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Suggesting vendors, services and products
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jamesd
Posts: 26,103 Forumite


EdInvestor wrote:jamesd
Perhaps dunstonh would like to post this risk profile questionnaire on the forum so people can try it out.
People might think you are promoting his business, which is not allowed, if you keep directing posters to his email.
EdInvestor, please quote from and provide the link to a forum rule which prohibits consumers from recommending specific products, services (free or for-fee) or vendors.
What would be wrong is for a consumer to blindly promote a specific vendor without consideration of whether that vendor was appropriate and offering a suitable product for the specific person asking for guidance.
Dunstonh's firm is a vendor, just as Hargreaves Lansdown, a vendor we both commonly suggest, is. That a vendor also contributes much excellent guidance here and sometimes disagrees with the views of some posters is not a reason to treat them less well than other vendors.
If someone was after the SW pension product, I know that dunstonh offers a deal that may be better than Hargreaves Lansdown (up-front fee, nil commission, lower AMC/TER, so may be better for the long term and high fund values), so I would not want to do the poster a disservice by not mentioning that alternative vendor unless something else made h-l appear to be a more appropriate option. I hope that you would also mention dunstonh's firm as a vendor in the situations where that combination of fee and reduced AMC/TER made it the better option of the two.
It is prohibited for a vendor to simply spam the boards touting the products they sell, but a questionnaire followed by supplying the matching asset allocation is not a product for sale and is hardly being habitually mentioned by dunstonh. I expect that dunstonh is contractually prohibited from posting a large range of asset allocations here, since generating them is probably a for-fee service of the vendor that does the generating.
If someone does want an NMA IFA, I'm happy to suggest that people look at the posting history here and consider dunstonh's firm on the merits of those posts. I've done so and decided that I'm happy to consider doing business with the firm.
For disclosure purposes, I'm a current customer of Hargreaves Lansdown and am currently discussing a possible low value purchase from dunstonh's firm.
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James
I am not sure if you have seen the MSE Mortgage Advisors' Code of conduct, but if not, here it is:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=325378
I do not know your exact status, but would suggest that it's inadvisable to appear to promote the services of an advisor who regularly posts on these boards. There is of course a big difference between suggesting the services of a company which does not have a representative posting on MSE and suggesting the services of one which does.The latter could be seen as touting for business, which is not allowed.
I'm sure that's not what you were actually meaning to do, but it's important that anyone (like you) who offers quite detailed comment amd suggestions, doesn't give people a misleading impression that the rules are being broken.
This issue has already been a matter of some considerable discord on the mortgage board:hopefully we can avoid further aggravation over here on pensions.Trying to keep it simple...0 -
EdInvestor wrote:James
I am not sure if you have seen the MSE Mortgage Advisors' Code of conduct, but if not, here it is:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=325378
I do not know your exact status,
His profile quite clearly says;
"Interests:
I do not work in the financial services industry. I'm neither an IFA nor a mortgage advisor. "
I can't see how anything on the code of conduct applies to jamesd.but would suggest that it's inadvisable to appear to promote the services of an advisor who regularly posts on these boards. There is of course a big difference between suggesting the services of a company which does not have a representative posting on MSE and suggesting the services of one which does.The latter could be seen as touting for business, which is not allowed.
If dunstonh was doing it, yes it would be touting for business. Not in this case.I'm sure that's not what you were actually meaning to do, but it's important that anyone (like you) who offers quite detailed comment amd suggestions, doesn't give people a misleading impression that the rules are being broken.
It seems to me that you are the one giving this misleading impression0 -
Ed, out of all the people one the board, you post more links to companies than anyone else.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0
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Please expand on your comment that "it's important that anyone (like you) who offers quite detailed comment amd suggestions, doesn't give people a misleading impression that the rules are being broken".
Are you suggesting that consumers like you and I who perform detailed analysis and make detailed suggestions should have an explicit signature saying that we are not professionals, in case we give the impression that in suggesting a specific business we're a business breaking a rule?
Please expand on your comment that "There is of course a big difference between suggesting the services of a company which does not have a representative posting on MSE and suggesting the services of one which does.The latter could be seen as touting for business, which is not allowed."
Are you suggesting that your first sentence, a consumer suggesting the services of a company, is equivalent to the second sentence, the company itself touting for business?
