Yodelar.com – Who They Are, What They Do, Don’t Do and What They Shouldn’t!

By Fisher Investments UK, 17/03/2023

If you’re reading this, you probably have questions about Yodelar.com. Who is behind Yodelar? What makes them qualified to manage, judge, or even review, investments? What are their ‘all-in’ fees to someone like you, a normal investor? Yodelar’s website doesn’t tell you much on this or other matters you should consider before investing. In this review, we provide unique independent analysis of Yodelar.com, who they are, what they do, and how they compare. Our aim is to provide enhanced transparency to help UK investors conduct their own due diligence and make better investment decisions.

Who is Yodelar.com?

A fund analysis blog which only began providing investment advice in 2019

Yodelar.com is a fund analysis blog and, as of only relatively recently, an investment adviser. According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Register, Yodelar currently employs just five people (including directors) in any forms of regulated roles. Further, Yodelar has only been authorised by the FCA since 2019—meaning the company has less than five years’ actual operating experience providing investment advisory services to investors like you. 

What does Yodelar do?

Yodelar selects funds based on their past performance, essentially outsourcing investment decision-making to third-party fund managers.

Yodelar’s investment approach focuses on selecting funds—outsourcing share selection and final investment decision-making to various third-party fund managers. Yodelar says they select funds that are “among the consistently top performing funds available in each sector.” Further, Yodelar claims, “Although past performance may not guarantee future success, it is a vital metric that is often overlooked as consistent performance figures do not lie, and quality fund management will express itself in above average and top quartile returns.” Whilst this may seem logical on the surface, and sounds good, research shows investing in a fund based purely on past performance won’t guarantee you top returns and often backfires, performing poorly.

For example, Standard & Poor’s’ (S&P’s) Europe Persistence Scorecard—a regular, recurring study that examines how frequently top performing funds remain among the top performers over time—illustrates this concept clearly. In the December 2021 report, S&P found that of the 283 global equity funds that were in the top quartile of performers in December 2019, only about half remained in the top quartile one year later, and less than 13% were in the top quartile by December 2021. Being a future top quartile performer involves a lot more, it turns out, than just having been one recently, just like having a top pop song on the charts, or three, doesn’t make you The Rolling Stones. It turns out being a top quartile performer in the future doesn’t come from a high probability of having been one before.

Yodelar’s over-reliance on past performance fails to account for important forward-looking factors, consistent with finance theory and how capital markets work that can influence which investments perform best in the future. Just because an investment was down (or up) recently doesn’t mean it will be down (or up) in the future. Selling because an investment has declined recently may mean you lock-in losses and miss a recovery. Similarly, buying an investment simply because it was rising could cause you to overpay. By itself, past performance isn’t indicative of future results, and using it as such often leads to buying high and selling low—the opposite of successful investing. And it is just because of that reality that disclosures are routinely required in finance to indicate that past performance doesn’t guarantee future investment success.

How often will Yodelar review and adjust my portfolio?

Yodelar’s rigid management approach only adjusts your portfolio during pre-set periods throughout the year—but shifts in what is working in the market place don’t occur on set pre-set periods—but a random, often unexpected times

Yodelar will review clients’ portfolios on an ongoing basis as follows:

Do you really consider this is a sufficient level of service and review of your hard-earned savings? What happens when market conditions change, leadership between different market categories rotate, or market volatility strikes? Or what if your own financial circumstances change due to major life events in between these periods? If those things occur outside of Yodelar’s defined intervals of review, you may not get the timely adjustments you need to reach your financial goals.

What is Yodelar’s performance history?

There is no way to verify how Yodelar clients have actually performed.

What does Yodelar’s portfolio performance history look like? Because Yodelar’s history managing investments is short—less than five years—it’s difficult to assess how its investment strategy will perform over time and through multiple market cycles.

Whilst Yodelar has provided some portfolio performance information on their website in the past, this is likely not what actual clients experienced. In an article we reviewed (and Yodelar has since removed) Yodelar showed their portfolios’ 5-year performance at a time (2021) when Yodelar had only been providing investment advisory services for a few years. Yodelar also failed to provide transparency or disclose any information on how their performance was calculated.

What fees do Yodelar clients pay?

A seemingly low ongoing service fee, but watch out for the hidden fees that really add up.

Yodelar claims to be cost effective—but altogether, these layered fees really add up. Are you really getting the expertise and service you deserve for the real cost?

What are others saying about Yodelar?

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what other people are saying about Yodelar:

“[Yodelar] look like a fairly generic outfit (eg; criticise competitors for advice/fees while charging similar fees and making similar recommendations) and overpriced (ie; £750 "financial review" fee, 2% initial investment/product arrangement fee, 0.75% ongoing service fee in addition to existing platform and fund fees!).”*

“The analysis they [Yodelar] have given you (for free I hope?) is highly likely to be marketing material as much as an honest appraisal of your portfolio, so I’d take it with a pinch of salt personally.”

“Have you ever been able to get to the point where you can see a clear fee structure from Yodeler (sic)?”*

“Those are juiced returns to encourage you to invest, based on ‘hindsight’ returns which aren’t an honest representation of what you can expect going forward.”*

“I read some of the fund comparison reports for my own portfolio. If you have any investment knowledge it becomes apparent fairly quickly that the reports are not fair comparisons and (sic) designed to make you engage with them (Yodelar) for a ‘free review’.**

*Reddit.com

**Trustpilot.com

Concluding Remarks

Fisher Investments Europe Limited, trading as Fisher Investments UK, was founded in 2000 and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Investment management services are provided by Fisher Investments UK’s parent company, Fisher Investments, which was established in the USA in 1979 and is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Since Fisher Investments began managing discretionary assets in 1979, its goal has been to put clients first. That means thoroughly understanding clients’ personal financial circumstances, investment goals, investment time horizon and other factors to help them build better financial futures.

We believe that Fisher Investments’ dedicated client service model, robust client education and institutional-calibre portfolio management expertise are reasons why more than 125,000 clients globally entrust Fisher Investments and its affiliates to manage their money and assist them along the path to their financial goals.

Here’s how Fisher Investments stacks up in contrast to Yodelar:

Fisher Investments vs. Yodelar Investments

Want to learn more about Yodelar and how Fisher Investments UK is different? Contact us today.