It is not uncommon in the world of offshore advisories for their to be numerous charges and commission payments taken from within the investment plan/pension. Sadly (and often) some of these deductions are not always visible or disclosed to the client.

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Typical charges involved:

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i). Wrapper Fee`s: A wrapper is the vehicle used to hold the investments and can range from a low cost platform to a complex personal portfolio bond. Both of which can be very useful dependent on an individuals own requirements.

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ii). Trustee fees:

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The above QROPS will normally entail a personal portfolio bond wrapped within a trust, the trustee will also therefore charge a fee for their services.

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iii). Investment fee`s:

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One of the most common areas for clients to be uncertain of the deductions and charges that they are paying are often where the investments themselves are concerned. Imagine your pension vehicle to be like any other common day vehicle, the performance will be dictated by the quality of investments (fuel) and the ability to perform unhindered by fees and charges (the brakes).

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You wouldn´t expect any high performance vehicle to work at its maximum potential on low quality fuel with the handbrake applied.

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You may have chosen well with your investments, but if positive growth is being eroded by too many charges then performance will be non existent and even more worryingly, magnified in a download or flat market.

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Examples:

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In the chart on left we have taken an example offshore investment strategy which may contain successful well known funds and structured notes, and compared the exact same portfolio performance under SWM charging structure, the results will shock you !

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Charges:

 

PPB: 1- 1.5% per annum for the life of the bond

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Trustee fee`s 600 ´1,000 GBP per annum

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