Dynamic Cash Management express (DCMe) currently offers some competitive savings accounts via its platform, which you might want access to. But just what is DCMe and what value can it add to you?
Background information | What is a platform? | Today's savings market | Who might DCMe be right for? | Fees | Application process and customer service | A final word...
DCMe is a new savings platform from a long-standing cash management provider. The original Dynamic Cash Management service was one of the early entrants to the UK market, launched in 2010, and to date has attracted over £800 million of cash savings. As a result, the team have become cash management specialists.
The directors of the business designed the services based on their own needs and experiences of the hassle it can be to efficiently manage their cash savings.
DCMe is a savings platform provided by Gale and Phillipson Investment Services, a financial advice and investment management group which currently looks after over £1billion.
Dynamic Cash Management express (DCMe) is a platform built around regular reviews of your savings. Think of it like a supermarket which offers a variety of savings accounts to choose from, but with a personal shopper to guide you to the products which match your needs.
However, whilst this is a platform, it’s a bit different to some of the other platforms we have profiled.
The service produces an initial portfolio of the best accounts from the selection available, to suit your needs. It also produces a regular review to suggest better accounts if they are available. All the customer needs to do is to confirm they want their cash to be moved and DCMe will carry out the request – without the need for any further application forms to be completed.
The minimum deposit via this platform is currently £50,000. So, if you are not in this arena, an alternative platform might be more appropriate. Take a look at our other Platform Reviews.
The key benefit of a savings platform is that you can open a number of different accounts with different providers, but you only have to fill in your personal details once during the application process and DCMe will complete a single compliance and identification check.
So, once you are registered with DCMe, you can view and manage your savings accounts with just a few clicks of the mouse.
Although you send your money via the DCMe platform, your money will be held with the individual partner banks and building societies that you open accounts with - NOT DCMe (Gale and Phillipson) – so there is no credit exposure to them.
The funds will actually be held in a structure known as a trust, which will allow all paperwork to be taken care of for you, but you will continue to benefit from the standard FSCS protection on the funds.
DCMe currently has partnerships with seven savings providers and offers notice accounts and fixed rate bonds, although not all the banks will offer all the products.
DCMe intends to continue to increase its partner banks and the products available and we’ll keep you up to date with this.
At the moment, DCMe only caters for individual savers who are UK residents, although accounts can be opened in single and joint names. In addition, those acting as Power of Attorney for a client or loved one can use DCMe to improve and manage cash funds on behalf of someone else.
Of course, just because it’s on the platform, it doesn’t mean that it is a best buy, especially when you deduct the platform fee (see below). But sometimes simplicity is the best option, which is why these platforms are being developed. If they encourage savers to move their money from the high street banks and therefore earn more, whilst keeping more of it safe, that’s a better option than not moving the money at all.
You can always check what the very best rates are on the market by looking at our best buy tables.
Today's savings market
As mentioned above, DCMe does not cover the whole UK savings market; it currently has partnerships with seven providers, Aldermore, Bank & Clients, Cambridge & Counties, Investec, Metro Bank, Skipton International and Teachers Building Society, offering notice accounts and fixed rate bonds.
However, it makes sense to check the competition on our best buy tables or call one of our savings experts on 0800 011 9705.
If the following characteristics meet your requirements, the DCMe platform could be the solution to your cash needs as you can open multiple savings accounts, with multiple providers, without having to make multiple applications.
And as the platform offers access to notice accounts, as well as fixed rate bonds, if you are looking for a way to earn significantly more than your high street bank is offering, this could be the simple alternative you need - to leaving your funds languishing and potentially unprotected.
But this platform is a bit different – rather than simply choosing from a list of accounts available on the platform, this is review driven. So, you tell DCMe your requirements and they will provide the best solution from the range of accounts available.
- The minimum deposit on the platform is currently £50,000, but the individual products normally have minimum deposits from £1.
- The application and opening of accounts are done online, although if you choose to proceed you will be sent an application form in the post to be signed and returned. But you will not have any more paperwork to sign.
- This platform works a little differently. DCMe will capture some key information such as how much money needs to be accessible and how much can be tied up. A bespoke illustration will then be created which will indicate the access, returns and security you could achieve.
- Within your DCMe account, you can open some accounts in individual names and some in joint, if you’d prefer. In fact, some institutions will only open accounts in single names – so you may need to have two accounts instead of one. But remember, you don’t need to fill in any extra forms.
- Apply once and satisfy upfront ID checks – no separate ID checking is required for every new savings account opened.
- A regular review will make suggestions on how you could improve your savings portfolio. If you like the suggestions, simply click ‘confirm’ and the platform will make the changes for you.
- If you want to add new funds or make changes within the review period, simply call your dedicated client manager and they’ll help.
