Question
I'm 36, and have a deferred Lloyds Banking Group money purchase pension fund of circa £60k - invested in "Your Journey Extra".
Thanks to this site's recommendations and advice, I am in the process of arranging a stakeholder pension (now run my own company), and have been interested in trying to evaluate fund performance, whilst matching to my own circumstances (and risk appetite etc), before taking the leap and making my choices.
This has meant I've relooked at the LBG fund too - and although the AMCs seem fair (0.45% for YJ Extra), it's difficult to assess the fund's performance as although the LBG website shows a couple of year's performance I'm not sure how to get peer comparisons or any independent analysis (e.g. Morningstar). I have the option (I think) of switching to different LBG funds, or transferring out (which I'm disinclined to do given the low charges).
Any advice very welcome. (P.S. fantastic site!)Answer
Lloyds TSB doesn't offer much readily accessible information on its staff pension funds, but a little digging on its website reveals fund factsheets which are quite helpful (click on he 'fund information' icons).
The 'Your Journey Extra' fund is run by Blackrock and as at the end of September 2012 invested around a third of the fund in stock markets, just over a third in fixed interest with the balance in cash and other investment types such as absolute return and commodities. This looks pretty sensible overall, especially in the current uncertain climate. Nevertheless, if you won't be drawing a pension for 30+ years there's an argument for taking more risk, depending on what you're comfortable with.
The 0.45% Your Journey Extra fund annual charge appears to cover the costs of underlying investments, although the documentation isn't very clear on this. I'd suggest calling the scheme administrator to check, but assuming it covers underlying investment costs it's very competitive.
Comparing performance is unfortunately a fairly clunky process, as the Lloyds funds aren't included in any online fund data websites (that I can find at least). The Lloyd's fund factsheets show performance since launch (July 2010) over 12 month periods to the end of the last quarter as well as returns over the last year. Taking these figures you can compare to sectors and funds via websites like Morningstar and Trustnet, although it's approximate as the dates to which returns are shown may vary from the factsheet.
In terms of what to compare to, I think the IMA Mixed 20-60% Equity sector is a reasonable benchmark for 'Your Journey Extra' and on this basis the fund has been pretty average
In time you might want access to a wider choice of investments, in which case transferring to a low cost SIPP might be appropriate. But for now I can't see a compelling reason to transfer, although you might consider the Global Journey, Asia Pacific Equity and Emerging Markets Equity funds in moderation if you want to ramp up risk.
Hope this helps and glad you like the site!
I'm 36, and have a deferred Lloyds Banking Group money purchase pension fund of circa £60k - invested in "Your Journey Extra".
Thanks to this site's recommendations and advice, I am in the process of arranging a stakeholder pension (now run my own company), and have been interested in trying to evaluate fund performance, whilst matching to my own circumstances (and risk appetite etc), before taking the leap and making my choices.
This has meant I've relooked at the LBG fund too - and although the AMCs seem fair (0.45% for YJ Extra), it's difficult to assess the fund's performance as although the LBG website shows a couple of year's performance I'm not sure how to get peer comparisons or any independent analysis (e.g. Morningstar). I have the option (I think) of switching to different LBG funds, or transferring out (which I'm disinclined to do given the low charges).
Any advice very welcome. (P.S. fantastic site!)Answer
Lloyds TSB doesn't offer much readily accessible information on its staff pension funds, but a little digging on its website reveals fund factsheets which are quite helpful (click on he 'fund information' icons).
The 'Your Journey Extra' fund is run by Blackrock and as at the end of September 2012 invested around a third of the fund in stock markets, just over a third in fixed interest with the balance in cash and other investment types such as absolute return and commodities. This looks pretty sensible overall, especially in the current uncertain climate. Nevertheless, if you won't be drawing a pension for 30+ years there's an argument for taking more risk, depending on what you're comfortable with.
The 0.45% Your Journey Extra fund annual charge appears to cover the costs of underlying investments, although the documentation isn't very clear on this. I'd suggest calling the scheme administrator to check, but assuming it covers underlying investment costs it's very competitive.
Comparing performance is unfortunately a fairly clunky process, as the Lloyds funds aren't included in any online fund data websites (that I can find at least). The Lloyd's fund factsheets show performance since launch (July 2010) over 12 month periods to the end of the last quarter as well as returns over the last year. Taking these figures you can compare to sectors and funds via websites like Morningstar and Trustnet, although it's approximate as the dates to which returns are shown may vary from the factsheet.
In terms of what to compare to, I think the IMA Mixed 20-60% Equity sector is a reasonable benchmark for 'Your Journey Extra' and on this basis the fund has been pretty average
In time you might want access to a wider choice of investments, in which case transferring to a low cost SIPP might be appropriate. But for now I can't see a compelling reason to transfer, although you might consider the Global Journey, Asia Pacific Equity and Emerging Markets Equity funds in moderation if you want to ramp up risk.
Hope this helps and glad you like the site!
Read this Q and A at http://www.candidmoney.com/askjustin/779/which-lloyds-staff-pension-funds
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