Buy Out Bond - Fees from all providers

S

someguy

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Hello,

Has anyone done a comparison on fees charged for Buy Out Bonds(BOBs) from the available providers recently?

I found a report from the pension council( google - buy out bond fees ireland) which is exactly what I wanted but it's a bit dated(2007). Trying to save emailing all the providers and running a comparison myself.

Background:
60k to transfer from an occupational pension scheme.
I want to invest the funds 100% myself.
Under 40 age.

Thanks,
someguy
 
someguy said:
I want to invest the funds 100% myself.
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If you explain exactly what you mean by this you'll probably get a better answer.

You want a self-directed PRB that you can buy shares, ETFs, indexed, managed funds with and you don't need any advice or you want to buy a PRB product where you can select indexed, managed funds (only) without advice?

Or, do you actually need advice on provider, product and 'funds'?

AFAIK there is no comparison on all products from all providers and the one from 2007 didn't include any execution only pricing. You get an intermediary to arrive at a product for you or you do the research yourself. Emailing the providers directly isn't going to get you what you want.

You could also Google PRB Charges AskAboutMoney.com or BoB charges AskAboutMoney.com

What are the charges on the OPS product?
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the response and I'll clarify as suggested. This is my first time looking into these products so not entirely sure the landscape in Ireland around them.

I am looking for a self-directed PRB where I can buy globally tracked ETFs. I am looking for the provider of this that has the lowest fees, assuming all else is the same.

It sounds from your post that I may be looking at this too simplistically though...

My thinking is the following:

I need to move the money from the OPS to the PRB. It seems unnecessary to have a middle person take a % of the moved money to simply have this as a self-directed PRB. I want to then buy some ETFs. I'm aware of ETF fees that I have within other brokers and the cost associated with them. I'm trying to discern the cost of the management fees(apples to apples) across the providers.

I searched the forum but did not see anything directly related to what I was looking for.

The OPS fees are OK for me but my main reason to want to move now is to not be tied down to having to wait until 65 to access and not have control over the investments(outside of basic risk profiling)
 
I think you first need to identify the providers that offer a PRB where you can select whatever you want to invest in. I know Aviva have an "SDIO" option in their PRB. I think Standard Life may also have one. And there may be others. AFAIK either the providers will not deal with you directly, or if they do, they will not give you a good rate. So you need to find a financial broker that can sell you the required PRB for a reasonable rate. You'll probably have to ask a number of them to give you a quote.

I was in the market for a PRB about a year ago. My sum was significantly higher. I went with Aviva. The AMC depends on which fund you select, or if you go the SDIO option. AFAIR I was offered a 0.55% or 0.65% base AMC for the cheapest funds. I may decide to use the SDIO option in the future. I believe that the fees for this are higher, and depend on what you invest in. For now, it's in a fund tracking the MCSI World index and I think the AMC is 0.7%.
You may also get an offer with, say, 100.5% allocation, as I did. The catch is that you need to leave the money in the PRB for a certain period of time - I think it was 5 years, otherwise there's a clawback. Not an issue for me, but might be for you.
 
...except you don't know what you are doing. Paying a middle person will ensure that you do it right and get the investment that you want.

Add in that pensions is a regulated industry and there is a lot of paperwork involved in setting up any pension product, and that takes time.
 
Standard Life have self directed stockbroking option with Embark (Stocktrade)- not sure if I can link here but go to their website and look under investment types and execution only stockbroking.
1% amc (I think) and then whatever charges Embark levy.

Just fyi - Embark customer service is not great.
 
someguy said:
The OPS fees are OK for me but my main reason to want to move now is to not be tied down to having to wait until 65 to access and not have control over the investments(outside of basic risk profiling)
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Having to make some assumptions on the lack of info but -

Assuming you have left the Company that provided the pension you can access from 50.

Surely the fees from a larger co scheme are going to be better than you can get yourself as an individual and I would assume normally there's a range of efficient funds - presumably a global equity type which at below 40 years old is the best risk/reward with at least 10 years to go..

What about transferring into the pension from your current OPS assuming you have taken up a new role.

50+O
 
Thanks all for the info. I'll reach out to a few providers and brokers to see what my options are.

I was laid off recently which is why I came into looking into all of this. I understand I have 2 years to make a decision but want to get the ball rolling on it. I don't plan to live in Ireland for my next job so don't want to roll it into another OPS.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Why not leave it where it is?
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I'm hoping to retire before 65 which is what drew me to the PRB and being able to tap into it at 50.

I also didn't want the headache of tracking down the fund/contacts etc being abroad and not having full control.

I'll revisit leaving it where it is though with the new info I now have.
 
Leaving it where it is doesn't stop you from retiring at 50.
 
You can access it from a company scheme at age 50 if you’ve left.
 
If you move it to a Buy Out Bond and retire abroad, you cannot move your pension to another jurisdiction. If you leave it in an OPS, you can.

someguy said:
It seems unnecessary to have a middle person
Click to expand...
 
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