All, please do give EdInvestor ample non-adversarial opportunity to clarify what is being advocated. More detailed expression will surely be helpful.0 -
dunstonh wrote:Ed, out of all the people one the board, you post more links to companies than anyone else.
But not to companies with representatives posting on MSE.Are you suggesting that consumers like you and I who perform detailed analysis and make detailed suggestions should have an explicit signature saying that we are not professionals, in case we give the impression that in suggesting a specific business we're a business breaking a rule?
No, I'm suggesting that people like you (and me) should not recommend the businesses of brokers and IFAs posting on this board lest people think that the rules are being broken.Trying to keep it simple...0 -
What difference does it make if the company has someone posting on the board or not? As long as that individual isnt going around saying "use us" then there is not a problem. L&C have someone posting on the forums but they still appear in Martin's article. Life Search do as well.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0
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EdInvestor, are you aware of instances of people being confused in that way? How common has it been in your experience?0
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Ed,
The words "mountains" and "molehills" spring to mind. As far as I've seen jamesd has suggested to some posters that they may want to take dunstonh up on an offer he made in a thread several weeks ago to supply the risk assessment questionnaire he uses for clients and the resultant asset allocation for their risk.
The offer was helpful in the context of that thread, and made on a free, gratis and without obligation basis. I, amongst a number of others, took him up on the offer which arrived attached to an email which simply had his co address and FSA number - a regulatory requirement no doubt - without any suggestion of touting for business. Both questionnaire and subsequent asset allocation model were totally unbranded in any form whatsoever.
Unlike jamesd I would personally hesitate to volunteer someone else's services as they may not wish that to continue long term, although at the time dunstonh did undertake that he would supply it to any MSEer who asked, but how that can be seen to be recommending his services as an IFA is beyond me. In the eye of the beholder, I expect!
It is far less blatant touting than you posting links to hagreaves lansdowne as your preferred discount broker despite the fact that Martin's [albeit rather dated] article suggests Chartwell are marginally cheaper for smaller investments and Cavendish better for larger investments. And NO, I'm not suggesting you post them for any ulterior motive BUT that is exactly what you're suggesting jamesd is guilty of without any justification.
Finally, and we're really getting into mountains here, the suggested comparison between the pensions board and the mortgage one is without any foundation as far as I've seen in the time I've posted on this site and before that as a lurker. Would you care to justify the comparison?0 -
L&C have someone posting on the forums
Not any more AFAIK.EdInvestor, are you aware of instances of people being confused in that way? How common has it been in your experience?
I quite regularly get PMs from people who think I am an advisor.Don't you?Trying to keep it simple...0 -
Ian_W wrote:Ed,
The words "mountains" and "molehills" spring to mind.
Quite so.I made a passing suggestion to jamesd that people could get the wrong impression: it was not meant to be a personal attack.It was not me that started this separate thread :rolleyes:The offer was helpful in the context of that thread, and made on a free, gratis and without obligation basis. I, amongst a number of others, took him up on the offer which arrived attached to an email which simply had his co address and FSA number - a regulatory requirement no doubt - without any suggestion of touting for business.
Well I am sorry, but IMHO people could easily get the impression from that that further business was desired.This is why I suggested dunstonh post the material on the forum - this will save him time, apart from anything else.It is far less blatant touting than you posting links to hagreaves lansdowne as your preferred discount broker despite the fact that Martin's [albeit rather dated] article suggests Chartwell are marginally cheaper for smaller investments and Cavendish better for larger investments.
I don't work for HL ( or any financial services firm) and often post a selection of cheap discount brokers for people to look at ( eg Cavendish,Bestinvest,Chelsea and Chartwell) as well as HL (and Sippdeal for Sipps.)Martin recently wrote about SIPPs and H-L came out cheapest as far as funds only are concerned.And NO, I'm not suggesting you post them for any ulterior motive BUT that is exactly what you're suggesting jamesd is guilty of without any justification.
Not so, I didn't suggest jamesd was guilty of anything at all, quite the opposite: I said only that people might get the wrong impression.Finally, and we're really getting into mountains here, the suggested comparison between the pensions board and the mortgage one is without any foundation as far as I've seen in the time I've posted on this site and before that as a lurker. Would you care to justify the comparison?
Investment advisors are just a different branch of the same basic business - the fundamental issues are the same.Trying to keep it simple...0
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