Limited company - company pension?

[DallasDad]

I opened a Sipp with II and have made company contributions to my Sipp Bank account so that the money is at least ringfenced from CT, so technically that a 20% return straight away.

Now the question as to what to invest in rears it head.
I plan to retire in < 5 years
I prefer being a passive investor and I tend to buy and hold

I like the concept of the Vanguard Target Retirement 20xx type Funds
But with the Pound being low & hence FTSE etc is on a high there is a real risk of trackers making an initial loss

My IFA is going to have to earn his fee!

Oh for a Crystal Ball.

[Pegasus]

I opened a Sipp with II and have made company contributions to my Sipp Bank account so that the money is at least ringfenced from CT, so technically that a 20% return straight away.

Now the question as to what to invest in rears it head.
I plan to retire in < 5 years
I prefer being a passive investor and I tend to buy and hold

I like the concept of the Vanguard Target Retirement 20xx type Funds
But with the Pound being low & hence FTSE etc is on a high there is a real risk of trackers making an initial loss

My IFA is going to have to earn his fee!

Oh for a Crystal Ball.

Hi,
Any specific reason you chose II? I am currently deciding between HL and II and plan to take a decision next week, so any inputs are helpful.
Thanks.

[FarmerPalmer]

Although I have been very happy with Aegon for my pension, I am currently going through the process of consolidating with ii, to save on fees.

They have a good range of funds and their fees are fixed rather than percentage, so if your funds are over a certain size then the fixed fees are cheaper.

If however you are just starting out and don't have much, get a SIPP Provider with a percentage fee, take a look at the charts:

DIY pensions: the cheapest Sipp providers who could save you thousands

and if you are interested in tracker funds, and you want the cheapest that tracks the index you want to track:

The cheapest index tracker funds - and the trick to cutting costs further

[adubya]

Hi,
Any specific reason you chose II? I am currently deciding between HL and II and plan to take a decision next week, so any inputs are helpful.
Thanks.

Good comparison table here
Compare the UK’s cheapest online brokers

II are flat fee, HL are %age based. So comes down to portfolio size.

[chopper]

Hi,
Any specific reason you chose II? I am currently deciding between HL and II and plan to take a decision next week, so any inputs are helpful.
Thanks.

For smaller portfolios, HL are cheaper. for larger portfolios then it works out better to be with II. I can't remember where the crossover point is off the top of my head, ISTR it is around £70,000.

If starting with a small portfolio, then start with HL and when it gets to the crossover point, then transfer it to II.

[Fred Bloggs]

Hi,
Any specific reason you chose II? I am currently deciding between HL and II and plan to take a decision next week, so any inputs are helpful.
Thanks.

Do your sums. It also depends whether you hold funds or shares at HL too. The charges are different. And if you hold funds, it depend how often you want to trade. So, do your sums carefully is my advice, before you decide.

FYI - When I swapped from HL to II, I saved about GBP 120 a month in fees on a moderate sized SIPP. If you hold a large-ish portfolio of funds, HL's charges are positively stratospheric compared to II's.

[DallasDad]

Hi,
Any specific reason you chose II? I am currently deciding between HL and II and plan to take a decision next week, so any inputs are helpful.
Thanks.

Yep as others have said, it is mostly (but not always) about charges and the frequency that I intend to invest.
For me I am also consolidating some smaller pensions all DC, two have quite high management charges, in addition to making company contributions so simply because of the amount of money involved II is far cheaper for me.

However for Swmbo we might consider opening a HL Sipp, her smaller pot means using HL might be the better option

I found the Langcat Heat maps very useful
Well worth downloading and digesting this pdf called "come-and-have-a-go-too"
COME AND HAVE A GO TOO - the lang cat
It is dated 2015 so some of the listed charges may have changed.

Also the later one called "come-and-have-a-go-rise-of-the-machines" includes some updates and includes some of the automated online services springing up to provid investment suggestions, not sure I would classify these things as giving advice yet but automated IFA's can't be far away!

[northernladuk]

Had anyone experience of the James Hay Partnership as a provider?

[Pegasus]

Thanks guys.
Yes, all your inputs are very much appreciated, and they are perfectly in-line with my thoughts - II is fixed fee so much cheaper for larger value SIPPs compared to % fee of HL. Currently I have 0 pension, but do plan to build that up by 40K every year for next few years. In the next 3 months itself it will be 80K. Hence am keener towards II than HL.

Have heard very positive reviews about HL customer service - how is II from that viewpoint?
Any negatives that people have encountered with II? (Like range of investment options etc)

All inputs most welcome.

And as a separate thing - is anyone using a SIPP provider who allows you to trade derivatives like futures and options? Thanks.

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks guys.
Yes, all your inputs are very much appreciated, and they are perfectly in-line with my thoughts - II is fixed fee so much cheaper for larger value SIPPs compared to % fee of HL. Currently I have 0 pension, but do plan to build that up by 40K every year for next few years. In the next 3 months itself it will be 80K. Hence am keener towards II than HL.

Have heard very positive reviews about HL customer service - how is II from that viewpoint?
Any negatives that people have encountered with II? (Like range of investment options etc)

All inputs most welcome.

And as a separate thing - is anyone using a SIPP provider who allows you to trade derivatives like futures and options? Thanks.

Without doubt, yes HL's customer service is state of the art, but considering what you pay, it darn well should be too. II are just fine, but without the bells and whistles that you get at HL. If you call them, the phone is answered promptly and they are helpful. I send them a secure message from my account dashboard usually if I have a question. Typically it gets answered the next day. The account dashboard is a rather stone age experience compared to HL but everything is there that you need. Would I go back to HL? Nope. Already I have saved > GBP 1000 in less than a year with no downside what so ever.