IFA panel
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A panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries Ashrewd move? I started working for a new employer a few months ago. In myoid job I was a member of a group personal pension scheme but I stopped making contributions when I switched jobs. Now I want to start investing again. I'm not sure if I should transfer my existing fund to a new scheme, or leave it where it is. I also cannot decide whether to join my new employer's group scheme or to go it alone - I'm unsure how long I will remain in this job and don't want to go through this again. 1 Baxter, Norwich Jonathan Davis at Profesrional PartnershiPs replies: Personal pension Plans, whether (ffganised by your company (ff by you, are individual arrangements pertaining to you. This means they follow you if you leave a firm's emplayment. As your previous scheme is a personal pension, you can r~start payments to it and your new emplayer might be willing to make its payments to this existing plan rather than to the one it offers. There is a case to be made f(ff co'nsolidatin.r.;pension funds as
having too many plans can make it difficult to keep track of perf(ffmance and of whether you are achieving your objectives. However, watch out f(ff charges. If you are considering a transfer you should first obtain a transfer value quotation and check if there is any exit penalty. This is less likely these days, as there are m(ffe transpare1Jt policy charges than in previous times, but it may be an issue f(ff you. There may also be a charge f(ff transferring into the new scheme -
ask the pension administrat(ff
(ff adviser if this is the case. Another issue is: are thefunds in which you can invest in the new scheme appropriate f(ff your financial-planning objectives and investment risk profile? If the new scheme is a GPP and your emPloyer will pay into it f(ff you, bite their arm off-this is free money that cannot be taken away once paid in. Just make sure that if you were to leave and transfer thefunds there would be no exit charges. Also, while you . are emPloyed there you can make payments of your own acc(ffd to this pension and boost your retirement fund. The maximum in total payable into a personal pension ranges from 17.5 per cent to 40 per cent of earnings, dependzn.r.; on
')lour
a.f!:e.
Ups a'1d downs I invested over £14,000 in Jupiter Income units in May 1999 at a price of373.64p. The holding has seldom reached parity since. In March 2003 it had plunged by 29.8 per cent; by 9 October 2004 it had climbed back up to minus 2 per cent, before falling to minus 3.7 per cent a week later. It has generated £2,000 in dividends. Have I done the right thing holding on to these? I have invested in further . units
and theyhave shown
better results. L M Sllrlth, Newcastle
Gary Hexley at Weston Financial replies: There is often a dilemmaf(ff invest(ffSabout
whether to keep (ff sell holdings, especially when they are giving negative numbers. However, the basic general principles of investment still hold true. Most investments should be considered f(ff the long term - usually five years (ff m(ffe - and it should be understood that any single investment may go down as well as up during that period. In addition, it is usually unwise to Pick a single investment f(ff all your money, especially if the choice is based mainly on past perf(ffmance. As we know from the well-used mantra, this is no guarantee to future perf(ffmance. Ask yourself: did the investment match your attitude to risk at the time and what were your expectations from the investment? It is interesting that although theJuPiter Income units have
IFA panel
. Jonathan Davis, financial planner at Professional Partnerships
. KevinColeman, financial adviser at Park Row Corporate & Private Clients
. Gary Hexley, financial adviser at Weston FinancialGroup
.
A panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries Ashrewd move? I started working for a new employer a few months ago. In myoid job I was a member of a group personal pension scheme but I stopped making contributions when I switched jobs. Now I want to start investing again. I'm not sure if I should transfer my existing fund to a new scheme, or leave it where it is. I also cannot decide whether to join my new employer's group scheme or to go it alone - I'm unsure how long I will remain in this job and don't want to go through this again. 1 Baxter, Norwich Jonathan Davis at Profesrional PartnershiPs replies: Personal pension Plans, whether (ffganised by your company (ff by you, are individual arrangements pertaining to you. This means they follow you if you leave a firm's emplayment. As your previous scheme is a personal pension, you can r~start payments to it and your new emplayer might be willing to make its payments to this existing plan rather than to the one it offers. There is a case to be made f(ff co'nsolidatin.r.;pension funds as
having too many plans can make it difficult to keep track of perf(ffmance and of whether you are achieving your objectives. However, watch out f(ff charges. If you are considering a transfer you should first obtain a transfer value quotation and check if there is any exit penalty. This is less likely these days, as there are m(ffe transpare1Jt policy charges than in previous times, but it may be an issue f(ff you. There may also be a charge f(ff transferring into the new scheme -
ask the pension administrat(ff
(ff adviser if this is the case. Another issue is: are thefunds in which you can invest in the new scheme appropriate f(ff your financial-planning objectives and investment risk profile? If the new scheme is a GPP and your emPloyer will pay into it f(ff you, bite their arm off-this is free money that cannot be taken away once paid in. Just make sure that if you were to leave and transfer thefunds there would be no exit charges. Also, while you . are emPloyed there you can make payments of your own acc(ffd to this pension and boost your retirement fund. The maximum in total payable into a personal pension ranges from 17.5 per cent to 40 per cent of earnings, dependzn.r.; on
')lour
a.f!:e.
Ups a'1d downs I invested over £14,000 in Jupiter Income units in May 1999 at a price of373.64p. The holding has seldom reached parity since. In March 2003 it had plunged by 29.8 per cent; by 9 October 2004 it had climbed back up to minus 2 per cent, before falling to minus 3.7 per cent a week later. It has generated £2,000 in dividends. Have I done the right thing holding on to these? I have invested in further . units
and theyhave shown
better results. L M Sllrlth, Newcastle
Gary Hexley at Weston Financial replies: There is often a dilemmaf(ff invest(ffSabout
whether to keep (ff sell holdings, especially when they are giving negative numbers. However, the basic general principles of investment still hold true. Most investments should be considered f(ff the long term - usually five years (ff m(ffe - and it should be understood that any single investment may go down as well as up during that period. In addition, it is usually unwise to Pick a single investment f(ff all your money, especially if the choice is based mainly on past perf(ffmance. As we know from the well-used mantra, this is no guarantee to future perf(ffmance. Ask yourself: did the investment match your attitude to risk at the time and what were your expectations from the investment? It is interesting that although theJuPiter Income units have
IFA panel
. Jonathan Davis, financial planner at Professional Partnerships
. KevinColeman, financial adviser at Park Row Corporate & Private Clients
. Gary Hexley, financial adviser at Weston FinancialGroup
