Carry on with SPP or not?
Discussion
I'm just asking for a bit of advice please. I opened a Stakeholder Pension many moons ago but only started making regular payments in 2011. It was always an additional pot to subsidise work pensions (and not spend it), but I've increased the monthly contributions over the years. The fund is with Standard Life and whilst 2016-2017 saw a decent return, 2018 has been a loss. Having just received the annual statement telling me that I'll be getting £1600 p.a. on retirement, I'm of the thought that this isn't the best place for this money, and perhaps bricks and mortar would be better? Thanks.
L500 said:
I'm just asking for a bit of advice please. I opened a Stakeholder Pension many moons ago but only started making regular payments in 2011. It was always an additional pot to subsidise work pensions (and not spend it), but I've increased the monthly contributions over the years. The fund is with Standard Life and whilst 2016-2017 saw a decent return, 2018 has been a loss. Having just received the annual statement telling me that I'll be getting £1600 p.a. on retirement, I'm of the thought that this isn't the best place for this money, and perhaps bricks and mortar would be better? Thanks.
Depending what you do, the answer is 'massively'. The trouble with investing in a managed fund is that, whether the fund performs well or not, the manager (Standard Life) will take out annual charges and management fees which will reduce your pot.
If I were you I'd be investing in a SIPP - then it depends how much of a risk you're prepared to take with that pot of money and the additional contributions. My SIPP is invested in tracker funds, which have historically done very well and are currently in a trough, but they'll come back, I have every confidence
There's lots of help & information out there if you decide to DIY.
If I were you I'd be investing in a SIPP - then it depends how much of a risk you're prepared to take with that pot of money and the additional contributions. My SIPP is invested in tracker funds, which have historically done very well and are currently in a trough, but they'll come back, I have every confidence
There's lots of help & information out there if you decide to DIY.
Bluesgirl said:
The trouble with investing in a managed fund is that, whether the fund performs well or not, the manager (Standard Life) will take out annual charges and management fees which will reduce your pot.
If I were you I'd be investing in a SIPP - then it depends how much of a risk you're prepared to take with that pot of money and the additional contributions. My SIPP is invested in tracker funds, which have historically done very well and are currently in a trough, but they'll come back, I have every confidence
There's lots of help & information out there if you decide to DIY.
SIPPs have annual fees and you pay investment management charges too.If I were you I'd be investing in a SIPP - then it depends how much of a risk you're prepared to take with that pot of money and the additional contributions. My SIPP is invested in tracker funds, which have historically done very well and are currently in a trough, but they'll come back, I have every confidence
There's lots of help & information out there if you decide to DIY.
Fees on stakeholder pensions are capped, whereas those on SIPPs are not.
L500 said:
I'm just asking for a bit of advice please. I opened a Stakeholder Pension many moons ago but only started making regular payments in 2011. It was always an additional pot to subsidise work pensions (and not spend it), but I've increased the monthly contributions over the years. The fund is with Standard Life and whilst 2016-2017 saw a decent return, 2018 has been a loss. Having just received the annual statement telling me that I'll be getting £1600 p.a. on retirement, I'm of the thought that this isn't the best place for this money, and perhaps bricks and mortar would be better? Thanks.
How much did you invest per month?Bluesgirl said:
So would you recommend investing in a managed fund? Do you invest in a managed fund yourself?
I would recommend trackers for equity investment. However, they still have charges.The SIPP structure itself also has charges which you seem to have ignored.
No reason why he could not invest in a tracker fund within the existing stakeholder pension.
Where does it say he is currently within a managed fund, as part of his stakeholder pension?
Bluesgirl said:
So a fee comparison would be needed to minimise costs. I don't know exactly how much my fees are with AJ Bell, but they seem reasonable, given that I hardly do any transactions.
Surely it’s not just about minimising costs?Why did you bring managed funds into the discussion?
Perhaps try again when you are able to compare apples and apples?!
Thank you.
