Best pension provider

[Backtobasics2]

I’m looking to leave my current pension provider due to high fees and poor fund choice, who’s out there at the moment that’s worth using?

[PositronicRay]

Backtobasics2 said:

I’m looking to leave my current pension provider due to high fees and poor fund choice, who’s out there at the moment that’s worth using?

I swapped to Vanguard, low fees and easy to communicate with.

[VR99]

Also depends on the fee charging structure of the platform, I can't recall but think if it's around a sub £80-100k pot(s) being transferred then Vanguard is a good choice based on the 0.15% platform fee, I use them for my S&SISA, easy to use platform and reasonable fund costs. Above £100k, might be worth looking for a fixed fee platform. Vanguard only offer their own funds on their platform if that's a factor for you, strangely enough a couple of the non-Vanguard platforms offer a wider range of Vanguard ETF's and Funds.

For my SIPP I use Fidelity and take advantage of the capped platform fees by using ETF's rather than OEIC funds ( now £90 rather than £45 when I opened the account so not as competitive as they once were).

I would happily recommend Vanguard, AJ Bell or Fidelity based on my own experiences.

[okgo]

Vanguard cap at £375 per year for over £250k. 0.15% for portfolios under that amount. Plus whatever the fund costs which are usually quite low.

[Tye Green]

invest only in ETFs (and why wouldn't you?) and Hargreaves Lansdowne is a good bet with £200 platform fee per year plus fund fees.

e.g Platform fee of £200
+
HSBC World = + 0.15% fund fee

[simon800]

Tye Green said:

invest only in ETFs (and why wouldn't you?)

Most are Irish domiciled and therefore fall outside of FSCS protection

[VR99]

simon800 said:

Tye Green said:

invest only in ETFs (and why wouldn't you?)

Most are Irish domiciled and therefore fall outside of FSCS protection

The vast majority of my pension is in a single Vanguard ETF albeit a large well established ETF on Fidelity's platform....not overly concerned however FSCS protection is a valid consideration...if the likes of Vanguard were to go t*ts up think we would have bigger issues to worry about....

[simon800]

VR99 said:

if the likes of Vanguard were to go t*ts up think we would have bigger issues to worry about....

That is very true!

[C69]

Depending on how close you are to retirement OP, a platform's drawdown options (and their associated costs) might be worth considering, too. For instance, Vanguard doesn't offer annuities.

Dealing costs can also be a factor, especially if you hold ETFs (which often attract a one-off dealing fee plus stamp duty). These quickly add up if you regularly switch funds or do rebalancing exercises.

In my experience, Fidelity has reasonable fees and an extensive range of funds, plus its customer service is good. Conversely, I'd avoid Bestinvest.

[eyebeebe]

simon800 said:

Most are Irish domiciled and therefore fall outside of FSCS protection

Am I due a parrot? FSCS is about insuring deposits. Securities are held in segregated client accounts off the balance sheet of the firm, so aren’t at risk and wouldn’t be covered by FSCS

[Backtobasics2]

Useful thanks all, it’s a tricky path to judge, I’m hopefully not too far from drawing my pension. Sounds like there a couple of clear ones to check out

[Salted_Peanut]

C69 said:

In my experience, Fidelity has reasonable fees and an extensive range of funds, plus its customer service is good. Conversely, I'd avoid Bestinvest.

Any thoughts on Aegon?

[okgo]

Wasn’t a fan of the aegon platform when my work had pensions with them. Transferred it out.

[Salted_Peanut]

okgo said:

Wasn’t a fan of the aegon platform

Why not?

[Mogul]

The Aegon Platform doesn’t appear to offer the retail investor very much in terms of functionality/reporting.

I believe that it isn’t much better with an Adviser login…

In it’s favour, it has been offering a great cash rate in recent months, but as a retail investor, you can’t readily liquidate your holding into cash - you can only switch investments - as far as I was able to see.

And that generous cash deposit rate is soon ending so another reason to ditch Aegon and avoid the ~25bps pa platform cost..

[C69]

Salted_Peanut said:

Any thoughts on Aegon?

Although I don't have any personal experience with Aegon, a family member has an adviser-introduced SIPP with them. It offers a broad range of funds but the platform fee isn't the lowest.

As another poster said, Aegon seems to be more geared towards advisers and workplaces. There is a direct personal pension, however this appears to restrict customers to one of five ready-made portfolios based on risk appetite.

[Salted_Peanut]

Thanks

[Backtobasics2]

Any other ones to look at? aegon looks out

[joestifff]

I’m with Aegon.

It was originally a company plan. And when I left they turned it into a SIPP for me.

My current workplace was with Peoples Pension. So I went salary sacrifice route back into my Aegon.

I was initially put out when I realised such low choice of funds. After a quick chat with them they unlocked hundreds for me. There was loads of tiers, he opened them all up to me but the top tier if I recall, which is advisor only. But they appear to have opened my account up fully and I have full advisor like control of it now!!

[megaphone]

The Aegon platform is really poor, clunky, slow, often doesn't do what it is meant to. Customer service is poor, slow to respond, if they bother.

I 'closed' an account three years ago, I still get regular paper statements showing 'zerro', I have emailed them, called them, submitted online forms, the statements still arrive and my online account is still active, showing zero. I would avoid.

Edited by megaphone on Monday 15th May 08:06