Personal Retirement Bond

hellboy99

I have a Personal Retirement Bond (6 years worth of savings gone into it) with BOI for just over a year now and have made no money on it, instead I've lost half of my money in the last few months.

Is there anyway I can just take out what I have left or put it into something else as I don't want to lose what I have left and to be honest I would much rather "piss it up against a wall" myself than see the bank just make a shame of it :mad:

Drumpot

hellboy99 wrote: »

I have a Personal Retirement Bond (6 years worth of savings gone into it) with BOI for just over a year now and have made no money on it, instead I've lost half of my money in the last few months.

Is there anyway I can just take out what I have left or put it into something else as I don't want to lose what I have left and to be honest I would much rather "piss it up against a wall" myself than see the bank just make a shame of it :mad:

Without knowing many details about yourself or circumstances, you should be able to request that your moneys be moved into a cash fund so that you will not lose much (if any) off the value of your investment.

Think of Retirement bonds like savings accounts with differant fund options.

Do you have a broker or just a bank contact? If you have a broker discuss your feelings with them, if its with the bank, I would suggest you consider talking to a financial advisor who will be able to give you independent advice on what you should do with your funds. remember bank officials only advise on whats best for you in the eyes of the bank . .

Toots

How long is it until you retire? AFAIK, you can pause your payments in to these accounts, so it might be better to do that, and when the fund recovers you could take the money out then and put it into a cash based pension fund. If you take it all out now, you will lose half your money. Plans like this are not meant to be short term things, they are for several years. I've a similar account and it has lost money, but will make it up over the remaining years of the fund (the recession won't last forever).

I'd recommend getting in touch with BOI Life on 1850 309 309 or info@bankofirelandlife.ie and they can answer any questions you have about stopping payments and encashment of the policy. The advisors in BOI life must give you financial advice which is of most benefit to you, even if that means pulling out of one of their products. If you arranged the policy through an independent advisor, get in touch with them and discuss your concerns about the fund. I think at the moment, there are very few non-cash based funds that are doing well at the moment because of the economic climate.

Drumpot

Toots85 wrote: »

The advisors in BOI life must give you financial advice which is of most benefit to you, even if that means pulling out of one of their products. .

With all due respect, I used to work in BOI (and AIB) and I never heard of a Tied Agent or bank official sending a client to a differant provider in the clients best interests. Im not being sarcastic but banks only sell their own products and generally only advise on their own products (ever see a bank official send a client to a financial advisor for the cheapest life assurance!), if you have any factual information to dismiss this statement then I will bow to your superior knowledge.

Toots

Well I think in all fairness, the staff member is going to try and do their best to keep your business, and in most cases of this I've seen, the customer has decided to stay because the advisor is able to move them over to a more suitable product for them. I have seen one or two instances in the branch I work where the financial advisor has advised a customer that we have been unable to match the rate they've been quoted elsewhere and they would be better off to move money to get that rate.

AFAIR this is covered under Consumer Protection Code (I'm open to correction on that), I did a cert in this about 2 years ago but I can't remember which specific piece of legislation covered this, I'll try and dig out my book and see. I think at the minute though, any financial advisor would be encouraging him to wait it out and see if the market improves so as to minimise any loss he makes if he does pull out of the fund.

Drumpot

Toots85 wrote: »

Well I think in all fairness, the staff member is going to try and do their best to keep your business, and in most cases of this I've seen, the customer has decided to stay because the advisor is able to move them over to a more suitable product for them. I have seen one or two instances in the branch I work where the financial advisor has advised a customer that we have been unable to match the rate they've been quoted elsewhere and they would be better off to move money to get that rate.

AFAIR this is covered under Consumer Protection Code (I'm open to correction on that), I did a cert in this about 2 years ago but I can't remember which specific piece of legislation covered this, I'll try and dig out my book and see. I think at the minute though, any financial advisor would be encouraging him to wait it out and see if the market improves so as to minimise any loss he makes if he does pull out of the fund.

I wouldnt necessarily be questioning individuals as much as I would the organisation itself.

