Frequently asked questions

We sent customers their specific charges schedule last year so they have details of the fees that will apply to them. Because we’re changing our overall approach to charging when we upgrade customers to the Nucleus Platform, we want to be transparent about the changes.

Where customers benefit from a special deal that has been negotiated by their adviser’s firm, they were sent that version. That information is not shared publicly. 

There’s no annual administration charge for platform assets any more. The relevant module fees will cover your administration costs.

The Annual Administration Charge currently applies for the James Hay Modular iPlan (£235 p.a.) and our James Hay Private Client SIPP (£455 p.a.).
On the Nucleus Platform, our standard rate tiered platform charge will be: 

It will be calculated daily and payable monthly on the plan anniversary (ie the date the your client opened their product).
 

Pricing will be more specific to product and customer choice, reflecting the modules of investment your clients use. Some of the key changes are:

• The James Hay Wrap currently has a minimum monthly fee rather than an annual administration charge. This product is being upgraded to the Nucleus Modular iPlan and a platform charge will apply.
• The drawdown fee will increase slightly but initial drawdown fees are being removed.
• Property annual charges will increase to reflect the additional complexity involved in administering this type of SIPP.
   

Since we wrote to your clients in August 2024, we’ve made some further updates to our terms and conditions. In our April 2025 letter to James Hay Modular iPlan, Private Client SIPP and Wrap customers we highlighted: 

“If you hold any Whole of Market assets in your ISA, GIA or Wrap Investment Portfolio that are classed as ‘funds’, your adviser will trade them through our platform after the upgrade, in the same way as they do through the Investment Centre now. This is for both top ups and new purchases. If this applies to you, you’ll see these assets on your statement, but you don’t need to do anything now.”

Please note, an additional letter was sent in September 2025 to customers who joined the platform after this time, or who we have an updated address for. The summary on the Letters and T&Cs page of the Customer upgrade support hub details the other changes we’ve made.

New bank accounts are in place for client payments into products on the new Nucleus Platform.

We advise you and your clients of the details to use when making payments to us on relevant screens in the online journeys and in a confirmation letter.

We’ve noticed some banking apps are more sensitive than others when typing in the payee name online, so alternative names may be suggested by the bank, or in some extreme instances, the name may not be recognised and it errors.

We’ve made a change to remove this potential problem, but these new names aren’t yet appearing on the web screens or letters. These are the names you and your clients should use:

We expect the letters and web screens to be fixed during September.

Customers who are part of the upgrade will retain investment options that they’re currently using, although some asset types won’t be available for new investments. The current Select and Collect funds will be replaced by a competitively priced and wider range of platform assets, including a large range of UK ETIs.

Customers with James Hay Modular iPlan products will see a few changes after the upgrade. Products are being renamed, and new features will become available. The point-of-sale literature for these products has been updated to reflect this. Customers with James Hay Wrap or Private Client SIPP products will be moved from these products to our new Nucleus Modular iPlan. For this group of customers, the literature for their new products will also be available on James Hay Online initially, then the Nucleus Platform after the upgrade.

In general, we’re retaining existing product features for upgrading customers, although some options won’t be available to new customers. Read more in our Platform upgrade news. You can view the Key Changes Summary documents for each product on our Customer upgrade support page.

For most customers, our new integrated trading function will be the only option for trading. We expect this to be a simple and efficient way of managing your client’s trading needs. Where James Hay customers have existing accounts with EQi or Stocktrade, these will still be available with the single sign-on option retained. The platform will represent holdings with EQi or Stocktrade as a single asset line – details of asset holdings will be with these companies.

Read more on our Investments page.

The platform charge will replace the annual administration charge* and covers costs associated with holding the following assets:

• Platform funds – including those in model portfolios
• On platform exchange traded investments
• Fixed term deposits and notice accounts

It’s charged as a percentage of the value of the assets your clients hold and there’s no longer a minimum charge.

[* note – The James Hay Wrap currently has a minimum monbthly fee rather than an annual administration charge. This product is being upgraded to the Nucleus Modular iPlan and a platform charge will apply.]

We offer a simple, tiered pricing structure, based on portfolio size.

Charges are lower for higher tiers. This tiered approach ensures that as your clients’ investments grow, they benefit from progressively lower charges. There are three, four or five tiers depending on their product. 

The charges schedule we sent your clients last year outlines the specific rates and tiers that apply to them.
 

All products in the scope of this change will be upgraded, including those where a transfer out is in progress. We’ll continue to work to complete the transfer as quickly as possible and we’ll reimburse customers if they’re negatively impacted by any changes in price resulting from the upgrade.

We've shared details of when trades will need to be completed ahead of the upgrade - please refer to our 'Changes to standard service' flyer for details. If there's an issue or delay that means the trade may not settle before the upgrade we'll ensure your assets are moved over as if they were settled in time.

The Nucleus Platform pricing is simpler than the current James Hay model. It has higher ‘module’ charges but far fewer additional transaction charges. This is a much simpler, more transparent approach – with less scope for unexpected fees.

Investments are complex but how your clients pay for them shouldn’t be. With the new Nucleus Platform, your clients will only ever pay for the investments they have, the products they use and the choices you make with them.

Our charges will be split into three main types:

1.  Platform charge
2. Module charges for specific services
3. Additional charges that may apply in certain situations
    

With effect from our exclusive preview, we’re changing our approach to how we share cash interest with customers. [link to webpage]

During this initial period cash holdings will be held in instant access accounts as amounts will be fairly small. When we complete the upgrade and move all existing James Hay customers onto the Nucleus Platform, cash holdings will move into fixed term deposit accounts so interest earnings will be greater.

Letter 1 – James Hay Modular iPlan and Private Client SIPP customers (standard letter)
Letter 2 – James Hay Modular iPlan and Private Client SIPP customers (additional pricing;  wording)
Letter 3 – Willis Towers Watson Modular iPlan customers
Letter 4 – James Hay Wrap customers (standard letter)
Letter 5 – James Hay Wrap customers (additional pricing wording)
Letter 6 – Willis Towers Watson Wrap customers
Letter 7 – James Hay / Life company customers
Letter 8 – James Hay iSIPP customers (standard letter)
Letter 9 – Rathbones Modular iSIPP customers

• We previously wrote to our customers in November 2024 so this letter provides an update on our progress and a reminder of what support is available. 
• Since we last wrote, we’ve made some changes to our terms and conditions for the Nucleus Platform – one of which is material so we’re required to make customers aware of it (this is the change to how whole of market assets will be traded).
• We want to use this opportunity to help ensure customers understand how our pricing is changing.
• We want to make customers aware that our correspondence address has changed and provide the new details.

Please note, an additional letter was sent in September 2025 to customers who joined the platform after this time, or who we have an updated address for.

The table below shows how our James Hay product suite maps to the Nucleus product suite:

Our multi-million pound investment will deliver:

• A more responsive and efficient service
• A wider product range, so more choice
• Simpler charging so it’s easier to understand what your clients pay
• Intuitive, modern technology that’s easier to use 

These are charges that apply depending on the products and services your clients use. They’re for assets that are held off the platform, such as directly held shares and commercial property, and are fixed fees that we charge once a year. Your clients will only pay them if they hold assets in these categories.

1. Whole of market
2. Specialist investments
3. Commercial property

Our Simplified, transparent pricing flyer has further details.

The mailing that contained their charges schedule for the new platform will have been delivered between 14 August and 2 September 2024. An additional letter was sent in September 2025 to customers who joined the platform after this time, or who we have an updated address for.