Abbey Financial Solutions

2

Comments

  • kayco
    kayco Posts: 1 Newbie
    edited 6 March 2014 at 4:07PM
    Hey there.
    First time here.
    I found the site because I Googled "Abbey Financial Solutions". I didn't manage to find out very much about them, but I also Googled the investments they offered me and they seemed to have good ratings.

    I am resident in Spain and not in the U.K. which is why I was looking at this company in the first place.

    They tell me that they deal with SEB Life International who have a Spanish Porfolio, but SEB are based in Dublin. Does anyone know anything about these people?

    It's been 12 months since the last post on this subject - has anyone any new information?

    Thanks in anticipation.
  • Drp8713
    Drp8713 Posts: 902
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    edited 4 April 2014 at 8:20AM
    kayco wrote: »
    Hey there.
    First time here.
    I found the site because I Googled "Abbey Financial Solutions". I didn't manage to find out very much about them, but I also Googled the investments they offered me and they seemed to have good ratings.

    I am resident in Spain and not in the U.K. which is why I was looking at this company in the first place.

    They tell me that they deal with SEB Life International who have a Spanish Porfolio, but SEB are based in Dublin. Does anyone know anything about these people?

    It's been 12 months since the last post on this subject - has anyone any new information?

    Thanks in anticipation.

    [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

    If you are in Spain cant you find a [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] spanish company to deal with?
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,038
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    UK regulation has increased in stages since the late 80s. At various points, the level of regulation saw people exit UK financial services and search out expat markets with lower or virtually non-existent regulation. Some regions were rife for ex pats being ripped off. Spain, the Middle East and Philippines being just a few where you seem to see more bad than good.

    Things appear better now but you should not expect UK standards when you use companies in other territories. Even if that company has a UK base. One of the most common issues is the cost of products. The UK is very price focused and financial products are generally cheap. Offshore bonds retailed in overseas markets have more in common with UK pricing from the 1980s. Big up front commissions, high annual costs, early exit charges etc. That is where you need to be on guard.
    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.
  • I took out a plan recommended through Abbey FS in 2009. To date I have invested £13,700, but the plan is only worth £10,500 - A big loss bearing in mind the financial markets recovery since then.

    I believe I was mis-sold the policy (a Generali Vision plan) as I was told it was flexible - increase and decrease monthly deposits as suits me over the 25 year (!!!) plan.

    What the Abbey FS IFA failed to highlight was that fees (based on deposits) remain fixed based on the original monthly payment amount, even if I decrease my deposits. If I increase my deposits, the fee increases. So in fact, reducing my deposits has increased the fees to nearly 8% - a cost that capital growth will never replace and hence I am just losing money.

    The clincher here is that to get out of the plan, I will forfeit around 90% of the capital (around £12k!).

    Screwed! Do not touch these guys with a barge pole! My advice - stick with an FSA regulated firm in the UK, like Sharecenter or HL.co.uk.
  • Reaper
    Reaper Posts: 7,277
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    Lodinisr, if you search the forum you will find many other people unhappy with their Generali Vision plans.
    e.g. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4651671
  • Hello everyone, who signed for Generali Vision. Is there any luck to get your money back?
    I have the same problem and loosing around 15 000 euros.
    I checked some of the threads, but could not find any successful story about it.
    I signed for it in Belgium, but this product was never authorized to be sold in Belgium, I have an official letter from FSMA Belgium.
  • sawutdee1
    sawutdee1 Posts: 23 Forumite
    Hello

    Been over 2 years since i posted.

    I took out the bond with Abbey FS

    The bond has been running for just over 2 years now
    As I write this the value of the bond has gone up by 13.14%

    In that time the financial adviser at Abbey has contacted me every 3 months to discuss how the bond is doing and has made some changes in where the money is invested.

    Hopefully it will keep going in the right direction.

    Thank you for all your replies to my original post
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,038
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    When you see things like QROPS, unregulated financial companies and unregulated investments, it usually ends in tears.
    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.
  • Hi I too am considering investing with Abbey financial services and am worried that they are not regulated in UK. As I understand it a UK based company is not allowed to give advise to non residents. I understand the law changed a couple of years back. If anyone can give advise about this or their experience with AFS I would be grateful. Does anyone know if there is anyway of checking the credentials of a company operating outside the UK? Thank you

    Terri
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,038
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    As I understand it a UK based company is not allowed to give advise to non residents.

    That is not correct. There are restrictions within the EU where the firm must hold passporting permissions if the transaction is not being done in person. Many firms do not hold these permissions as it just isnt worth it unless you do it in a high enough volume.

    The UK has some of the highest standards in the world now. It has gone from a country that lagged behind others in regulation and innovation to one that is seeing others follow it. Some counties have virtually no regulation or protections in place and retail products that are priced with 1980s UK style costs and product versions that are long obsolete in the UK.

    Easiest thing for you to do is look at the cost of the product and advice (which is unbundled in the UK and priced separately but may be bundled and priced together elsewhere). If the costs are expensive then you know you are not getting good value. If the product is non-mainstream (not using known financial brands or investing in unusual things) then you need to be on guard.
    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.
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