Is it common practise for bank officials to advise clients to get more quotes off other companies for similar products ? If so, then fair enough. Like I said, when I worked in the banks (both at the front and behind the scenes) I never saw instances of practises intended to do whats necessarily the right thing for the client. There maybe legislation or laws to protect clients but lets be honest, banks havent exactly being acting in clients bests interests the last few years and the regulator hasnt really been too bothered keeping an eye on them.

When I was a tellor I was told to monitor anybody with more then €5k in their current account and to notify a salesman who was in our store every week. He was not there to advise clients of all the options in the markets where they could place their money, there was only one place he was telling them to invest.

For a person thats done their research, banks cant but admit that they have more expensive products, but for the average Joe that doesnt understand their rights or the industry I just cannot see a bank quoting them a life assurnace or house insurance quote and saying "some other company may be cheaper or may have a better product then ours so dont forget to shop around". And a person with lets say €1,000,000 would be told to invest their money in investec or Anglo.

I actually know of a pensioner, age 75 who had money on deposit for years (over 100k) and the banks left him on .25% interest until my dad brought him into the bank and demanded a remotely decent rate. Only when he threatened to move the money did the bank give him the proper rate.

Im not so sure they are obliged to tell a client they can get better rates or cheaper products with a competitor like an independent financial advisor would be expected to (and legally obliged to shop around with their agencies) otherwise how would banks sell any life assurance or house insurance as there is bound to be cheaper companies. Again I am not being sarcastic toot85 but do feel that suggesting that a bank will advise a client to go elsewhere if they can get a better deal, doesnt really sound like the banks I knew when I worked for them, nor does it sound like the stereotypical bank in Ireland that hasnt really given a damn about their clients for a long time (again speaking as an organisation, not specifically individually).

There are far too many examples of inappropriate selling and practises on the banks part to even consider giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Toots

Well an official in say AIB is not going to advise a customer on products in lets say Ulster Bank, because they'd be in no position to advise on another banks products because they would most likely not be fully au fait with the ins and outs of the products.

The advisors in BOI life must give you financial advice which is of most benefit to you, even if that means pulling out of one of their products.

By this I don't mean directing them into the open arms of another institution, but perhaps the customer in question (the OP) might actually be better off pulling out of the fund at a loss and simply putting the money in their current account, and if this is the case then the advisor must be honest with them and tell them this.

Im not so sure they are obliged to tell a client they can get better rates or cheaper products with a competitor like an independent financial advisor would be expected to

No, the bank would not recommend another institution's product to a customer right off the bat, but if in the instance that they quoted a rate to a customer be it for savings, mortgage, etc. and the customer then came back with a more competitive rate they had been offered elsewhere, and the institution could not match or beat it then (assuming that the two products were identical as regards Ts&Cs) then they would have to advise the customer that they were not able to offer a comparative product, and then the customer would obviously take the service that was of more benefit to them.

Drumpot

Toots85 wrote: »

Well an official in say AIB is not going to advise a customer on products in lets say Ulster Bank, because they'd be in no position to advise on another banks products because they would most likely not be fully au fait with the ins and outs of the products.



By this I don't mean directing them into the open arms of another institution, but perhaps the customer in question (the OP) might actually be better off pulling out of the fund at a loss and simply putting the money in their current account, and if this is the case then the advisor must be honest with them and tell them this.



No, the bank would not recommend another institution's product to a customer right off the bat, but if in the instance that they quoted a rate to a customer be it for savings, mortgage, etc. and the customer then came back with a more competitive rate they had been offered elsewhere, and the institution could not match or beat it then (assuming that the two products were identical as regards Ts&Cs) then they would have to advise the customer that they were not able to offer a comparative product, and then the customer would obviously take the service that was of more benefit to them.

Thats fair enough.

stepbar

People seem to forget about the "Banks are a business" part. Imagine going to your loacl shop to buy a loaf of bread and hearing the shop keeper telling you to buy it in Tesco because they are cheaper. It's not done too often.

People also have to take some responcibility for managing their own financial affairs and by that I mean reviewing same at least every 6 months. Talk to bank staff, tell them what you want without being agressive. Staff are there to help as much as possible. One member of staff could have a portfolio of thousands of customers. It would be next to impossible to get to each and every customer on a regular basis. Others have no requirements and don't need a personal service. It really depends on the customer.

