Pension fund performance - do you monitor yours, how is it doing, do you actively change it?

Haven’t they been on the verge of insolvency since they started? I started off an ISA with them but moved it out to Halifax shortly after. I can’t see how they’ll ever break even with their current model.

I did mention this before, they are non-profitable at the moment and just blitzscaling the market... no doubt they will put the costs up later.

Also they don't have a draw down method at the moment, so you would have to transfer the whole amount to another company to be able to draw down or sell all your holdings and transfer it.
 
True, but I am not unhappy. I had £0 in 2019 (apart from my forces pension).
from what I hear MoD DB pensions are extremely good, not that you should; but if you mange to get transfer it into your DC pension scheme, you will find that you are in a lot better position than most at your age. You can ask them for a market vaule of your pension to give you a better idea on how much it's worth.

You're in a better position that me and I'm older.. I'm just hoping that the two DB schemes that I have compound enough and I'm currently putting in 13% + bonuses with the company putting in 10% into my current scheme.
 
RE: Vanguard fees.

My Vanguard S&S ISA has a current value of £15k, all in the FTSE Developed World Ex. UK Index (Mutual) Fund.

If I moved this to T212, I would have to put it in an ETF rather than a Mutual Fund, and they don't have the Developed World Ex. UK as an ETF.

The Vanguard Developed World and All World ETFs have worse performance than the Developed World Ex. UK Mutual Fund over the previous 1, 3 and 5 years. Obviously, past performance (blah blah blah), but what else can you base it on?

So taking into account the lower performance of the Developed World ETF but the now higher fees of the Mutual Fund, the ETF would be £13.50 better off over 1 year. It would be £36 worse off over 3 years and £52 better off over 5 years.

I'm not sure it's really worth the faff of switching… and even with Vanguard's higher fees, they're still cheaper than Fidelity, so that's a non-starter as well.

T212 does start to look more attractive as the portfolio increases, but it's going to take a few years before my pot is big enough to worry about it.

If anyone knows how I can get the the Vanguard Dev World Ex UK Index Fund without any platform fees, I'm all ears.
 
What are you planning to use the ISA for? I.e is it going to grow? This should guide your choice of platform and the relevant fees.

If it’s not going to grow much more and the fees are more as a proportion as a result, then yes it may be worth switching to a cheaper platform.

But if it’s going to grow towards six figures over the next few years then you probably care more about customer service and want to add a SIPP etc in which case Vanguards fees aren’t too bad until you get above £100k or so. Some platforms will be cheaper if you’re investing regularly too.

At the end of the day there’s no such thing as a free lunch and £48 a year isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things. I’d say under £15k, use a free platform. Over £15k and depending on your future plans, stick with Vanguard and review when you reach the next threshold where a different provider may offer better value.
 
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I'm 39 with £325k in my workplace pension, which is a global equity fund with a risk level of 5 out of 7. I'm looking to retire at around 58, so I'm currently putting 50% of my salary in monthly (34% myself, 16% employer).

Would it be worth me considering moving this into a different investment? Feels like a global equity fund is probably fairly decent (between 30th Sept 2023 and 30th September 2024 the fund unit price went up by 19.5%).
Well done for building up such a decent sized pot at that age, very impressive.
 
from what I hear MoD DB pensions are extremely good, not that you should; but if you mange to get transfer it into your DC pension scheme, you will find that you are in a lot better position than most at your age. You can ask them for a market vaule of your pension to give you a better idea on how much it's worth.
I don't think I want to transfer it. It's not worth much now with ~12 years service. Plus it comes at a different age to my workplace pension.
 
I don't think I want to transfer it. It's not worth much now with ~12 years service. Plus it comes at a different age to my workplace pension.

simple answer - leave it alone.

Moving DB's should only be done if there is an immediate requirement for cash.... Severe ill health/immediate retirement etc

You'll also require full advice in order to transfer - you can not move a DB without regulated advice sign off.
 
I'm 39 with £325k in my workplace pension, which is a global equity fund with a risk level of 5 out of 7. I'm looking to retire at around 58, so I'm currently putting 50% of my salary in monthly (34% myself, 16% employer).

Would it be worth me considering moving this into a different investment? Feels like a global equity fund is probably fairly decent (between 30th Sept 2023 and 30th September 2024 the fund unit price went up by 19.5%).
That’s some good going. Bit behind you and 45.

I was a late starter tbh.

Can’t get better really that US equity. Just keep an eye out on the S&P 500 and when you see it start to slide and lots of noise make sure you know how to log in and move everything you have to a basic Cash vehicle.

I have one in my list with £1000 just so it’s there on my list and a can quickly move it all if turmoil commences. Not talking daily shifts but 2 days major slide I’ll move. Not triggered it for years but ready to do so… next year back end might be my prediction, but more growth expected first.
 