Fees
DCMe charges a fee of 0.25% per year of the balance of your investment. This may be in the form of commission from the providers that your money is placed with, which would reduce the advertised rate initially illustrated. But, where this is the case, this will be offset against your fee. The remaining amount due will be deducted from your Hub Account each quarter.
For example – on a balance of £50,000 and a fee of 0.25% per annum, the annual fee due would be £125.00. If £100.00 was received in commission from the account providers, this will be deducted from your fee and the remaining £25.00 will be taken from your Hub account.
DCMe provides a clear illustration to show the return before the fee and net of the fee and quarterly fee statements are available to view on the online portal.
Application process and customer service
In order to decide whether the DCMe platform is right for you, a bespoke illustration of the rates that you could achieve is produced after you have supplied pertinent information about your access needs for your money.
For example, if you have £200,000 to deposit and £50,000 can be tied up for two years, while the remainder needs to accessible within six months, a DCMe savings specialist will suggest the best accounts available on the platform to meet those needs.
At the same time, they will complete any necessary ID checks, so that if you decide to proceed, you are ready to go.
When you agree on the right choice of accounts and are ready to proceed, you will receive a letter in the post, including the only application that you will need to sign and send back.
Provided you have satisfied the regulatory checks and your application has been accepted, you will receive your confirmation email, at which point you can set up your password for the online portal, send the money to the DCMe Hub Account and the funds will be distributed.
If you have a minimum of £50,000 in cash that you are looking to deposit, request an illustration from a DCMe savings specialist now.
You can pay into your DCMe Hub Account (held by Barclays) either by electronic transfer (if necessary over a series of days), CHAPS (paying the £20- £30 fee) or they will also accept a cheque.
As soon as you send the money, DCMe will initiate the transfer of the funds from the Hub Account to the new providers. This process can take up to five working days.
Although you send your money via the DCMe platform, your money will be held with the individual partner banks and building societies that you open accounts with - NOT DCMe (Gale and Phillipson) – so there is no credit exposure to them.
You will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) that is applicable to each individual provider.
This does mean however that you need to be wary of placing more than £85,000 (£170,000 in joint names) with a provider that you already have funds with – although you are in control of where your money is placed.
As this platform includes notice accounts, you can choose to redeem funds from your portfolio.
If you choose to make a withdrawal from a notice account, you will be notified when the funds are to be transferred to the Hub Account AFTER the notice period is up.
Once the funds are back in the Hub Account, you can then request them to be either moved to a different savings account or choose to have it sent back to your nominated current account.
DCMe researches each bank, reviewing in-depth information and carries out a financial strength review, which can be viewed on request, so that you can be confident about where you are placing your funds.
Of course, this is no guarantee of future security, but for savers who are happy to put more than the FSCS protection limit with each provider, they may find this useful in determining which banks they are happy to use, but only the FSCS will offer guaranteed protection.
Reporting
Once accepted, you can view your savings products online – all in one place.
The DCMe platform will produce a regular portfolio review and make suggestions if there are any improvements that can be made and/or the options available for any maturing bonds.
On maturity of a bond, if no instruction has been given, the initial deposit and interest will be returned to the Hub Account with Barclays. But it will remain there until you give your instruction as to where it should go next – either back to your linked current account or into a new savings account via DCMe. The platform cannot automatically move the funds out of the Hub Account, so it is the customer's responsibility to confirm what happens to the funds next. Otherwise the funds will stay in the Hub Account, earning no interest and potentially without full FSCS protection if the amount is greater than £85,000 (£170,000 for joint accounts).
The fee will also continue to be charged. However, if you fail to respond to two reviews in a row, the fee on the money that remains in the Hub Account will be halved until instructions are received.
The reporting of the accounts you hold on the platform is important and as well as providing a dashboard so that you can view all your accounts in one place – including balance, interest rates and maturity dates - DCMe will also provide an annual summary of interest for tax reporting. This is a huge benefit, as we know how just how much hassle it can be getting this from individual savings providers.
There will also be an annual summary of all transactions and a fee summary for your records.
DCMe is a bit different. Rather than simply a DIY (pick and mix) option, a savings specialist is on hand to create a bespoke portfolio suggestion of the best savings accounts to suit your needs from those available on the platform.
This can include fixed rates and notice accounts – although hopefully the choice of account types and providers will continue to increase going forward. We will keep you up to date on this.
DCMe will then make regular suggestions to help the customer review and improve their savings whenever possible.
So, if you’re looking for simplicity when opening multiple accounts and you’ve money sitting in a dreadful account, such as the likes of HSBC’s Flexible Saver account paying a paltry 0.10% - then you’ll get a better return with DCMe. So, don’t sit back and do nothing, make the switch to a better account.
*We are occasionally paid by some providers if you click through from our Best Buy Tables and open a savings or current account with them. We will never accept a payment that compromises in any way our independent, whole of market approach to providing information on savings products. For clarity we will indicate those companies who remunerate us with an asterisk (*).
All rates correct at the date of publication.
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