin said:
fellatthefirst said:
I have been reading up over the xmas break and a few places are saying that managed funds over the long term do not perform as well as index trackers mainly because of the higher fees on managed funds.
Remember that if you track the market upwards you will inevitably track it downwards as well - with no manager to bail you out from collapsing sectors until a company's fall drops it right out of the index. We've just had the longest bull market in history which has made tracking look clever, but how trackers may fare in 2019 and beyond can only be known after the event.
I'd love to find these managers that are able to make the right calls in a falling market.

JulianPH

10,084 posts

144 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
rockin said:
JulianPH said:
I prefer active asset allocation of low cost trackers for portfolio management.
This may be a good approach for many investors.

Regarding your point about fees (above) it's both desirable and doable to get the overall annual cost of running a portfolio under 1%.

These two things can IMO be combined by relatively unskilled investors who take some interest in the subject,
  • Ditch the IFA - or at least only pay a one-off fee for advice when you really need it.
  • Make some basic decisions, with advice if appropriate, about what sort of things to invest in. (Global equities? USA eq? European eq? Large cap? Small cap? Bonds?)
  • Buy the relevant low cost index funds.
  • Use the tax wrappers (ISA, SIPP)
  • Recognise it's a long game. Most particularly, don't panic in a downturn! Review once or twice a year.
  • Keep topping up.
Nail on head really.

And if you are not sure how to build an asset allocation model and manage it for you, then use an investment manager that will do this for you at a low cost (under 1%, as you say). Then the only time you may ever need to pay for financial advice would be for a specific reason and at a one off fee.

Happy New Year! smile

Derek Chevalier

4,661 posts

203 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
rockin said:
Regarding your point about fees (above) it's both desirable and doable to get the overall annual cost of running a portfolio under 1%.


  • Ditch the IFA - or at least only pay a one-off fee for advice when you really need it.
Depending on size of pot it shouldn't be too much more than 1% even with advice fees, surely?

Funds: 20bps
Platform: 10-30bps
Advice: 50-75bps

Happy New Year!

JulianPH

10,084 posts

144 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
Derek Chevalier said:
rockin said:
Regarding your point about fees (above) it's both desirable and doable to get the overall annual cost of running a portfolio under 1%.


  • Ditch the IFA - or at least only pay a one-off fee for advice when you really need it.
Depending on size of pot it shouldn't be too much more than 1% even with advice fees, surely?

Funds: 20bps
Platform: 10-30bps
Advice: 50-75bps

Happy New Year!
The problem is you rarely see this type of model. I know this is how you work, and it should be applauded and given the recognition it deserves, but unfortunately the other 99% of financial advisers do not do this.

We see, on a daily basis:

Funds: 80bps +
Platform: 35bps to 45bps
Advice: 100bps

So 2.25% a year is completely normal, with some advisers having the gall to take this to 3% a year using a discretionary manager whilst still charging 1% a year for themselves.

The reason most financial advisers have such a bad reputation is because of the charges they generate. It also does not help that they charge more each year than even active fund managers!

Happy New Year!

anonymous-user

84 months

Monday 31st December 2018
quotequote all
Derek Chevalier said:
fellatthefirst said:
I want to invest into a FTSE All Share Index
Why? Why not pork bellies?
^^^ This is where an adviser can be helpful - to make sure the type of investments you are looking at match your financial objectives and risk profile.

Would I pay c.1% a year for advice, over and above the other costs? No. Why not? Because on a £100k portfolio running for 20 years which for the sake of a simple example achieves no growth at all, your adviser will still have pocketed 20% of your money. Advice can be invaluable but the cost needs to be carefully scrutinised.

Derek Chevalier

4,661 posts

203 months

Tuesday 1st January 2019
quotequote all
rockin said:
Derek Chevalier said:
fellatthefirst said:
I want to invest into a FTSE All Share Index
Why? Why not pork bellies?
^^^ This is where an adviser can be helpful - to make sure the type of investments you are looking at match your financial objectives and risk profile.

Would I pay c.1% a year for advice, over and above the other costs? No. Why not? Because on a £100k portfolio running for 20 years which for the sake of a simple example achieves no growth at all, your adviser will still have pocketed 20% of your money. Advice can be invaluable but the cost needs to be carefully scrutinised.
If the adviser is charging 1% just to manage money, I agree, but for the right clients the costs will easily be recouped.

This article sums it up nicely, IMO.

http://www.fpadvance.com/value-proposition/