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That’s some good going. Bit behind you and 45.

I was a late starter tbh.

Can’t get better really that US equity. Just keep an eye out on the S&P 500 and when you see it start to slide and lots of noise make sure you know how to log in and move everything you have to a basic Cash vehicle.

I have one in my list with £1000 just so it’s there on my list and a can quickly move it all if turmoil commences. Not talking daily shifts but 2 days major slide I’ll move. Not triggered it for years but ready to do so… next year back end might be my prediction, but more growth expected first.
Definitely. If that happens, make sure you wait until its going up to buy too!
 
To be fair I’ve been lucky, working at 2 large financial institutions that have really good pension schemes. I do think I need to cool off on the pension contributions soon though and live a little more!
I made director at big bank couple years back. So ramming a lot in atm and annual bonus.

Plan is to keep going for 4-5 years then step back to an easier role perhaps a career change.

My view is pension should double in 10 years. If I can get a million by 60, I’m done.
 
I made director at big bank couple years back. So ramming a lot in atm and annual bonus.

Plan is to keep going for 4-5 years then step back to an easier role perhaps a career change.

My view is pension should double in 10 years. If I can get a million by 60, I’m done.
You will fly past a mil with those numbers? If I do very little I am at £950k and I'm 200k behind you and planning on 57

Edit: wrong poster! my bad
 
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I'm 39 with £325k in my workplace pension, which is a global equity fund with a risk level of 5 out of 7. I'm looking to retire at around 58, so I'm currently putting 50% of my salary in monthly (34% myself, 16% employer).

Would it be worth me considering moving this into a different investment? Feels like a global equity fund is probably fairly decent (between 30th Sept 2023 and 30th September 2024 the fund unit price went up by 19.5%).
Well done.

Have you been topping up your isa first each year also?
 
What are you planning to use the ISA for? I.e is it going to grow? This should guide your choice of platform and the relevant fees.

If it’s not going to grow much more and the fees are more as a proportion as a result, then yes it may be worth switching to a cheaper platform.

But if it’s going to grow towards six figures over the next few years then you probably care more about customer service and want to add a SIPP etc in which case Vanguards fees aren’t too bad until you get above £100k or so. Some platforms will be cheaper if you’re investing regularly too.

At the end of the day there’s no such thing as a free lunch and £48 a year isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things. I’d say under £15k, use a free platform. Over £15k and depending on your future plans, stick with Vanguard and review when you reach the next threshold where a different provider may offer better value.
Thanks, makes sense.

Yes, the plan is for it to grow, although not at a particularly rapid rate (I’m dropping in £100/month at the moment).

Six figures is a long way off but certainly when the pot doubles I might reassess the platforms and fees.

Similarly, the markets might shift and the ETFs might start outperforming the mutual fund, although I’m struggling to see a scenario where the UK starts outperforming the US…
 
Thanks, makes sense.

Yes, the plan is for it to grow, although not at a particularly rapid rate (I’m dropping in £100/month at the moment).

Six figures is a long way off but certainly when the pot doubles I might reassess the platforms and fees.

Similarly, the markets might shift and the ETFs might start outperforming the mutual fund, although I’m struggling to see a scenario where the UK starts outperforming the US…

You need to focus on saving more than £100 a month

This is your bottleneck, some others on here have poor investments/high fee's.

Probably a lot of people out there with 100k + with a 3% CAGR over the last 10years, mostly in multi-asset high % bond type of funds.

Starting with 100k 10 years ago

@ 3% =£134k
@6% = £180k
@12% =£310k
@18% = £500k
 
You need to focus on saving more than £100 a month

This is your bottleneck, some others on here have poor investments/high fee's.

Probably a lot of people out there with 100k + with a 3% CAGR over the last 10years, mostly in multi-asset high % bond type of funds.

Starting with 100k 10 years ago

@ 3% =£134k
@6% = £180k
@12% =£310k
@18% = £500k

That £100/month isn't my only savings.

I'm putting away £850/month into my pension, I'm saving £100/month into my child's pension, and another £100/month into their S&S ISA. Plus a general cash pot.

With my next raise, I'm not planning to increase my pension contributions, so I could increase the DD into my S&S ISA, but it would be quite nice to have some 'spare' cash for once. :p
 
That £100/month isn't my only savings.

I'm putting away £850/month into my pension, I'm saving £100/month into my child's pension, and another £100/month into their S&S ISA. Plus a general cash pot.

With my next raise, I'm not planning to increase my pension contributions, so I could increase the DD into my S&S ISA, but it would be quite nice to have some 'spare' cash for once. :p
Personally, I'd say that's a lot! :D


Edit:
I'm only saving 500 (employer + employee ) into my pension a month. And I've massively slashed my isa saving now.

Time to spend some
 
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