Frequently asked questions

Other one-off charges

While we’ve reduced the number of charges, there are some one-off fees that apply in specific circumstances, such as offshore bond set up, or the sale or purchase of Exchange Traded Investments (ETI) – which are payable when they take place. These charges only apply when the relevant options/actions are taken so your clients only pay for what they use.

For commercial property some transactional charges also apply.

Also when your clients start to access the benefits from their pension, either through a lump sum or regular income payments, then an annual income drawdown charge will apply.

Other annual charges:

• Investment Manager account covers the cost of using an external Investment Manager for a SIPP. For the Modular iPlan, this is accessed via the Whole of Market module.
• Stockbroker account - this fee covers the cost of investing with our stockbroker accounts: EQI and Stocktrade.
• Annual property charge covers the administrative cost of managing the commercial property investments in a SIPP
   

We have extensive testing and quality assurance checks to carry out and until these processes are completed, we can't confirm the exact date that the upgrade will take place. We'll keep you informed as we know more.

The platform upgrade and new branding are part of our wider strategy to grow our business and improve the online service we offer. Read more in our Platform upgrade news.

We’ve already sent your clients their specific charges schedule (in our August 2024 mailing). 

We’re not able to provide more specific details at the moment. Once the upgrade has taken place, you’ll be able to obtain a personal illustration for them based on the new pricing via the Nucleus Platform. 

Our current James Hay pricing approach and the new Nucleus Platform approach are very different. Many existing transactional charges are being absorbed into the platform charge and modules. 

If customers have questions, we always recommend they speak with their adviser in the first instance if they have one. By speaking to their adviser, they can discuss the specific rates that that firm have agreed with James Hay for them.

We can also provide your firm with a version of your current James Hay charges schedules (updated for AWE), with the new platform schedule attached for reference. Contact your Business Development Manager if you would like a copy.

All customers pay an annual platform charge which is either a fixed fee, a percentage of assets or a combination of both. Your client may pay other charges depending on the products they have, the assets they trade in and specific events. You can find their current charges in their existing James Hay charges schedule.

As a result of the changes, many customers will pay less and some will see an increase. We’ve simplified our pricing, to make it easier to understand the charges your clients pay, and details are set out in the new charges schedule we sent them.

If you’d like help to understand the charges, please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to assist.

All customers will be able to access our new customer portal, allowing them to view their products and make some changes online. Those who already have a James Hay Online account will be guided to register for the new platform when they first login after the upgrade. We’ll be making all customers aware of how to find the new portal and how to register or login for the first time.

All customers included in the upgrade will be set up on the new platform with the paper-based communication option. This preference can be updated on the platform at any time.

However, all new customers joining after the upgrade will have electronic communication as the default – again, this preference can be updated if required.

This terminology is consistent with our literature and website.

We’ve been working with many providers of back-office software to ensure that data from the new platform will be available. Information relevant to your software provider will be available here shortly so do check back.

The Nucleus Wrap and existing James Hay data feeds will remain unchanged for now and will appear alongside the new Nucleus Platform data feed.

Yes, details of your firm will be ready for you on the new platform, based on our current understanding of your structure. Following the upgrade, there’ll be more options available for setting up different user levels for your organisation, so if the initial set up doesn’t look quite right, it can easily be changed. Read more in our Platform upgrade news.

After upgrading to the Nucleus Platform, updated Terms and Conditions will apply. If your clients don’t wish to change to our new terms for any reason, they have the option to transfer out. If we’re unable to complete the transfer of their products before they’re upgraded to our new platform, we’ll reimburse customers if they’re negatively impacted by any changes in price resulting from the upgrade.

We no longer apply exit fees when a customer chooses to leave any of our products. Charges for transferring a property do, however, continue to apply.

New Adviser Terms of Business will apply for all business placed on the Nucleus Platform. Our existing Terms of Business will apply for all products that remain on James Hay Online, as well as any new business on that platform. We won’t require a signature from you for this change, but we’ll write to you separately with full details.

Most customers will pay much the same on the new platform as they pay now. Some may pay a little less. A small proportion of our customers who have complex products may pay more.

No, they won’t change.

No it won’t. Their charges schedules states this.

The dates for all regular payments out will remain the same, however after the upgrade payments will be triggered on the payment date and will clear in the receiving account within three working days. This is different from the current position, where payments are triggered shortly before the payment date. If required, you can change the date for future payments to any day from 1 – 28 of the month on the platform.

We’re making some changes to our company structure which means that some payments will be sent from different bank accounts. Read more in our Platform upgrade news.

After the upgrade, all customer correspondence and statements will be sent directly to customers. It won't be possible for a customer to choose for it to be sent to an adviser or other third party. If this is a service you currently offer to your client, please make them aware of this change and ensure their address details are up to date.

Yes, we’re setting up new product bank accounts and allocating all our customers' new account numbers – these will replace all existing James Hay member and plan numbers. All payments on the new platform should be made to the new bank accounts, using the new reference numbers. This will particularly apply to any standing-orders or one-off payments. Standing order arrangements will need to be replaced with direct debit payments using the new details. All active Direct Debit arrangements will be changed automatically

We’ll write to customers with details of the new bank accounts and product references soon after the upgrade. You’ll be able to see copies of these letters on the platform and you’ll also be able to find the same details on your client's account after the upgrade.

In the period before the upgrade of your clients products, there’ll be some changes to our standard service – this is to ensure the upgrade is as smooth as possible. We’re keeping these to a minimum and hope they don’t inconvenience you too much.

Advisers won't be able to place any instructions within the restricted trading period. Full details of the deadlines will be available on the 'Platform upgrade news' / 'Key dates and actions' page of our Help Hub in advance. We've written to your clients to make them aware and will write again to confirm specific deadline dates ahead of the restrictions.