Julian927 Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Anyone out there who has had experience of using a Financial Adviser to move their UK pensions, investments etc to Australia. We are presented with a choice of taking the Commission route where the Migration Financial Planners keep the commission and not charge a fee. but clearly this means less of our money actually being invested versus Paying an up front hourly rate fee. Can anyone let us know their experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Hi Julian There are a few things to consider here. Firstly, do you have the cashflow to pay the fee out of your own pocket? Most people prefer to have the funds taken from the Pension/Super monies on transfer as it does not impact their cashflow. In actual fact you can still pay for a fee for service but have the monies deducted from the Super fund when using the services of most Financial Planners. There may also be ways of topping that fee back up tax effectively if you are concerned about the impact the fee will have on your fund. Secondly, are you sure that you will be remaining in Australia permanently? It may be worth considering waiting to transfer until you have been here for a while and are pretty sure that you intend to remain in Australia. Thirdly, when using the services of a UK company to transfer they usually do not offer the full service and invest your money only in to cash, they then put you in touch with an Australian Planner to provide advice on an investment portfolio (at an extra cost!). Fourthly, my experience of UK transfer companies is not always good, they generally do not offer specific advice as to whether it is in your interests to transfer but instead give general information. I have seen Pensions that just should not be transferred for one reason or another yet they are still looking for the person to make the transfer. Many of them use the 6 month tax free window as a reason why you should transfer but in actual fact this should not be the reason for transferring. There are many advantages of having money in the Australian Superannaution scheme as opposed to the UK but there are also some instances whereby it is not in someone's interest. I have never heard of one of these companies advising not to transfer. Hope this helps. Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongrel Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 If its a company pension get advice , I transferred my company pension last year ,after numerous fone calls to the uk pension dept of the company with no response .Hindsight would have been beter deferring it in the uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liam Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Julian Firstr thing to know is that the commission on most products is "up to 4.4% or 5.5%" that dosen't mean it has to be charged. I for example can dial down the commission to 1.1% or to 0% if someone wants a fixed fee. So don't believe companies who tell you the Commission to transfer to an Australian fund is a set amount. Everything is negotiatable and its depends on the time and work involved. All Andy's points were very valid and you need to look at the big picture to ensure that the move meets your specific circumstances. Get a few quotes and don't be rushed in to anything. Don't be afraid of the word Commission or feel that you are saving money from a "FEE for SERVICE". Compare the actual amount to be charged from either offer and as Andy said beware of the Extras. Here is the most pertinent question to ask. " What will it cost me to analyse the UK fund, transfer and place the funds in an Australian fund in a asset allocation to suit my long term needs, manage that portfolio and include advice on what Insurance I should consider." This covers the whole process and you can then compare apples with apples. regards Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supa Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 It is of course sensible to compare advice given by one company with another. However, with not inconsiderable fees, paying for several company's advice would surely be prohibitive to many. Is there a way around this, or do you just have to spend many £100's of pounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Hi everyone, does anyone know roughly how much it would cost me to change 200,000 pounds into oz dollars, is it a standard rate, or does it vary and are there any other costs. On the point of pensions, both my wife and i have 20 plus years government final salary pensions and we were told it would be better to transfer them to Oz, but they will be destroyed if we did that and would not increase in value, unless its different than the UK, all they want is your money and they don't care if you lose thousands, be very careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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