Exclusive: Citywire reveals the most successful wealth managers

its strange these so called experts tell you how to make money but there is an importint pont here they only tell you how to invest if you have money

Looking at the fig i must say im not impressed but there again i dont have a great deal of faith in Fund managers and the like

I would like to see a fund manager set the example of no growth in the fund no charges in other words paid on results

Citywire: How well did these guys do relative to the top quartile unit trusts and investment trusts?

Yes and why is it when you ask a financial advisor what he invests in? He says he has no spare money to invest it all goes in paying the mortgage, leasing the car and paying the private school fees!

there is an old saying in bussiness

them who can do it do it them that cant sell insurance and the like

but Mr Roberts you are so right

Quite extraordinary that the list doesn't include the services available through Hargreaves Lansdown. Although the larger part of their offers are directed to those of us that like to make our own investment decisions they also offer a first rate management scheme.

I am not conected to HL, but have used them for many years.

My advice is never to go near Towry Law, so called wealth manager, at all costs.

I needed a UK firm who knew about UK pension law etc. for transfer the pension fund back to UK on leaving foreign posting. They recommended a 'capital guranteed' bond which I was led to believe an interest bearing fund.

It is a long story. However, they simply told me there was a residue value of 25% when I approached them on maturity and told me to go and redeem it from the fund manager without bothering them.

It is a very bitter experience.

All wealth managers over charge , Ive approached one or 2 and discussed risk sharing with them. I.e if they dont meet targets in a certain year then they dont take any charges from me . Im sure you can guess the outcome of that conversation.

Having said that I see Crispin Odey , the Hedgie is starting funds with a 1% charge , lets hope the rest follow.

Until then I will be doing what I am doing now managing my own investments and averaging 20% growth a year.

However I have a SIPP with Hargreaves Lansdowne and would thoroughly recommend them.

why not invest in something like Berkshire Hathaway.No hidden charges. A superb long term record,and the worlds most successful investor in charge.

They are each comparing themselves to different "indices". I think Citywire could easily have used a standardised comparison. The FTSE100 total return less 0.5% for charges seems fair. The other comparison being cash (I think it's some citywire cash bond that's used as the benchmark). As it is they are distorting the truth before they are even out of the starting blocks.

Berkshire Hathaway are down about 9% in the last 3 years.

very very lame performances indeed. You wealth management guys should cut out the long lunches and do some work.

very very lame performances indeed. You wealth management guys should cut out the long lunches and do some work.

How well do Barclays wealth rate - all very glossy sell but do they perform?

I would have thought Hargreive Lansdown were worhy of cosideration

Avoid HSBC Wealth Management (if they still exist)...

Feeling somewhat worn out with making my own decisions (over 25 years)

in a moment of weakness I decided that I would hand over the job to people

who I thought might know what they were doing.

I handed over a large sum but couldn't believe the utterly idiotic

investments they made. Funds that were hopeless duds, and shares I

wouldn't have touched with a barge pole. e.g. Railtrack, two weeks before the

Hatfield report was published (which produced an immediate 30% fall in value.)

Worst of all, HSBC brokers were issuing 'Sell' recommendations on the very

shares that HSBC Wealth Management were putting my money into. After one year I had had enough and took back what was left and went back to making

my own mistakes. I've managed a better performance than the so called

experts above. I would suggest all the 'Private Wealth Management' divisions

of the major banks are just scams. They charge you to hand over your money

(2 1/2% in most cases) then more charges to buy the funds they seem to pick with a pin (on which they will take commission every year). I strongly recommend you make your own investments. Spread the risk. Buy ETF's to cover whole markets and subjects. Read the financial sections of papers. Take an interest in the macro economics. Don't get gready. Use funds supermarkets (eg Commshare) to keep down the costs. Do not put any faith

in anyone to look after your interests. They won't, whatever the smooth salesman who comes to your home will say.

Citywire should clarify the comparison basis. At the end of a day both relative and absolute performance are relevant to the performance assessment, (they are wealth managers after all, and of course the impact of fees on performance returns is highly relevant too.

Ten tears ago my pension was tied up with Zurich/Allied Dunbar, and Lloyds Bank Investments "looked after" the rest. Running a small business does not leave much time for doing much else.

However I worked out that over £7000 per year was being taken in charges. I packed up early and five years ago moved my pension to a Sipp and the rest to a Stocks & Shares account - both with Hargreaves Lansdown.

Despite having to cope withe the big crash, just using some common sense, form study and a determination not to lose any money, allows me to say it's the best single decision with regards to money. I have ever made.

It may not be for everybody but I never want my kids to allow a bank or wealth manager near their money. I have opened Hargreaves Landsown accounts for all of them and encouraging them to see that it's far from rocket science. Plus revealing the wonder of compunding dividends!

I sympathize with the comment about Towry Law. They asked me for £100 to transfer ownershaip from Joint to myself. I refused and rang the three companies concerned who sent me a form for nothing. Cost three second class stamps - gain £300. Needless to say I am not with Towry Law now!!

Wealth managers charge fees of about 1.5% and then invest in their own bespoke collective funds with TER of 3%. Any one who uses them is an idiot who deserves all he gets.