Financial Adviser, Jason Murgatroyd joins Craig on the Mortgages, Money and More Podcast once again. This time the duo discusses transferring investments under management.
Let’s start with some financial jargon. What are Legacy Assets?
As financial advisers we deal with lots of different clients and one thing many of them have in common is that they have money invested in stocks and shares. These are investments often made years ago, perhaps through an adviser, perhaps not.
Once we are working with a client, sooner or later we will have a look at these ‘legacy assets’ – investments you have had for a long time.
Why might someone want to transfer their legacy assets?
There are lots of reasons why you might want to move your investments. It could be that you have lost touch with your previous adviser. It could be that you’re not happy with how the investments have performed.
Or it could be that you have been self-investing and would like a professional opinion on the investments you have made. Sometimes, clients are entering a new stage in their lives and are looking to consolidate their assets and perhaps, for example, to start taking an income from their investments.
What’s the process to transfer my investments?
First, you need to sit down with an adviser – through ourselves, preferably! We look at every client’s scenario to provide holistic advice. We look at the big picture. We want to understand where you are and what you want to achieve in the future.
Then we look in-depth at the historical investments that you’ve made, why you’ve made them, what the performance is like, the fees and charges that you’ve been paying throughout, and whether there are any benefits or guarantees you might lose if you moved.
What’s absolutely essential is that any transfer is right for you as the client. We don’t transfer investments just because we can.
Is it a complicated process if I do decide to transfer my investments?
It’s actually a very simple process. We have a sophisticated investment platform that we’re very proud of. It’s been designed to handle legacy asset transfers so it makes the process really simple.
The most complex part of the process is the discussion with the client and the decision to make the transfer. The system then does the rest.
In terms of the details, first we agree everything with the client including fees, costs, charges and ongoing service. Once the client agrees, they give us a written letter of authority for us to send the current provider of their investments so we can gain the full details.
We then do an analysis and work with you to deliver recommendations and solutions in line with your objectives. Once you agree to move to our platform, everything is done for you, and we get together once a year to look at how the investment has performed and if it’s meeting your goals.
How important is attitude to risk?
One of the things that we look at is the current risk ratio of your investments? Each individual investment will have its own risk rating, and then the overall portfolio will have an average risk rating.
People often have different attitudes to risk depending on their life stage. Higher risk investments can grow faster – but they can fall faster too.
There are other considerations too. We might be able to make use of tax free investments or ISAs, and so on.
Can I see what’s happening to my investments once transferred?
Once you have transferred to our platform you will have a login that allows you to see your investments as often as you wish. You can check them daily and see the fluctuations taking place, or just take a look when you decide to see how things are going.
We’ll have a contract in place with you to hold an annual review. We’ll do an analysis all over again based on the new investment to ensure it’s achieving what we hoped it would.
Sometimes the portfolio needs rebalancing. As investments change over time, these could become out of balance with that client’s attitude to risk. We’ll explore ways to get things back on track.
Every morning when I log on to my platform, I can see all my clients’ money. If I see anything that needs adjusting, that’s possibly causing me concern, I’ll contact the clients ahead of the annual meeting to take any necessary steps.
Our clients are reassured that we are managing the whole process and are hands on at all times.
