The Lemon Fool

I currently have 3 small pensions totalling £20,000 with Aviva. These were started approx. 25 years ago and I stopped contributions to them a few years after starting them.

I have had a review done by Profile Pensions, and they have recommended switching the 3 pensions from Aviva to Aegon with the fund Vanguard LifeStrategy 80%. The Total Ongoing Charges are 0.94%.

Trust Pilots reviews of Aegon UK are pretty poor. Does anyone have any views on this suggestion from Profile Pensions?

On a more positive note, I notice the reviews of AJ Bell Youinvest are pretty good.

TopOfDaMornin wrote:Does anyone have any views on this suggestion from Profile Pensions?

In a word, awful! 0.94%! Phew!

Your question really breaks down into two:

a) is the Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% fund a suitable pension investment for you?
b) if so, where is the best place to hold it?

On (a), well that's for you to decide, but I have a good chunk of my SIPP in Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% so obviously I think it's at least a suitable pension investment for me.

Note that the ongoing charges figure for the Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% fund is 0.22%. https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/inve ... ion-shares

On (b), Vanguard itself has a SIPP with a platform charge of 0.15%, capped at £375. https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/what ... on-account

On your £20,000 that's £30pa, and you're not going to get cheaper. Of course, the problem with %age platform fees is that as your pot grows you pay more, but fixed-fee brokers charge at least £90pa so you've got quite a bit of headroom for growth.

The disadvantage of the Vanguard SIPP is that you can only buy Vanguard funds & ETFs in it, so you'd have to move elsewhere if you decided you wanted to swap to something else.....

Just had a look at Profile Pensions

Their terms of business state you will pay a 3% initial fee to do the transfer to AEGON. Also, you'll be paying a further 0.6% per annum on top of the AEGON/Vanguard fees so they can review your pension every year. Check the paperwork you have been given.

It is also implies they are independent, but this surprises me because the charges to get you into a VLS seem abit high for someone who has whole of market access!

Worth taking your time here -there is no rush
I think you will find you could do a lot better than these initial offers re costs
Then you want to be in a situation where your on going costs are as low as possible -again you could do a lot better than these current offers
You have made the right initial steps - more reading required
It’s your money so take good care of it
Monevator.com is a good web site for advice on pension mechanics
Lars Kroijer has a good site for investing of passive funds plus videos and a book “Investing Demystified”
Take 6+ months and get it right
xxd09

mc2fool wrote:

TopOfDaMornin wrote:Does anyone have any views on this suggestion from Profile Pensions?

In a word, awful! 0.94%! Phew!

Your question really breaks down into two:

a) is the Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% fund a suitable pension investment for you?
b) if so, where is the best place to hold it?

On (a), well that's for you to decide, but I have a good chunk of my SIPP in Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% so obviously I think it's at least a suitable pension investment for me.

@mcfool - mind if I ask what you do with the other chunk?

My SIPP is all in LS80. Every now and then I consider moving some eggs from the LS80 basket, but then question what diversification I'm getting by adding other funds?

neversay wrote:

mc2fool wrote:On (a), well that's for you to decide, but I have a good chunk of my SIPP in Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% so obviously I think it's at least a suitable pension investment for me.

@mcfool - mind if I ask what you do with the other chunk?

My SIPP is all in LS80. Every now and then I consider moving some eggs from the LS80 basket, but then question what diversification I'm getting by adding other funds?

Chunks

In my SIPP roughly equal amounts of the iShares MSCI World Minimum Volatility, Momentum and Value Factor ETFs, some FTSE 100, some emerging markets small cap, and some more of the LifeStrategy bond component fund. In my ISAs, which are bigger than my SIPP, an eclectic mixture (some would say a hodge-podge ) of active funds, ITs, ETFs and individual shares, with tilts to capital preservation, smaller cos, the east, and hotshot fund managers (well, Train & Smith).

As to what that all adds, ask me again in 20 years.