BREWIN DOLPHIN FUNDS REVIEW
Please note this article originally appeared on adamfayed.com on November 22
In today’s article, I will continue my review of some investment funds, widely sold in the expat market and beyond, by focusing on Brewin Dolphin.
Who are Brewin Dolphin and where are they sold?
Brewin Dolphin are an asset management firm that has existed since 1762. They are now listed on the London Stock Market. They originally started in the UK and have since expanded globally. Increasingly, they are sold within expat investments, in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong and beyond.
In recent times, Brewin Dolphin have partnered with many firms, to try to offer different kinds of investments, with different risk appetites, combining active and passive investments.
The company has around 50 billion USD assets under management globally.
What are the fees associated with these investments?
Within the UK, the fees are often low — as little as 0.50% per year. Within expat investments, however, there are typically a lot more fees, which add up over time.
What are some examples of their funds?
On their managed portfolio services, they have cautious, income, balanced growth and global equity. Let’s take their high risk portfolio as an example. 40% of the fund is linked to a UK index-fund — Fidelity Index UK Fund Inc GBP.
Then 21% is linked to another index — the Fidelity Index US Fund Inc GBP. 1% is left in cash and 4% is in bonds. The more cautious portfolios have more bonds and other investments.
What has the performance been like?
Compared to many other expat investments, the performance has been pretty good, at least the gross returns. The most adventurous funds are up about 350% in British Sterling terms since 2013, whilst the cautious funds are up by over 200%.
However, as these investments are sold within various expat investments platforms and life insurance companies, and often are just one component of a wider portfolio, the performance expat investors have faced is often much lower.
What can you do if you aren’t happy and have an expat investment?
If you have an underperforming expat portfolio with Brewin Dolphin, you essentially have 3 options available to you. You can completely exit the investment, although penalties might be applied for doing so,
You can often partially exit the investment, meaning if you have $100,000 in your portfolio, you can take out a certain percentage, without penalty. Finally, you can simply change the funds within your existing portfolio, to lower the cost.
A lot of this depends on which platform and provider you are using. Some platforms have higher exit charges for leaving.
What are your contact details if I want you to review my expat portfolio?
advice@adamfayed.com is my main email address.
Further reading
To understand more about the investment options typically sold in conjunction with these types of funds, please click the link below:
https://adamfayed.com/zurich-vista-review-rl360-quantum-friends-provident-hansard/
