Is there such a thing as a truly independant IFA

Ask to see the IFAs research it will show you if he or she is independant. The research should show you your current pension provision (number of pots, charges, restrictions, growth, funds etc) then show a comparison to the latest pensions on the market. The results should be there in black and white with either a recommendation to stick or switch.

I really don't understand the IFA bashing on this site, do the same IFA bashers hate mechanics as much? You can do a DIY fix on your car can't you.... whats the worst that could happen

tell_it_how_it_is wrote: »

With respect, how the heck does "I have heard too many horror stories from friends" become "Your horror stories are 3/4th hand from many who do not understand pensions or money in fact."?!

While I have no real desire to slate IFAs (I'll leave that to others lol), it's clear on here that some of you feel they can never do any wrong.

All the experts got endowments wrong, but hey, that's life, no case to answer, they got their money, it's the poor b*ggers who put faith in them that lost out.

All this is not to say there aren't good, clever, conscientious IFAs etc., but for me the undoubted love-in, and excuses for bad practice and outcomes that goes on in here just grates somewhat.

Also, going by the sweeping generalisations being bandied about on this thread, and others around the forum (don't trust them, references to "grubby mitts", want to take money over and over again etc) it's also clear that there are some who feel we can never do any right.

It's true that there have been bad practices in the past, and I never have, or ever would, defend anyone in my industry that has indulged in them. But the fact is that there has been a huge effort over recent years to clean things up, and make the industry more professional.

I pride myself on the fact that I put my clients interests first, and in my years as an adviser have never had a complaint made in respect of any advice given, or had any clients move to other advisers because they are unhappy with the service I have given. I have a good quality client bank, many of whom are very wealthy and intelligent people, and recognise the value in the what I do for them. I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy working with clients to help achieve their goals - there is a great degree of personal satisfaction in that. But, I have to make a living as well, and don't have a problem with saying that, and my clients don't have a problem with paying fees for that service.

The reality is that in any walk of life there are good and bad, and those that will indulge in malpractice. Doesn't mean that you should tar all with the same brush. I don't know what the IFA-Bashers on this thread do for a living, but I'm sure they would share the same frustrations if they were put in the same league as their peers who have stretched or broken the rules.

There will be those in life who are confident enough to give anything a go themselves (not just talking about financial planning here), and there will be those that aren't and would prefer to pay a professional (I do it myself in areas I'm not skilled in) - there's nothing wrong in that. I don't judge those who choose DIY investment (in fact, good luck to them) so don't see why those who don't want to should be judged - it's not to everyone's tastes.

In answer to the OP - the simple answer to your question is yes, the advisers you are looking for are out there, and it's already been mentioned where you can go to look for these.

Sensitive?? Not at all, just frustrated by people who have no idea how I operate as a professional making ill-informed comments on the basis of actions by a minority, which is no different to any other walk of life.

And as for the "love-in" - kind of ironic don't you think, given how all the "bashers" on here keep on thanking each other for the anti-IFA posts.

GhIFA wrote: »

Self justification

Your entire "profession" has no tangible value. You're not accountable for your actions, and whatever advice you provide is given with the disclaimer that there's always a risk.

Your existance is funded by leeching off the wealth of others by "telling them what to do" with their money using your calculator and crystal ball. The advice of "balanced portfolios" is a complete cop out. If something is losing, it be being compensated by something else gaining .. well duh! You might as well suggest "buy low, sell high" - that's as equally as obvious - but what matters is when. And you don't know that.

You can't measure your value or success rate and you can't even compare one IFA to another, it really is pot luck and depends which way the wind is blowing at the time.

You're think you're "good" because no one has complained about you? What's a fantastic reference!

Amanda65 wrote: »

and if so, how do I find them ?

We really need to tidy up our finances and one area we seriously need to look at are hubby's pensions - he has about 7! Sadly his works history has been somewhat disjointed due to redundancy but everywhere has involved in him enrolling in a pension scheme and we get so much post relating to them. I am sure that we may be better off amalgamating them if we can - or maybe not - and therein lies our problem.

Over the years every financial advisors we have dealt with seems to have benefitted alot from the advice given (inlcuding one who I believe now lives in a tax haven :eek::eek:) and I am a nasty suspicious person who really just wants some honest and practical advice.

Any ideas ???

You have initiated an interesting debate. I am not a financial advisor of any kind. I do agree with the IFAs on here who profess that they are "not guilty" for the perceived crimes of those Financial Advisors who are tied to specific companies. Like you I was bitten by the FAs of the endowment era and have never fully trusted financial advisors of any kind since. However, I have to agree that present day IFAs are much more indepedendent, due to the regulatory regieme they operate within.

Whether an IFA can ever be truly independent I doubt, since they are subject to the hard sell from financial product providers and cannot hope to be expert in all of them and there is always the possibility that they advocate products they are familiar with. All we punters can hope for is that an IFA acts with integrity and gives us better advice than we would get from our own efforts.

I have used an IFA on a couple of occasions a few years ago. I have no reason to believe that either was not independent. Where I have the time, I prefer to make my own choices but who can say whether I have done better, worse or as well as the professional. I do agree however that the "labourer is worthy of their hire".

Of course if you ask for advice on the specific matter of concern on this forum you will get a lot of good advice from IFAs that you can compare with the suggestions of your chosen IFA.

BobQ wrote: »

My you have had a bad experience!

Suppose you decide to invest in a pension of your choice? Have you selected a good one or one that is less good? Does your choice not have risk attached to it? Do you not make a judgement of how its invested? Do you not make balance decisions to have more or less risk?

What service does not involve leeching? Is your garage leeching off those who cannot repair their own car when they ask it to service a car? Is your builder leeching when you ask for a new roof?

But you do have a point that its very difficult for a punter to know if IFA1 with Advice A will outperform IFA2 with Advice B. I would be interested to know what an IFA thinks on that question. Obviously you cannot predict the future but it might be good to compare the quality of the advice at a point in the future!

It's not about "outperforming" though - it isn't purely measured on performance, it's about the effectiveness of the overall planning, in line with what the client's objectives are. Purely making a decision on the basis of performance is ineffective. Any IFA that makes a recommendation purely on the ability to outperform a particular benchmark is, in my opinion, not doing the job properly.

Bear in mind that there is also a degree of subjectivity to the planning advice as well - different advisers with different experience would suggest different approaches - that doesn't mean that either approach is less justifiable or appropriate than the other, but on that very basis it is likely to give different results.