The 321 investment account is the fruition of Abacus’s collaboration with Jersey-based Brooks Macdonald International, which has built the account exclusively for Abacus.
The charges on the 321 account are 3% for an initial lump sum investment, for regular savings the fee is equivalent to two months of contributions, and there is a 1% ongoing adviser fee. Further lump sum payments also incur a 3% charge.
Brooks Macdonald also levy a charge on each account of 0.5% annually.
Kay Pindoria, joint founding partner of Abacus Financial Consultants said: “Brooks Macdonald’s investment manager charge is discounted to 0.5%pa due to their strategic partnership, with the only other costs being the underlying fund management charges which are circa 0.6% for a balanced managed portfolio service.
“There are no custodian or transaction fees.”
The minimum monthly contribution is £1000, $1000 or €1000 while the minimum top-up there after is £200, $200 or €200 on a monthly basis. Lump sums of £10,000, $10,000 or €10,000 can be added at any time.
There are few other restrictions on the 321 account with no exit penalties, no contractual term or missed payments fees.
Abacus have sought to differentiate their business through a willingness to charge up front fees, as opposed to taking commission from product providers in anticipation of change from the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority.
Prospective clients will still be expected to meet their Abacus adviser and meet the usual high net worth client profile to be suitable.
“We are going up against the life companies,” explained Abacus’ other joint founding partner Graham Thornton. “It is a decent alternative to the traditionally sold products which we felt have been expensive for the premiums which will have been levied.
“For the 321 account we have stripped away all the unnecessary costs. It is like a bank account – it is very simple fee structure.
“We know why people shy away from [charging)] fees. This product will set us apart. We are proud of what we do and we think this fee is fair for what we do.
“The account is transparent, and it will stand up to scrutiny.”
Con Lillis founded Abacus in 2013 with Graham Thornton, Kay Pindoria, Rupert Connor and Bob Symons. It struck Brooks Macdonald’s first international strategic alliance in November 2016, which gave Abacus clients access to Brooks’ discretionary multi-asset, direct equity and bond strategies.
Philip Cernik says:
This is a welcome addition to the UAE market. Transparency, simplicity and value for money are the future of this industry – be it for investment companies or life insurers – as no industry can survive if it is not focused on customers. We shouldn’t however, confuse life insurance backed investments with other investments such as this. Life insurance products have other advantages, including tax, administrative simplicity, probate etc that pure investments will never have for returning expats. Saying that, these insurance benefits will only be realized when the customer’s investment makes a gain. We need innovation and better educated advisers in this market to drive better customer outcomes. Circular 12 will force the hand of the insurers and the advisory community, which can only be a good thing. I wish you luck with the new product.
James Caldwell says:
Great news, but these are only the adviser fees listed…. what are the charges of Brookes MacDonald charges, as well as the likely fund charges (or DFM charges)?
This report is not complete which is a shame as I support the premise.
James Caldwell says:
Great news, but these are only the adviser fees listed…. what are the Brooks MacDonald charges, as well as the likely fund charges (or DFM charges)?
This report is not complete which is a shame as I support the fee premise.
Will Grahame-Clarke says:
Thank you James, you are right and the story has been updated to include Brooks Macdonald charge, which is 0.5%.
Christopher Lean says:
Transparent fees are the way forward but this article says “The charges on the 321 account…”
Am I missing something here?
This is about the adviser fees not the charges on the 321 account.
Customer-“How much does the car cost?”
Salesman- “I get 3% from the deal or a flat fee”
Customer- “Great, I will buy it”
How does 321 account cost of custodian, fund fees and switches stack up against the competition, as there are other firms out there already offering the same conceptual product?
Bob Symons says:
Hi Christoper,
The fees are listed in the article, Brooks MacDonald charge a (reduced for our clients) 0.5% p.a management fee (this is exceptionally low for a Discretionary Fund Manager), Abacus charges an ongoing 1% p.a. advisory service fee (which includes all client meetings, reporting and general reviews/oversight), there are no additional trading/custodian fees – underlying fund costs (forming part of the Total Expense Ratio – TER) varies between 0.6% – 0.85% depending on the risk profile of the client. when comparing these costs to traditional savings plans, the 321 account is vastly improved. Added to the fact that there are no “hidden costs”with 100% invested and zero exit fees – at any time, there are few, if any true competitors to this in the offshore market. This plan would stand up very well in any of the “mature”markets, such as the UK.
Martyn Sinclair says:
If this was truly a fee based proposition the 3% fee would be tiered and a maximum stated. Same with 2 months premium as a fee.
Is there any difference in the amount of work involved for a £100,000 or £200,000 lump sum investments or a £1,000 pm or £2,000 pm contribution. This appears to still be a commission not a fee.
The positive though is finally there is a true pure savings scheme, no penalties and premiums can be very flexi..
Well done to BM and good news for clients who are presented with this…
Next stage is for the dinosaur product providers to change their charging structure…
adkinson@private-capital.com.hk says:
What a bargain, buy Vanguard at diddly squat, sit back and wait.