Liberty RA

zerocool2009

zerocool2009

Honorary Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
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Today I found out my fees for the last year was quite a bit

Looking at my contribution, the fees charged, I made 1/3 what I contributed overall.

I asked my broker can we look into the fees and his answer was that cant be changed.

3% of the number of units are charged.

Can anyone please advise where to from here... You can PM if you don't want to reply.
 
Ask for a quote on making the RA paid up.

Then weigh up the costs. I read an article about this issue on the weekend, will post link when at a proper PC.
 
The whole RA/investment business is a racket with super profits, which is why National Treasury is investigating, with changes in Acts to come. The current result is that the RA/investment/broker companies pocket about 30-40% of your retirement amount.

They very cleverly disguise this by quoting various percentages that appear to be small. They even go so far as to quote their service fees as a percentage of your total salary, and not the premium itself! They don't show the compounding effect of their fees on your investment.

They all do the same thing, quoting each others' fees and percentages to indicate that this is how it is done and can't be changed.

I can rant all day about this.
 
SoTrue said:
The whole RA/investment business is a racket with super profits, which is why National Treasury is investigating, with changes in Acts to come. The current result is that the RA/investment/broker companies pocket about 30-40% of your retirement amount.

They very cleverly disguise this by quoting various percentages that appear to be small. They even go so far as to quote their service fees as a percentage of your total salary, and not the premium itself! They don't show the compounding effect of their fees on your investment.

They all do the same thing, quoting each others' fees and percentages to indicate that this is how it is done and can't be changed.

I can rant all day about this.
Click to expand...
That's SoTrue...
 
zerocool2009 said:
Today I found out my fees for the last year was quite a bit

Looking at my contribution, the fees charged, I made 1/3 what I contributed overall.

I asked my broker can we look into the fees and his answer was that cant be changed.

3% of the number of units are charged.

Can anyone please advise where to from here... You can PM if you don't want to reply.
Click to expand...

There's your problem. He needs to be paid.
 
I am so f'n glad I made the choice to go with a Sygnia RA invested in a Sygnia passive fund at a total of 0.40% fee
 
I had an RA with Liberty a few years back, took it out while young and dumb, I did a section 14 transfer about 4 years ago to Coronation.
Liberty did penalize me 25% of Portfolio value, but I don't regret the move :)

Doing this move stopped the "advisors" fees.
Sometimes it's best to cut your losses and move on.
 
Hendrix said:
I had an RA with Liberty a few years back, took it out while young and dumb, I did a section 14 transfer about 4 years ago to Coronation.
Liberty did penalize me 25% of Portfolio value, but I don't regret the move :)

Doing this move stopped the "advisors" fees.
Sometimes it's best to cut your losses and move on.
Click to expand...

True what you are saying !

That is why I am more worried than them. I have no issue paying fees. But shacks, let my money work at least !
 
SoTrue said:
The whole RA/investment business is a racket with super profits, which is why National Treasury is investigating, with changes in Acts to come. The current result is that the RA/investment/broker companies pocket about 30-40% of your retirement amount.

They very cleverly disguise this by quoting various percentages that appear to be small. They even go so far as to quote their service fees as a percentage of your total salary, and not the premium itself! They don't show the compounding effect of their fees on your investment.

They all do the same thing, quoting each others' fees and percentages to indicate that this is how it is done and can't be changed.

I can rant all day about this.
Click to expand...

Only some parts (most often the Life Insurers) and some of the active managers as well, and a lot of the "advisors" (afr: smouse). The index products are just getting cheaper and better and more choice and easier to do yourself.

abzo said:
Is it possible to set up your own RA without a broker/adviser?
Click to expand...

Yep, easy. Just research and select the funds you want, make sure they are Regulation 28 compliant (if you don't choose a balanced fund) and fill in the forms and submit them to the provider.

Billy said:
Yes. Online with Allan Gray.
Click to expand...

Or Coronation or 10x or Sygnia or PSG or others. Allan Gray, PSG and Sygnias Imporium (vs the Sygnia funds only, and cheaper, Boutique option) are LISPs, that means they can offer a range of other providers unit trust funds (managed and index funds) as well, besides their own funds.

abzo said:
And to remove my current adviser but keep the policy?
Click to expand...

Don't know if its possible with the old style life insurance RAs, but it is with the unit trusts RAs, but expect a call from the advisor (you just tell him services are no longer required, or even just negotiate a smaller ongoing advice fee going forward if you feel you still need them) because the provider will probably notify them of the change.

zerocool2009 said:
Well, I know he needs to be paid. Nothing is for free. And I know the markets done badly last year.

But still ...
Click to expand...

He was probably already either fully paid the commision upfront or at least 50% paid (of all envisaged future contributions) when the RA was activated. The penalties imposed are to claw back that money already paid to the advisor, from the investor.
 
I switched from a broker / advisor and Liberty to both Sygnia and 10x by myself and haven't regretted it once!
 
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