Rabo fund of the month

[Bryan99]

I am wondering what kind of experiences people have had with Rabodirect's funds out the month? Positive? Negative? Or do people follow fund of the month at all?

 

[Sarsfield]

They go up and down like all other funds. Still expensive though.

 

[ClubMan]

Yeah - 0.75% on entry, 0.7%-2% annual management fee and 0.75% on exit is pretty expensive compared to other funds with no entry/exit charges and just an annual management fee in my opinion.

 

[RaboDirect]

Whilst not wishing to get involved in an argument about fees and value for money it's only fair to point out that other institutions charge:
- Early encashment penalties starting from 5% in year 1
- Bid/offer spreads

The Fund of the Month entry fee attracts an entry fee discounted to 0.25% (as opposed to the normal fee of 0.75%).

As mentioned on previous RaboDirect posts it is important to ensure that you are comparing like with like when examining fees and charges. For example, the charging of actively managed investment funds and passively managed index funds will be different as they are different investment instruments.

Regards,
RaboDirect

 

[ClubMan]

Whilst not wishing to get involved in an argument about fees

There is no argument - there are lower fees than Rabo's on offer from other providers. Fact!

and value for money

There is no really objective measure of "value for money" especially not until returns are known at some future date.

it's only fair to point out that other institutions charge:

Some other institutions!

- Early encashment penalties starting from 5% in year 1
- Bid/offer spreads

Not all institutions charge these and to imply that most or all do is very misleading and quite surprising given RaboDirect's general track record on posting objective and accurate information to date.

As mentioned on previous RaboDirect posts it is important to ensure that you are comparing like with like when examining fees and charges. For example, the charging of actively managed investment funds and passively managed index funds will be different as they are different investment instruments.

And it's worth mentioning that over the long term it is most likely that actively managed funds will not outperform the markets and may actually underperform with respect to index tracking funds.

 

[Deano]

Personally I think they are a good ‘first step’ into investing. The funds are easily accessible and you can pick and choose what you want to invest in. Because the funds are well known, you can check out more info about them on the web before you buy.