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Are you getting value for money with financial products?
May 30, 2018

There is a well-known saying that you get what you pay for and you pay for what you get, and this is what we work to at MAP. The number of times we have seen people deciding things solely on a cost basis, without looking at all aspects, never ceases to amaze us.

Our middle of the road charge is 3.5% initial and 1.4% per annum ongoing. For that, whilst there are never any guarantees, we aim to produce returns of about 8% net per annum. The problem with that for a number of people though is that they cannot see what they might get back, but they can focus on what they will pay, and in a few cases, they decide to watch costs and not do anything.

We had a potential client recently with £1.3m to invest and he decided to go elsewhere because of ongoing costs. His ongoing charge was 1.6% and if we had made him 8% net of all charges, he would have still have been better off. By going with someone else however, he may only be charged say 0.75% a year but only make 5% net. In monetary terms this is a difference of 3%, which on £1.3m is £39,000…a lot of money!

We can sympathise with people making these decisions as growth is only a maybe and not a definite, but all we would say to people thinking about investing is to please look at all aspects of the service offered, as it is way more than just charges.

What we do at MAP is constantly watch all the funds we use for investing in, and we only make changes as and when we feel we need to (after getting permission of course). Over a few years now, we have achieved 8-9% per annum for clients with a balanced portfolio using our investment process. Nothing is guaranteed apart from change, which is why we watch the funds that we use every calendar quarter.

The one thing that should give clients a degree of comfort about our charging structure is that MAP will only benefit pro-rata with clients, because we charge a percentage and not a fixed fee. If you don’t make much in any one year, neither do we, as our percentage will be down, so it is in our interests to try and make clients as much as we can, and we can benefit as well.

You get what you pay for and you pay for what you get!

If you would like to find out about how Money Advice & Planning invests client money, please visit us at www.mapfinances.co.uk and use the contact form. Alternatively, call Andrew Singleton on 0345 241 1808.

The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Links to external sites are for information only and do not constitute endorsement. Always obtain independent professional advice for your own particular situation. Money Advice & Planning Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.