Emirates Provident Fund and Mondial
 

Any EK guys availed of the twice a year appraisal of their provident fund with Mondial?

Any views, experiences or feedback before I walk in, or are they no better than the other financial rodents in Dubai. Globaleye, Elite etc.....

JF

I have gone 3 times in 10 years.
The two first was the usual pitch. "If you think the market is going up then you should buy. If you think it will crash the you should sell. Now sign the dotted line so I can charge my commission."
Third ime was another guy. Little better, but just another guys opinion of which product you should buy.
Unfortunately we cant change Mondiale, to some superstar fund manager. Just imagine all that money we pump into that company every month....

With due respect Payscale, as no doubt there are weak employees within every company and I'm sure Mondial is no different. But my experience was nothing as you characterized.

Mondial is retained by Emirates to give fee-for consulting, twice a year as mentioned. They are not commission-based. I would never listen to any manager whose compensation was based on commission. Period. It's the definition of a conflict of interest. So the comment about "charging commission" is not accurate. If you get a good advisor - as I felt I did - his only goal is to provide you with the best portfolio based on mainly, your own personal risk tolerance and your specific circumstances. i.e., someone about to retire will have different goals than someone just joined.

Most guys leave their funds at the default settings, and leave with little more than the sum of theirs and the company's contributions. Which is a shame, when EK even pays for the advice to potentially make more. There is nothing to say you have to heed said advice, but if someone else wants to pay for assistance in twice-yearly balancing of my portfolio, what's not to like?

So no, it is nothing like the creeps who harass from Devere, Globaleye, etc. I'd say do your own research, take the free consult, and then make your own decisions.

I wouldn't trust a "superstar fund manager" either. The only person who actually cares as much about your money as you...is you.

Actually, I had a good and bad experience with them, changing the funds away from the default has been excellent and he gave good advice on this. Anyone who doesn't change them is mad IMHO!

However before long the conversation moved on to savings and that the C fund is no good (which is true) and before long it was about the usual managed savings plans that the other dodgy lot sell (from which he would get a huge commission). Can't complain on the provident stuff but be careful with anything beyond this.

I found them to be rubbish - tried to flog me a 25 year endowment policy - I am 50!

I'm putting in this post because one of sittingidlys usual incoherent, anti-British rants was directly above it.

What will almost certainly happen (if history is anything to go by) is that sitty will wake up tomorrow sober, realize he's made a **** of himself yet again, and delete it.

....and then blame the American bourbon for conspiring to make him write the post.

f.

...and hey presto!

Mondial
 

I availed the service for the first time this year. Met with a guy by the name of Jason Diab. He was quite friendly, gave me some advice and as soon as my changes were put in place, I saw an improvement. :ok:

:rolleyes:

ETA- Just to be clear, the "Roll Eyes" thingy wasn't directed at you Spoogie.

Been there quite recently, ask for Peter Shaw, I thought his service was brilliant.

When I first went, over 12 years ago, I thought they were absolute rubbish, I now go twice a year!

Thanks for your responses guys, much appreciated. I've done over 10 years in the provident scheme and never been inclined to take up the offer of a review due to the experiences of other so called financial and wealth management snakes in Dubai.

Spoogle - out of interest where were you suggested to change your investments from/to? PM me if you feel the need. I would be interested to compare notes after my visit to Mondial.

I agree with Kingpost. Peter is very good and clear. The advice you receive from them is purely their own opinion of the market. They do not get commission, merely a set fee for each EK pilot they see. I have never been sold anything I didn't want or ask for. I did convert one of two pensions into a private pension with them which has faired ok so far. They didn't push for the other, actually recommending it stays with the Company for diversity!

As for the C fund being rubbish, I have to disagree. The choice of funds are far greater than those in the A & B and you pay no yearly fee. You can swap and change several times per year for no charge and the same funds are available to the public. My C fund performed outstandingly over the last 2 years and proved a great investment following good advice from Mondial.

The problem with the C fund is that the range of funds, although larger than for A and B, is still very limited. Why restrict yourself to just those funds when you don't have to?

you pay no yearly fee
 

Eh?

Looks like you didn't get your money's worth from your free investment advice.
Most of the funds offered in the C have management fees of 1.5% and more - among the worst in the world.

If you and an EK colleague put your money into the exact same assets, he using ETFs and you using your C fund you will find at the end of your career that he has about $150,000 more than you. So much for free investment advice. Since you are so free with your own money, can you buy me a Range Rover like the one you did for the lads at BlackRock?

Dropp

You're talking rubbish. There's no yearly fee, period. By law, they'd be required to show what fees have been taken and I've seen nothing on my statement to suggest otherwise. Please don't say they're hidden in the returns otherwise the share prices would be different to those listed in the FT every day and they're not! I have asked Mondial and they have confirmed that we are not charged for using the C fund. It is the cheapest way to invest in the market.

If you can show or tell me where these charges are applied, please go ahead. People are looking for sound advise and I'm more than prepared to accept I'm wrong if proven so. I will not take your post as an offence to my financial knowledge. The house I currently live in was purchased recently, courtesy of a large deposit provided by the C fund with plenty remaining.

I doubt there's any bastard out there driving even a Toyota Echo off my back but thanks for the concern anyway!

There are no annual management fees but there are fund management fees underneath of 1.5% plus, it's also highly restrictive so you can only select certain funds. The C fund is rubbish for these reasons, even Mondial advised me against using it. Take the money somewhere else and invest directly in the funds that you want instead of paying these fees and being told where you can put it!

Maybe Bymon can work better with a graph. Here ya go:

How ETF And Mutual Fund Expenses Stack Up | ETF Database

I admit I got it slightly wrong, I will in fact have $200,000 more than you at the end if you insist on sticking with the "free" C fund.

The BlackRock boys ordered another five magnums of Dom Perignon last night and they send their regards, thanks, and (surprise!) more recommendations of which funds they think you should be involved in.

Irish777

I find it somewhat strange that Mondial would advise not using the C fund as they advised me it was the best and cheapest way into the market. Whilst limited to some extent, the selection for investments available cover all the basics and should be enough for most pilots, from cash to higher risk. Most pilots are either too apathetic or ignorant to bother changing their default setting for the first few years (cash) and many never take advantage of the free twice yearly advice given by Mondial.

At the end of the day, I use my free appointments and have always found it worthwhile. As I've said before, the fund recommendations have generally worked out very well although i've not always gone with their suggestion. I can't see, therefore, what anyone has to lose by making an appointment and going for a chat.

Dropp

Regarding ETF, I know very little about them other than for investors like you and I, only the 'secondary' market is available. You will, I assume, have to use a broker? Either way, they too are limited to certain accounts with restrictions. Interestingly, the graph assumes a yearly growth of 10%. Good luck maintaing that for the next 30 years. Ultimately, it's what stocks you invest in will decide how successful you'll be in retirement.

I'm only passing on my experience to someone who asked a valid question. I'm a professional pilot, not a professional financial advisor. If ETFs work for you, good luck. Why not spend the effort explaining how well you've done with them to the original poster.

Either way, they too are limited to certain accounts with restrictions.

You do not have a clue what you are talking about. Please stop before someone follows your lead and and also robs their near and dear of thousands of dollars.

ETFs can be held in any account, by anyone, in any country, in any currency, are priced by the minute and can be instantly bought or liquidated for about $8 a trade, 24 hours a day.