CUT BILLS THE EASY WAY
effective online companies for ordinary people of modest wealth.
Much like a fund of funds, a discretionary investment manager asks for your risk appetite and builds a portfolio accordingly.
Among the newcomers are Nutmeg, SCM Direct and MoneyFarm. They invest primarily in exchange traded funds (ETFs), which are cheap, track an index and are traded on stock exchanges. Blowers says: ‘Discretionary managers take all the decisions and manage everything for you so are hassle free.’
On Thursday last week, Cardiffbased Wealthify was launched for anyone with a minimum £250 to invest.
Money goes into mutual funds as well as ETFs, and its team is made up of bosses from protection insurance broker ActiveQuote and a chartered wealth manager.
Such online discretionary management companies rebalance portfolios on a customer’s behalf.
This is why Benjamin Bateson opened a stocks and shares Isa with Nutmeg. The 27-year-old works in financial services and started saving with the online firm about three years ago, not long after its launch in 2012.
He used his savings in August last year to put down a deposit on a home in Dollis Hill, North-West London, which he bought with his partner Danielle Powell, 27. Now he is working to build his Isa savings again.
He says: ‘I had clients who invested with the firm, which is how I came to learn about it before it became well known. I wanted to invest for better returns but didn’t want to have to pick everything myself.’
Yet another option is to get help from an independent financial adviser, who can assist in picking funds and give you a nudge when change is needed.
For help in searching for an adviser near you – and for guidance about how to find the right adviser in the first place, such as questions to ask in a first meeting, visit the website unbiased.co.uk.
Banking
SWITCHING bank accounts is a burden few of us have patience for. But the Current Account Switch Service automatically changes direct debits and other payments, such as wages, with added protection.
David Black, an independent financial researcher at DJB Research, says: ‘The service has made it easy to switch, and with its guarantees and timelines has removed worry and uncertainties. Many of the switching incentives offered by banks or comparison websites are restricted to those that use the switch service.
‘But your old account will be closed and that may not suit everyone.’
More than 40 banks and building societies offer the guarantee, meaning most of the current account market is covered. The service is free to use.
Customers tell the new bank or building society that they want to use the service and choose a date for the switch.
The process takes seven working days, with direct debits, standing orders, salary or pension payments and any savings transferred automatically to the new account.
Any stray payments to or from the old account are redirected to the new one for up to three years.
Should anything go wrong, resulting in bank charges or lost interest, the new bank will issue a refund. To find out more about how it works, visit simplerworld.co.uk.
What the service cannot do is choose an account for you. For this you can try price comparison website Gocompare’s ‘midata’ tool.
It forms part of the Government backed midata initiative – designed to give consumers access and control over their personal information and financial history. This helps you find the right account for you.
Gocompare’s tool analyses a year of bank account transactions – including overdraft fees, foreign exchange charges and interest earned – to find the most competitive account.