Gina and Alan Miller launch the True & Fair Investment Calculator
Already well known for their groundbreaking True & Fair Campaign, Gina and Alan Miller have recently launched a free online calculator that enables investors and savers to easily discover the impact of costs and fees on their investments.
The first of its kind, the True & Fair Investment Calculator is based on data streams from Morningstar and uses a robust, reasoned calculation methodology to identify costs and fees based on a series of assumptions. Simplification and ease of use are key to this not-for-profit calculator and ultimately investors can see one total cost of investing in pounds and pence and as a percentage.
Of it, Gina Miller, who grew up in Guyana in South America, commented:
“We’ve created the True and Fair Calculator to provide UK consumers with a free public information service giving details of the investment fees and costs they pay, so they can make better informed decisions prior to purchase. When we launched The True and Fair Campaign 18 months ago, 92 per cent of the public said they wanted to know the cost of their investments in one number. This tool allows them to do exactly this”.
“We hope this drives new levels of cost transparency which results in greater competition among product providers, gives information to aid better decision making by consumers and their advisers and provides a foundation for more realistic investment expectations. Ultimately it should result in better consumer protection”.
“Those firms offering good products, that deliver strong performance at competitive fees, will presumably welcome the fact that consumers will have the ability to clearly see the value that their products deliver via the Calculator. We look forward to these companies endorsing our initiative and hosting the True and Fair Calculator on their websites”.
“Some providers will have to reform their practices or consumers will vote with their feet. Companies offering poorly performing products that charge large, hidden fees have no place in a modern financial services industry”.
“The US has had a similar calculator since 2005 and we believe there’s no reason why UK savers should be treated as second class citizens compared to their US counterparts. We want to see the UK re-established as the gold standard for transparency, and for trust in financial services products and providers to be rebuilt, and to do this we must prevent another generation of investors sleep walking their way into buying inappropriate investment products. The calculator has the added bonus that future profits will go directly to benefit financial education and care for the elderly, something we are also passionate about”.
In the wake of the fallout from the banking crisis, it is transparency that is required in the financial industry. The Steeple Times wholeheartedly endorses this excellent tool and urges readers to put it to use as they consider their investment decisions.
To try out The True and Fair calculator, click here.
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