Unless he / she hears from you when you get a rate change notification / charged fees and so on they don't have the time to be contacting you each and every time it happens. I know when I was making customer calls, I got a list of 15 - 20 to call every week. There was at least 10 others advisors making calls. Divide that by a customer base of 20k (where I worked) and you might only get to talk to a customer once a year.

podger456

hellboy99 wrote: »

I have a Personal Retirement Bond (6 years worth of savings gone into it) with BOI for just over a year now and have made no money on it, instead I've lost half of my money in the last few months.

Is there anyway I can just take out what I have left or put it into something else as I don't want to lose what I have left and to be honest I would much rather "piss it up against a wall" myself than see the bank just make a shame of it :mad:

If you are over 50 you may be able to get the money. Simple email or phonecall to BOI will tell you, and any other options you have re switching funds.

Would be no harm to take financial advice. Switching to cash or safer funds now essentially locks in your loss.

Drumpot

stepbar wrote: »

People seem to forget about the "Banks are a business" part. Imagine going to your loacl shop to buy a loaf of bread and hearing the shop keeper telling you to buy it in Tesco because they are cheaper. It's not done too often.

People also have to take some responcibility for managing their own financial affairs and by that I mean reviewing same at least every 6 months. Talk to bank staff, tell them what you want without being agressive. Staff are there to help as much as possible. One member of staff could have a portfolio of thousands of customers. It would be next to impossible to get to each and every customer on a regular basis. Others have no requirements and don't need a personal service. It really depends on the customer.

Unless he / she hears from you when you get a rate change notification / charged fees and so on they don't have the time to be contacting you each and every time it happens. I know when I was making customer calls, I got a list of 15 - 20 to call every week. There was at least 10 others advisors making calls. Divide that by a customer base of 20k (where I worked) and you might only get to talk to a customer once a year.

True but people are more educated on the price of bread and milk and are surrounded by offers for these goods.

Its not the job of the banks to educate on where the best deal is for people, thats really my point. They are only interested in getting in business for themselves. If an individual employee tells a client the best deals on offer, its a personal opinion, not bank policy.

I was just making this point clear because we wouldnt want people putting all their trust in their local bank, for all their financial needs. . .

stepbar

Drumpot wrote: »

True but people are more educated on the price of bread and milk and are surrounded by offers for these goods.

Its not the job of the banks to educate on where the best deal is for people, thats really my point. They are only interested in getting in business for themselves. If an individual employee tells a client the best deals on offer, its a personal opinion, not bank policy.

I was just making this point clear because we wouldnt want people putting all their trust in their local bank, for all their financial needs. . .

Fully agreed. TBH it's hard enough for Bank staff to keep up with the different product offering their own bank has, never mind other banks offerings. I do know I've felt frustration in the past not being able to match or better offerings from other banks. As much as people might think otherwise, we do offer the best deals we can within the system we operate under. If there's a deal that trumps our own well then there is SFA you can do about that. To be fair there are a lot of banks taking losses on deposit products at the mo. How sustainable that is anyones guess.

hellboy99

Thanks for the help guys

I have since been onto a financial adviser with the bank and he told me that in the long run I'm better off to leave it in it's current state of a PRB and that the Cash Save would be a bad idea. Whether that's a good idea I don't really know, all I know is looking back at my decision now, putting my money into it was a bad mistake, I should of just left it in a savings account or spent it.

Drumpot

hellboy99 wrote: »

Thanks for the help guys

I have since been onto a financial adviser with the bank and he told me that in the long run I'm better off to leave it in it's current state of a PRB and that the Cash Save would be a bad idea. Whether that's a good idea I don't really know, all I know is looking back at my decision now, putting my money into it was a bad mistake, I should of just left it in a savings account or spent it.

Well that depends on what you would of spent it on . . .

Ah no, once you understand a pension , you would see that if you use it appropriatly (to your own goals) , it can be a fantastic savings tool . .

Like every investment you could of lost your shirt in the stock markets, but unlike MOST investments you do get tax relief that makes it more worthwhile if you plan it correctly . .