Avoid high charged offshore regular savings plans and be healthy


Why are offshore regular savings plans so disastrous for most clients?

If you are, or thinking about, saving regular amounts, typically monthly, then how can you avoid a sensible idea turning into a nightmare?

The background

We are often approached by clients that have been recommended an offshore regular savings plans by their local financial adviser. They have been promised a flexible product with full accessibility available after 2 years, and an illustration promotes the idea of growth at 12% per annum with limited charges. In general offshore regular savings plans goes something like this:

Salesman offers a offshore regular savings plans for anything between 15 and 25 years and encourages the client to start saving as much as they can afford at least for the first 2 years. They are assured there is flexibility after the first 2 years and the charges for the offshore regular savings plans are 1% per annum.

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A typical situation

Much of what they have been told about offshore regular savings plans turns out to be plain wrong, unfortunately! Choosing these offshore regular savings plans can result in some very poor performance which of course is of no use to the client, as there are some really great ways of achieving a different positive outcome.

First of all, I have to explain why, what they are currently being recommended is often a poor solution; the reason they are encouraged to save as much as possible for the first two years is because this will increase the initial commission the salesman will make. The reason the client is told they must make all of the payments in the first 2 years is to ensure the salesman’s com­mission is safe; if the client fails to make all of the initial payments on an offshore regular savings plans then the salesman will have to “pay back” the commission to the life company that has issued the offshore regular savings plans.

This first 2 year term of an offshore regular savings plans is known as the “initial period” and this is the main reason the client will only receive 60% or less of their savings back within the first 8 years. Put another way, all of the commission and charges that the offshore regular savings plans is going to take from the client are linked to this initial period, often through “initial” or “capital” units which have no value until the end of the investment term but also can be an 8% annual cost to the client.

If you consider that for smaller monthly amounts the offshore regular savings plans can cost an additional 5% per annum to run, it is easy to see why these so called savings plans do not make any money for the client.

My solution

My definition of an offshore regular savings plans is to build capital for the future through true flexibility, transparent low charges and accessibility that will work with the clients changing circumstances. We have a great solution with a total annual ongoing charge including fund fees of less than 1% per annum. If you want us to manage it, which most people do, then we will charge a transparent fee for our services.

To find out how we can help you and your family’s financial future, contact us and I’ll talk you through the next steps.

TailorMade’s con­clusion

The views expressed in this article are not to be construed as personal advice. You should contact a qualified and ideally regulated adviser in order to obtain up to date personal advice with regard to your own personal circumstances. If you do not then you are acting under your own authority and deemed “execution only”. The author does not except any liability for people acting without personalised advice, who base a decision on views expressed in this generic article. Where this article is dated then it is based on legislation as of the date. Legislation changes but articles are rarely updated, although sometimes a new article is written; so, please check for later articles or changes in legislation on official government websites, as this article should not be relied on in isolation.

This article was published in April 2015

About the Author

John Reid

With over 35 years’ experience in all aspects of retirement advice, pension investment planning, and tax efficient investments. He is the current Chairman of the UK investment team and has a degree in Genetics.

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