Best PRSA for balancing low fees and more fund options?

M

mindlessmax

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Hi
I've been meaning to set up a PRSA for a long time. I have read a lot of threads here but am stuck in finding a clear answer to the following:

In case it's relevant, I am 44, mortgage is paid off and we don't plan to ever move, good amount of savings, some personal investments, salary c. €300k. No interest whatsoever in stock picking or trying to beat the market.

- is the Standard Life/Zurich via LABrokers/PRSA.ie the lowest cost option at 100% allocation and 0.75% AMC?
- I will be contributing about €30k p/a via employer (I am a director) without any self top up. I have a few years of this entitlement that I can take in one go, so about €90k initially. I previously saw 0.5% AMC for this level of contribution but are those days gone?
- One thing I'm looking for is self-directed and allocation to passive funds - so I'm looking for not just the cheapest PRSA but also one that gives access to a decent range of funds. Again, is Standard Life/Zurich option the best for this? I will be picking mainly a range of ETFs that track global stocks so don't need anything too fancy.
- Any other fees (excl the contribution rate, AMC and individual fund charge - e.g. 0.02% p/a for a S&P500 ETF) that I should be wary of when evaluating accounts?
- I have an older pension account managed by a fund manager who charges high fees (c. 2%) for under-performing stock picking, value of the account is c. €350k - way under-performing versus index funds over the last 5 years. Any thoughts on whether I should transfer this at the time of set up new PRSA? A lot of the investment value is below NAV and he's telling me it's good for the long-term, but I'm not sure our incentives are aligned.
- any other advice you think might be useful?

Thank you very much - really appreciate any advice you can provide.
Max
 
mindlessmax said:
- One thing I'm looking for is self-directed and allocation to passive funds - so I'm looking for not just the cheapest PRSA but also one that gives access to a decent range of funds. Again, is Standard Life/Zurich option the best for this? I will be picking mainly a range of ETFs that track global stocks so don't need anything too fancy.
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This seems to be almost an obsession with some people lately for some reason. They seem to think that by micromanaging their pension and potentially churning (in a sort of daytrading way) between funds that they are going to do better than the market, active managers, the index etc. When, in fact, such messing is more likely to erode returns due to charges. Having a range of fund options isn't in itself a bad thing but ultimately most people are going to be better off choosing a high/all equity content fund, probably an appropriate passive index tracker, with low charges and then just sticking the money in and forgetting about it for a few decades or more.
 
ClubMan said:
This seems to be almost an obsession with some people lately for some reason. They seem to think that by micromanaging their pension and potentially churning (in a sort of daytrading way) between funds that they are going to do better than the market, active managers, the index etc. When, in fact, such messing is more likely to erode returns due to charges. Having a range of fund options isn't in itself a bad thing but ultimately most people are going to be better off choosing a high/all equity content fund, probably an appropriate passive index tracker, with low charges and then just sticking the money in and forgetting about it for a few decades or more.
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thanks for your reply, I agree with a lot of what you've said. I'm not obsessing over it - I'm just looking for the best balance between fees and fund access. I don't need access to a range of niche funds, but likewise don't want to be limited to just a few. I'm just looking for a steer from people who know the market better than I do. thanks again.
 
You won't get massive difference in cost with PRSAs. The base rate is 1%, so you will get charges around that price.

Standard Life have a range of Vanguard funds. Charge of 0.9% for funds over €100,000. 1.4% for funds below that value.
 
Steven Barrett said:
You won't get massive difference in cost with PRSAs. The base rate is 1%, so you will get charges around that price.

Standard Life have a range of Vanguard funds. Charge of 0.9% for funds over €100,000. 1.4% for funds below that value.
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ok, noted, thank you

so where non-PRSA housed investments in a (for example) S&P500 ETF tracker with a fee of 0.07%, when done inside a PRSA standard life charges 0.9% to access it. there's no avoiding this, or no cheaper alternative, is that what you're saying? No way for anyone to access the low fee ETFs via a pension structure in Ireland?
 
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mindlessmax said:
I previously saw 0.5% AMC for this level of contribution but are those days gone?
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For a retail PRSA? I doubt it.

mindlessmax said:
One thing I'm looking for is self-directed
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There's that misnomer again. Redditt has a lot to answer for. :)

Your best strategy might be to engage with a discount/execution-only intermediary and negotiate a low(ish) AMC for the transfer based on the fact that you'll be doing a regular contribution PRSA as well.
 
ClubMan said:
This seems to be almost an obsession with some people lately for some reason. They seem to think that by micromanaging their pension and potentially churning (in a sort of daytrading way) between funds that they are going to do better than the market, active managers, the index etc. When, in fact, such messing is more likely to erode returns due to charges. Having a range of fund options isn't in itself a bad thing but ultimately most people are going to be better off choosing a high/all equity content fund, probably an appropriate passive index tracker, with low charges and then just sticking the money in and forgetting about it for a few decades or more.
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I suspect people aren't aware that they can get passive funds (even vanguard) through a PRSA and think they need to have self directed options on order to get passive ETFs.
 
Would I be right in saying the only place you can get access to a passive world equity fund through a PRSA is Standard Life though?

What other providers offer access? Without you going down the more expensive self directed route?
 
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hadrian said:
Would I be right in saying the only place you can get access to a passive world equity fund through a PRSA is Standard Life though?

What other providers offer access? Without you going down the more expensive self directed route?
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No. Standard life are the only ones to offer Vanguard passive funds, but Irish Life have their own tracker funds and some other provider has BlackRock funds
 
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