Willis Owen: Not a standout performer

With high fees, an unexceptional choice of funds and UK shares, and no access to individual US shares, it’s hard to find a case for recommending Willis Owen in any circumstance.

Investing in funds results in slightly lower costs due to zero trading fees on funds, but there are better providers when you measure Willis Owen against almost any feature or factor.

Accounts

Willis Owen offers retail investors access to:

• General investment account (GIA) is an account designed to provide access to investments. You may be liable for tax on any income or capital gains earned within a general investment account but this can be a useful vehicle for anyone who has maxed out their ISA allowanceGeneral investment account
• Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAStocks and shares ISA
• A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundSelf-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
• A Junior ISA

An investment ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a tax-efficient wrapper in which you can buy, hold and sell investments.

The Willis Owen stocks and shares ISA is a ‘flexible’ ISA, meaning you can take out cash, then put it back in during the same tax year without reducing your current year’s allowance.

Discover our best-rated investment ISAs

SIPP

A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is ideal for self-employed people and those looking to make additional investments for retirement in addition to their workplace pension. A SIPP allows you flexibility – you get to choose how often you pay in, and how much – and total control as you get to choose what you’re invested in and how much risk you want to be exposed to. It’s also a tax-efficient way to save as, for every 80p you pay in, the government will top it up to £1.

With a SIPP, you can choose to invest in your own selection of funds, ETFs, investment trusts or UK shares from the Willis Owen offering. If you don’t want to go down the path of selecting your own individual investment assets, you can either choose one of Willis Owen’s ready-made portfolios (more details below), or put your money into a ‘Glideplan’ portfolio, a targeted retirement plan aligned to your age. I was matched with the Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Acc fund, for example.

Assets

You won’t have access to the tens of thousands of assets that providers such as interactive investor and Saxo offer, but Willis Owen clients can access a reasonably good choice of investment options, with one exception: you’ll notice there’s no option to buy US stocks or ETFs which will be a major issue for many investors.

There is also some help with choosing funds if you’re unsure where to start and feel safer with funds than picking individual stocks. Willis Owen have selected 105 ‘Focus Funds’ – funds that are highly regarded by their in-house Research Team. Factsheets detailing the information you’re likely to want to know about funds (past performance, fund fees and what they’re invested in) are all made easily available which also helps with the decision-making process.

Assets currently available from Willis Owen are:

• 860+ UK stocks
• 400+ ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange
• 171 Investment Trusts
• 2,278 funds
• 6 x risk-rated, A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolios

Ready-made portfolios

Ready-made solutions can be an ideal option for those who want more help getting started with investing. You can choose from a range of funds chosen to match the level of risk you’re willing and able to take with your money.

Willis Owen offers clients a choice of six ready-made portfolios:

1 x Cautious Growth Portfolio
1 x Moderate Growth Portfolio
1 x Adventurous Growth Portfolio

Plus one Responsible Growth option for each risk-rating.

See ‘portfolio performance’ below for analysis of historical performance of these portfolios.

Willis Owen customers pay:

Annual fees

£0 – £50,000 0.40%
£50,001 – £100,000 0.30%
£100,001 – £250,000 0.20%
£250,000 + 0.15%

Fees for SIPP accounts

0.68% in total (reductions for pot size)

That fee consists of:

A 0.28% investment charge, paid to Vanguard for managing your investments. And a 0.40% Willis Owen platform charge for running your pension plan, reducing to 0.25% for funds above £100,000 and 0.15% for funds above £250,000.

Dealing fees

No fees for trading funds.

For trades on stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts, you’ll be charged dealing commission of £7.50 per online trade, which is definitely at the higher end of the scale.

There is a way to avoid the commission however, by setting up a regular trading plan. With the regular investment service, you agree to set up an automated transfer of at least £25 per month into your trading account. This won’t suit everyone as it doesn’t allow for spontaneity, but drip-feeding your portfolio means you may be better able to smooth out peaks and troughs in the market.

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