Standard Life are a fund manager, are they not?
No, it isn't just about minimising costs, but if a fund is performing badly, then perhaps that's because any increase in capital is being whittled away by the fund manager in fees and charges. Just a thought. I'd rather see how my fund is performing rather than wait for an annual report to tell me that it's not doing very well.
Standard Life are a fund manager, are they not?
No, it isn't just about minimising costs, but if a fund is performing badly, then perhaps that's because any increase in capital is being whittled away by the fund manager in fees and charges. Just a thought. I'd rather see how my fund is performing rather than wait for an annual report to tell me that it's not doing very well.
Bluesgirl said:
Thank you.
Standard Life are a fund manager, are they not?
Standard life investments are a fund manager.Standard Life are a fund manager, are they not?
They offer a massive range of investment strategies.
Blursgirl said:
No, it isn't just about minimising costs, but if a fund is performing badly, then perhaps that's because any increase in capital is being whittled away by the fund manager in fees and charges. Just a thought.
Are you still pretending that there aren’t any ‘fees and charges’ on a SIPP?Who said the fund is ‘performing badly’?
What was the performance of the equity markets in 2018?
Bluesgirl said:
I'd rather see how my fund is performing rather than wait for an annual report to tell me that it's not doing very well.
You can look at the prices of standard life funds on a daily basis. You don’t really seem to know what you are talking about.Are you still pretending that there aren’t any ‘fees and charges’ on a SIPP?
Who said the fund is ‘performing badly’?
What was the performance of the equity markets in 2018?
I didn't say there weren't fees - read my post above where I acknowledge them.
The OP said so.
Poor generally, as I've pointed out already.
Do you feel better now?
Bluesgirl said:
I didn't say there weren't fees - read my post above where I acknowledge them.
The same issues apply to both SIPPs and Stakeholder pensions, but typically stakeholder pensions are cheaper.See here:
https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-p...
Bluesgirl said:
The OP said so.
No, he said that the fund had lost money. Most (mainstream) equity tracker funds also lost money in 2018.Edited by AstonMartina89 on Tuesday 22 January 12:15
Firstly, thanks for the interest. I posted first thing this morning after opening the annual statement, and I’m just returning to the thread whilst tucking in to lunch.
I’m no expert in Pensions (as it shows) but my concern is whether I continue to make contributions to the SPP or move/use the monies elsewhere.
Factually, I pay £250 per month into the fund (£3k total in 2018). The fund grew £1,100 in 2018 (on end of year 2017). At its peak in 2018 it had grown to £2.2k above the end of year figure of 2017, hence my loss comment. I accept that most equity funds also reflect this.
2017, full year, it grew just over £4k on my £3k investment – not bad.
However, I know it’s a slow burner, but receiving the annual statement and realising the fund will be worth next to nothing on retirement, makes me question it. I should state that I do also monitor its performance fairly regularly through the app but as the value isn’t that significant, I don’t panic daily.
In addition I have an investment ISA which also didn’t have a great year but overall return since opening is still far better then in a current account. I have a majority % investment in the higher risk end (sort of 80/20).
I’m no expert in Pensions (as it shows) but my concern is whether I continue to make contributions to the SPP or move/use the monies elsewhere.
Factually, I pay £250 per month into the fund (£3k total in 2018). The fund grew £1,100 in 2018 (on end of year 2017). At its peak in 2018 it had grown to £2.2k above the end of year figure of 2017, hence my loss comment. I accept that most equity funds also reflect this.
2017, full year, it grew just over £4k on my £3k investment – not bad.
However, I know it’s a slow burner, but receiving the annual statement and realising the fund will be worth next to nothing on retirement, makes me question it. I should state that I do also monitor its performance fairly regularly through the app but as the value isn’t that significant, I don’t panic daily.
In addition I have an investment ISA which also didn’t have a great year but overall return since opening is still far better then in a current account. I have a majority % investment in the higher risk end (sort of 80/20).
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